Acknowledgement: Gwales / Welsh Books Council
There is certainly no loss of verve, adventure or indeed style in Brian John’s latest book in this long-running saga.
In Conspiracy of Angels the reader is taken back to 1810 and a youthful 31-year-old Martha Morgan is back as mistress of Plas Ingli after a period of absence of which she will give no true account. Being a woman of this period is a serious disadvantage, especially a woman without a husband beside her, with children to bring up and without great wealth. As always there is much hurtful gossip, but Martha’s ever-loyal staff, her family and friends, particularly grandpa Isaac and granny Jane, and her mentor the wizard Joseph Harris, are there to support her. However, will they be enough? Following a premonition on a damp Angel Mountain, Martha becomes involved in a secretive anti-slavery movement; child torture, blackmail and the Sons of Obeah all add to the nail-biting intensity of the plot.
If the reader were to assume that that is all John’s story tells, they would be very much mistaken. The author is a master of connecting interwoven threads. His secondary characters, no less colourful than the protagonists, jump from the page with the intrigue of their daily lives and adventures all adding to this riveting saga.
As usual John has excelled himself with his art of story-telling, his humour and his literary prowess.
Conspiracy of Angels is the eighth in the Angel Mountain saga, of which more than 65,000 copies have been sold to date. A grand achievement by a born raconteur.
Norma Penfold
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