Another Angel tale by this veteran of tie-in books. In a rare moment of peace and calm, the Angel Investigations team are relaxing at the demon karaoke bar Caritas.

Suddenly, there is an explosion outside, drawing all the customers out onto the streets, away from the safety of the bar. With the added confusion of a fire and a drive-by shooting, no-one notices until afterwards that Fred has been kidnapped.

It's down to Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn and Lorne to try and find her, if only they knew where to start. This time, the detectives of Angel Investigations have a real mystery case to solve and the twists and turns collide as the team follow clues and dead-ends.

In amongst this confusion, it soon becomes clear to Lorne that the sanctuary of his bar is being comprised and the patrons, kept behind for questioning, begin to get restless. To make things worse, no-one's story seems to match anyone else's. Finally, Angel is told that he must meet with the kidnappers at dawn in the middle of an empty park and sacrifice himself to save Fred.

Determined not to do that he races against time - and sunrise - to find Fred before his time is up. This is, for Angel, a relatively light story which focuses on the team-work and friendship of the Angel Investigations family as they come together to save one of their own.

It is entertaining and has enough suspense to carry the reader through to the end. As with all good mystery stories, the villain isn't revealed until the last chapter. Mariotte is well-versed in Angel cannon and portrays the characters realistic to the show and with good humour.

It is also nice to see Lorne play a central role in the story. In the end, all the strands of the mystery come together, tied up nicely.

This certainly isn't a trip into Angel's dark side, is mainly action rather than descriptive introspection of the characters and isn't taxing on the reader's concentration. It does, however, fit in well with the show and is a well-written addition to the growing library of Angel tie-ins which grace any real Angel fan's bookshelves.

Laura Kayne