Two Songs Archangel

"Let me tell you something about Veil Kendry...He is, or was, Archangel, and there are two songs this Archangel sings. One song is of gentle, almost aching beauty; the other is of savagery, violence, and death." - Mongo Frederickson, herein, about his friend Veil (a painter and martial arts expert) TWO SONGS follows THE BEASTS OF VALHALLA. The characters' continuing emotional distress over the events of VALHALLA is a factor in this story, and a major motivation driving the events of THE COLD SMELL OF SACRED STONE, so please read VALHALLA first. Furthermore, TWO SONGS has a cliffhanger ending that is resolved in the next book, so I suggest ensuring that COLD SMELL is at hand before tackling TWO SONGS. You've been warned. Mongo drops in on his sensei and old friend, Veil Kendry, for a workout a couple of hours before Mongo is scheduled to give an important talk at the university where he works as a criminology professor. Veil's a freelance martial artist who makes his living as a painter and acting as a sort of benevolent warlord in the rough neighbourhood he lives in. Nobody sensible messes with him, but after checking the place out, Mongo finds that Veil has apparently disappeared after a sniper took a shot at him. The only clue Mongo finds upon a thorough search is a single painting - obviously *not* part of the masterwork currently in progress - featuring a robed gun-toting angel hovering over a stretch of Asian jungle. In fact, Veil has literally left a piece of a puzzle. Each of his individual canvases fit into assemblies of 36 - 40 canvases, each of which may appear abstract on its own but which create a larger image when seen together. What could Veil have painted from his past in Vietnam that would make him need to disappear? And who would be so paranoid as to begin stalking Mongo at the mere show of interest in Veil's disappearance? Garth, Mongo's big brother in the NYPD, looks upon Veil with little enthusiasm; Veil's vigilante reputation cuts no ice with the police, who're struggling with a heavy workload thanks to the newly-elected president being in town to announce his selections for the Cabinet - including one Orville Madison as Secretary of State, the former Director of Operations of the CIA. Couldn't be any connection there, of course... Veil Kendry is a series character in his own right. For best results, TWO SONGS THIS ARCHANGEL SINGS (his first crossover with the Mongo books) should be read before VEIL, which also came out in 1986, because Mongo in TWO SONGS must deduce the story told in VEIL.

Wow! Action, suspense, martial arts, betrayal, intrigue and explosions...what more could an adventure fan ask for? Although this is the 5th Mongo mystery written by Chesbro, it was the first one I read. Since then, I have managed to track down and read 11 others. What sets these books apart from the competition are the characters and Two Songs This Archangel Sings is no exception. This book introduces Mongo fans to Veil Kendry, black belt, artist and mystery man extraordinaire. As we begin the story, Veil is missing and his dwarf, former-circus-star-turned-private-investigator, black belt, martial arts student, Mongo, must sift through the lies, disinformation, clues and cover-ups that make up Veil's shadowy background in order to find him before it's too late. Along the way he encounters more than a few people who have no intention of seeing him complete his task including covert operatives, a ninja and...well, you'll just have to read the book. This is one of my all-t! ime favorite books and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes adventure, mystery and action.