Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde, MyShelf.com
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Set during the second half of the second season, this busy tale concerns a young artist, a very old artist, lots of Lovecraft-esque demons (count the tentacles) and a little boy in danger. Angel Investigations has been hired to shadow a movie star and find out what he has been getting up to. While Angel does this, Gunn works out at his local gym and ends up helping the artist above when her studio is broken into by demons.

Cordelia has a vision of a little boy being attacked by a squid-like monster. Angel recognizes a connection and remembers some of the people in the portraits and how, back when he was Angelus, he and Darla rescued a young artist when Darla wanted her portrait painted. Following him across Europe, they tracked him down and ended up not only getting to know Percy and Mary Shelley, but also finding out exactly what was the inspiration behind Frankenstein.

The gang's all here for this packed adventure (no, not Doyle, alas) which features a neat idea reminiscent of the Dorian Gray theme, with plenty of action and thrills. It had me wishing that the TV series were more like this. If you are a fan of Angel and yearn to see the cast put through their paces, then this is right up your dark alley. This book has the tendency to portray the characters the way they ought to be (ie Wesley as not such a wimp and Gunn with more of a personality). A thrilling yarn that doesn't pause for breath.