Border Angels by Anthony Quinn

Published by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road on October 22, 2013

Borders and what they represent form the underlying theme of Border Angels. Women from Eastern Europe are smuggled across borders to work in Western European brothels, while a shadowy underworld populated by immigrants, legal and illegal, operates close to the borders in case the need arises to flee. Border Angels opens in a brothel in Northern Ireland, where a shady businessman named Jack Fowler promises to rescue Lena Novak from a life of prostitution. Before the rescue can occur, however, Lena's pimp drives her away from the brothel. The police become involved when they find the shell of a burned-out car and the pimp's charred remains. Lena's footprints lead from the car to the riverbank, where they disappear. The river marks the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, once a crossing place for terrorists (or freedom fighters, depending on your point of view).

Celcius Daly is called upon to investigate the pimp's death and, soon thereafter, Fowler's drowning. As was true in Anthony Quinn's previous Daly novel, a former IRA member plays a role. Ashe is trying to make a "journey away from violence" but the journey takes a U-turn that brings him back to Ireland. Lena is the strongest character, an empowered woman who doesn't need rescuing, who has the wits and the guts to rescue herself. Daly is relegated to the role of observer for most of the novel, caught between Lena's schemes and his Commander's wrath.

Unlike many modern crime novelists, Quinn tells a credible story and doesn't waste words doing it. He imbues his characters with honest emotions while avoiding melodrama. His thoughtful commentary on Northern Ireland never overshadows the story. While the story isn't particularly original, it's well told. Quinn develops Daly's character less than he did in the first novel, but I'd rather read a story with limited character development than a story with mindless action and needless padding. Border Angels left me looking forward to the next Celcius Daly novel.

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