Corpses bearing the marks of torture are showing up around Lausanne Cathedral, where an innocent named Marc Rochat serves as le guet—the man who rings out the hour from the church's belfry. In this mystical noir-thriller (as the publisher calls it), angels tumbled from heaven may be causing the trouble. A first novel from Steele, for years a master cameraman for Independent Television News and author of War Junkie; good for smart thriller readers.

In this atmospheric thriller, Steele (War Junkie: One Man's Addiction to the Worst Places on Earth) gives us an unlikely trio of heroes: Marc Rochat, the childlike custodian of the bells at the Lausanne Cathedral in Switzerland; Katherine Taylor, a Playboy cover girl—turned—high—priced call girl; and Jay Harper, a private eye with a penchant for alcohol and a disturbingly poor memory. Jay has been sent to Lausanne to find a missing Olympian who may have information about a new doping scandal. However, he soon investigates a series of gruesome murders and their ties to the Book of Enoch, a mysterious religious work dealing with fallen angels. When Katherine's rendezvous with a wealthy client takes a dangerous turn and dark forces threaten Lausanne Cathedral, the three main characters are brought together to defend against a dangerous and potentially supernatural foe. VERDICT Although it takes a while for the story to gather steam, and the characters sometimes seem flat, the suspense builds to a satisfying climax as the author deftly sets the stage for book two in this planned trilogy. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical thrillers, religious mysticism, and mysteries. [See Prepub Alert, 12/5/11.]—Amy Hoseth, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins

Switzerland's Lausanne cathedral serves as a fitting backdrop for Steele's first novel, an imaginative metaphysical thriller. Slow-witted Marc Rochat, who's served for years as the cathedral's "watcher," maintains its belfry and fulfills daily routines that he believes help to keep the cathedral a sanctuary to lost angels. One of those angels, to his mind, is beautiful American expatriate Katherine Taylor, who through her work as a highly paid escort has recently run afoul of vicious Russian criminals. Meanwhile, Jay Harper, an amnesiac operative for the International Olympic Committee who's been investigating a former Olympian's bizarre death, comes across the Book of Enoch, an apocryphal book of the Bible concerned with fallen angels who intermingled with humanity. Steele (War Junkie) keeps his tale tantalizingly ambiguous, casting it with fey characters and skillfully concealing until the climax whether apparent weird events haven't been manipulated to make them seem so. This solidly plotted tale, the first in a trilogy, will appeal to readers who like a hint of the uncanny in their fiction. Agent: Georgina Capel, Capel & Land Ltd. (June)