Dive into CURRENT OF DARKNESS
Industrial espionage, friends and enemies, and a dashing billionaire (in 1901 dollars, so imagine today) who is captivated by our favorite Avenging Angel.
Welcome to the pages here on All That Glitters that talk about my novels! You’re here with me for Current of Darkness.
Current of Darkness: Desire and Deceit in the Gilded Age
Haunted by her past, detective Sarah Payne immerses herself in a new case . . . while a vengeful Alicia Miller seizes the reins of her murdered husband’s company.
A secret meeting in nearby Niagara Falls lures beautiful Sarah Payne undercover . . . behind the bright façade of the honeymoon playground and into a much darker place—the strange and perilous underworld of the booming electric power industry.
In this shadowy demimonde, a dangerous cabal of union bosses, saboteurs, and tycoons conspire to destroy handsome, enigmatic industrialist Charles Kendall—and will stop at nothing, including murder, to accomplish their ends. This high stakes game of industrial espionage threatens to pull Sarah into a riptide of duplicity, betrayal, and double-dealing . . . and silence her before she uncovers the truth.
Meanwhile, in fashionable Ashwood, sultry widow Alicia Miller seizes power at her murdered husband’s envelope company—only to find herself pitted against the new majority owner, who has his own ideas about women in business. But cunning and captivating Alicia has ideas, too . . . and is determined to see them through, even if it means bending—or breaking—a few rules along the way.
Both women will have to find the courage and resourcefulness to survive . . . and set aside their own simmering feud to find a way out—together.
Dive with them into the murky depths below the gleaming surface of the Gilded Age . . . in Robert Brighton’s Current of Darkness.
The Setting and Its Significance
The Unsealing was followed by the second book in Avenging Angel Detective Agency series, A Murder in Ashwood, and the recently released Current of Darkness. Fans of the series are thrilled to see the characters return, and excited to more deeply dive into the history of the region. Brighton believes that people like his characters because they are, “people that have extraordinary gifts in some dimensions, but also are very ordinary people in many others. They’re people that you would want to get to know. They’re people you’d want to spend time with, they’re people you’d want to maybe learn from, and there are some things that they can probably learn from us. I think the charm of The Avenging Angels Detective Agency™ lies in the fact that they are very real people and warts at all, and they’re people that my readers seem to want to keep learning about as they go.”
According to Brighton, readers can start with Current of Darkness, or can begin with The Unsealing to start the series. “I’m writing standalone books too [like The Buffalo Butcher], so it’s not just [Avenging Angels Detective Agency™ ] series, and I specifically designed the series so that people don’t have to start at the beginning, and read them all in order. You could drop in anytime. They’re all free standing. You’ll be rewarded if you start at the beginning. You should have a deeper understanding of the long arc of these characters’ lives, but at the same time you don’t have to.”
Reviews and Reception
Here’s a sampling of industry and reader reviews for Current of Darkness:
"... writing that is on par with the cunning of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ..." - Manhattan Book Review
" … stellar … a winning story of action, sabotage, cutthroat business dealings, and women daring to be something new at the dawn of the American century.” - Booklist
" ... Sarah Payne ... deserves her place as an iconic figure in the realm of fictional female detectives ..." ★★★★★
- GoodReads Reviewer
“Current of Darkness is more than just a novel - it's a vivid journey into a pivotal epoch in American history…” - Laura Brush
"A detective story with a difference ... a wonderful exposition of women achieving in a man’s world." - Grant Leishman
"... a novel full of passion, intrigue, and rich period detail ..." -GoodReads Reviewer
"Brighton’s writing is nothing short of brilliant." ★★★★★ - Amazon Reviewer
"... the allure of a juicy daytime soap opera ..." ★★★★★ - Amazon Reviewer
Book Club Resources for Current of Darkness
For your book club, download the Book Club Kit, complete with discussion questions, recipes, and resources.
About The Avenging Angel Detective Agency
1901 . . . in the shadow of the great Pan-American Exposition, a heinous crime claims the life of someone near and dear to beautiful Sarah Payne, and when the powerful in the city of Buffalo close ranks to prevent justice from being done, Sarah takes matters into her own hands.
In a series of novels set in the late Gilded Age, you'll follow Sarah and her other Avenging Angels as they tackle the cases that no one else will touch ... and become enmeshed in the loves, lusts, and secret intrigues of the fashionable but naughty social scene.
Each Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mystery - while allowing you to build a long-term relationship with recurring characters - is an independent story that invites you to glimpse a facet of a glittering time long ago, one both strange and mysterious and yet eerily familiar . . . while you’re invited to join the collection from the start, you can start anywhere and read these books in any order!
Pick up your copy of Current of Darkness
Current of Darkness is available everywhere your favorite books are sold, in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.
On Robert’s online shop, you can get a signed and inscribed hardcover along with fun companion items from the author’s collection.
You’ll also find Current of Darkness at your local independent bookstores and libraries. Enjoy!