Eye of the Archangel: A Mallory & Morse Novel of Espionage

by Forrest Devoe Jr.

JFK is in the Oval Office. "Love Me Do" is climbing the charts. And in West Berlin, a wealthy ex-black marketeer, the Dane, is offering a stolen spy satellite for sale. Nothing unusual there, except the asking half a billion dollars. Too much for any satellite—unless it's Hitler's legendary, long-lost Project Archangel. Archangel, it's rumored, is a device capable of shifting the balance of the Cold War. To find it, Mallory and Morse fly to the Monaco Grand Prix and infiltrate the Dane's a pair of lovely and vicious blonde twins, a ravishing Polish giantess with a taste for movie magazines, and an American ex-mercenary with quiet eyes and hands like stone. The Dane is both a perfect host and a savage killer, and has already done one of the Consultancy's agents to death. But their greatest peril may come from the long-buried passions of the icily beautiful Laura Morse. . . .

Genres: Thriller, Espionage

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 27, 2007

About the author

Forrest DeVoe Jr. is the pen name of Max Phillips. In addition to cofounding the pulp revival imprint Hard Case Crime, he has authored one of its debut titles, Fade to Blonde, as well as the literary novels The Artist's Wife and Snakebite Sonnet. He is married and lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Bret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eye of the Archangel by Forrest Devoe Jr. is a modern throwback that reads like a lean 60s spy romp in the James Bond and Modesty Blaise lane with one key upgrade. The man woman team reads as true coequals. It hits the expected beats of glamour gadgets and danger but it moves with confidence and knows how to stage a set piece.

The best scenes are pure cinema. The Monaco Grand Prix sequence and the final battle atop a cable car gave me a strong flash of Where Eagles Dare. And while the plot sometimes feels like it is checking genre boxes it still delivers a couple of late surprises that land cleanly and make the finish more satisfying than just another vintage thriller.

[Drew McPike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine book. Setting was good. Wrapped up a bit quick and somewhat unsatisfying.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just the thing to keep you entertained between Bond films - this series is a great hat-tip to the incomparable Ian Fleming. Lots of thrills, spills, gadgets, fights, and mortal peril spiced up with just enough martini-dry wit.

[Jeff J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second Mallory & Morse novel is another fun pastiche of James Bond, Modesty Blaise, and The Avengers. Great villain in this story. I hope the series continues!