Angelology by Danielle Trussoni

I like books where fantasy and reality intermingle. Where you can pretend that maybe there really is a race of angels (called Nephilim) who live secretly among us, descended from the biblical union of heavenly angels and human women (the “sons of God and the daughters of men”) as described in Genesis. Except wait, maybe not, because these guys are seriously scary and not very nice. For thousands of years the power of the Nephilim has been held in check by the Angelologists, a band of priests, nuns, and scholars who must stay one step ahead of the Nephilim in order to maintain the celestial balance. Now the Nephilim are close to acquiring an artifact that will tip the balance back in their favor. It's up to the Angelologists to thwart the Nephilim, much to our entertainment.

I think any thriller that deals with the Catholic Church can’t help but be compared to The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. While Angelology shares some of that book’s obsession with secret societies and historical mysteries, Angelology is a better book, or at least a better-written book. Some of Trussoni’s plot strands (like Brown’s) can really exercise your disbelief-suspension muscles to the point of exhaustion. But never mind. I loved it. It’s got tons of action and a cast of powerful women: The current leader of the Angelologists is a 70-something designer-clad Frenchwoman who lives in a chic Manhattan apartment and drives a Porsche. Her granddaughter Evangeline, a novice nun, joins her grandmother’s quest to defeat the evil Nephilim, and together they match wits and firepower against them, aided by a formidable group of elderly nuns (srsly!). Yes, you will never look at a wheelchair-bound Sister the same way again, I swear.

This is a fun read, long but not slow moving; as close to a good beach-read as I ever get. I hear it’s been optioned by Hollywood. Look out!

(Book 25, 2010)