Envy of Angels

[sawyl]

Something short in the shape of Matt Wallace's Envy of Angels, the first in his Sin du Jour Affair series about a catering company who specialise in serving the needs of the government's more supernatural contacts.

Darran Vargas and Lena Tarr are all but broke, having been blackballed by every kitchen in New York. So when Bronko Luck, former celebrity chef, makes them an offer, they seize it with both hands. They quickly discover that Sin du Jour is not all it seems. Darren knocks over a jar in the pantry and accidentally releases a Lovecraftian horror while Lena finds herself fighting the sous-chef to second blood with a paring knife after they experience a difference of opinion.

Realising that the banquet menu needs a bit of tweaking, Bronko calls on the newest members of his team to taste something for him. The verdict is unanimous: the dish they need to make tastes exactly like a Henley's Nuggie — battered chicken from a fast-food outlet fronted by a clown. Sin du Jour's crack stocking and receiving team breaks into Henley's corporate headquarters, bent on stealing the secret recipe. Unfortunately, in a scene that owes more than a little to Temple of Doom, they discover that the secret ingredient is going to be seriously tricky to duplicate.

Envy of Angels is a solid slab of fun with an intriguing setting and a likeable, well-rounded cast of characters. Wallaces has a lot of fun with his pop culture references — it helps that Darren is both a massive D&D nerd and a big Buffy fan — and has a talent for nicely comic turns of phrase.