Angel Underground
First Published: 2002
Published By: Constable & Robinson
Angel Number: 11
Personal Favourite: 5
Quotable Quote: It was my perennial problem with life: always outnumbered, always outgunned.
The Backstory
Angel is outnumbered and outgunned: two of the most fearsome people in his life, his wife and mother, have persuaded him to relive his student days and join an archaeological dig, the paymaster of which seems to be convinced he will find Boudicca's grave in his backyard.
Along the way, Angel finds that the dotty landowner is not the only one with a skeleton in the closet (or in the ground); there are some suspicious goings-on in the field next door, and just what is Amy's secret? And he also has to deal with the third most fearsome person in his life, who has a penchant for quotes from Revelations..
The Webmaster's Take
She was huge of frame, terrifying of aspect, and with a harsh voice. A great mass of bright red hair fell to her knees: she wore a twisted torc, and a tunic of many colours, over which was a thick mantle, fastened by a brooch. Now she grasped a spear, to strike fear into all who watched her.
No, that wasn't our Roy describing his sister, nor his mother, but a Roman dude called Cassius Dio waxing lyrical about the freedom fighter formally known as Boudicea.
Here's a thought for you: why do we humans have a preoccupation with things of the past, or even the future, rather than the present? After all, you can't change the past and the future isn't written, so few of us live for today. No - I'm not preaching - I'm much the same,- but the number of times you hear "If {insert name of perceived brave, influential or badass hero here} were alive today..." makes you wonder why we haven't just all given up and started beating our heads against the nearest rock. Admittedly, every so often, you get a human who makes a difference, "re-writes history", whatever that means, but is such an overwhelming influence on culture, attitude or environment, you can truly say that without them, today would be very different. Uh, yes.
I'm not convinced any of this applies to Boudicca. Still, us Brits have few heroes from the Roman days, and hey, why not a female. At least she tried.
I first read Angel Underground after getting it out of a library in south west London, and that's where my obsession madness interest began. So, naturally, it has always figured high in the list. Add the fact that Roy's sister, Finnoula, also known as Fi or Fifi, and I also have been known as Fifi (but more known as Fi nowadays), though this is a minor detail. Really.
Underground, although the 11th book, starts a trend in the series where incidents in Fitzroy's life follow through into the following books. It still retains the trend that all the books can be read, with no knowledge of previous events, as they are all recapped anyway. It just makes all the prior ones, and the later ones, more enjoyable. If only all long running detective series could be like that.
The book is also an education, I mean, everything that you want to know about archaeology but couldn't ask, as they have usually gone to bed before you get up. Unusually for an Angel book, the only dead bodies in this one are long gone. Also, Amy's character is developed more (though this was my first introduction to either of them), and the mad old duffer that is aggressively digging up his lawn in the hope of an historical find is not the only one with a secret, in fact, everyone that Angel meets seems to have a skeleton in their closet, the attic, or even their back yard. It's his job to unravel each and every one, avoiding the wrath of Amy's fearsome secretary.
And of course, there's Angel's sister, who was described as dangerous in Family of Angels, but is probably just another misunderstood redhead. One mystery remains, and that's her middle name. I like to think, in keeping with their father's seeming obsession with the letters F and M, that it's Maedbh (Maeve), spelled in the Celtic fashion, of course.
Back to top
