Solitary Man

Solitary Man is a fast paced, fun Angel story. Set in the fourth season of Angel, relationships are falling apart all around -- Fred and Gunn are pretending they don't have a problem, Angel is pretending that he isn't in love with Cordelia and that he isn't upset that Connor has moved out and Wes is pretending that he isn't involved with Lilah. Jeff Mariotte, an experienced Buffy/Angel writer portrays all the drama and angst realistically. The characters and their interactions with each other ring true, providing the perfect backdrop for any story.And the story is a unique one. Imagine a seventy-something widow, Mildred Finster, who decides that she wants to be a private investigator and that she wants to work for Angel investigations. When Angel and company decline her services, she sets out to prove that she can do the job. After getting results where Angel can't a couple times, Mildred gets herself into more trouble than she bargains for and everyone comes together to save the day.This book was totally unexpected. The story was a little fluffy, but it was loads of fun. I highly recommend it.

Mildred Finster simply has too much time on here hands. At 71 she's grown tired of her comfy mysyery stories and has decided to venture out on her own, solving crimes and bringing evildoers to justice. Unfortunately Mildred has decided to set her eyes on Los Angeles where she intends to apprentices and an agency with a 'cute' name - Angel Investigations.In the meantime Fred and Gunn are barely talking, Cordy is living (?) at Connor's place, Wesley it staying carefully away and Angel is, as usual, being moody. When ex-higher being Cordelia has a vision of a weak old man tearing a truck driver into shreds the team investigates but gets nowhere. What is even more embarrassing, Mildred manages to to go where Angel fears to tread (sorry about that) and the gang has to cope with being outplayed by a 71-year-old Miss Marple.But the vision is serious, and events quickly reveal that the little old man is pure badness on the hoof. Soon the team is mixing it up with Spanish mission priests, unconscious poltergeists, and the little old man from hell. Not good, and, as you might expect, the world hangs in the balance.Basically, this is a good book. The characters are well drawn, which is what we should expect from a writer with Mariotte's experience. Th plot is good, but the dialog is a bit stilted due to the fact that everyone is having problems with someone.What keeps it from being topnotch is that it overplays, for the umpteenth time, one of the standard Buffy/Angel themes - the 'big hero learns not to turn his (or her) back on the team and go it alone' theme. If you are new to the stories, this shouldn't bother you. But long term addicts will find themselves wondering why, with fragments of relationships flying all over the pages, the big story is about killing something together. Grump!!

I thought this was one of the best ones in the series so far. I like the old lady's character in the storyline. The fight scenes were really good. I think Jeff Mariotte is one of the best Angel/Buffy writers so far.

When Cordelia gets a vision about a murdered trucker, the Fang Gang wind up involved in a centuries-old conflict that could get them all killed. Meanwhile, a well-meaning pensioner who's bored with retirement wants to join the team and doesn't seem to be able to take 'no' for an answer, and a couple of strange Englishmen who seem to know an awful lot about what's going on begin interfering with the case. Add in the character dynamics resulting from Wesley being called in to help, and you've got an "Angel" mystery that rips along at a nice pace.If you're missing the unique tension of Season 4, you could do a lot worse than to pick up this paperback. Mariotte writes with good humor that doesn't insult the reader's intelligence, and it's apparent from the level of detail and care taken in writing the caracters that he's an honest-to-goodness fan of the show.