Lucifer Box was the young and debonair hero of The Vesuvius Club. Now we have moved towards the eve of the First World War and Box is an old man. I must admit to feeling a little cheated by this, for I was hoping for a long and amusing series and here at Book 2 he is nearing the end of his career. It is intriguing, dirty, funny and fun but for me the first was better, exploits of a young man rather than the moans of an old. I only hope Gatiss will fill the intervening years in for Box is such a wonderful character.
At last! LUCIFER BOX, His Majesty's most daring - and depraved - secret agent returns in a mystery set some twenty years after the scandalous events of the bestselling THE VESUVIUS CLUB. This time he faces treachery within his own service and a fascist messiah with a peculiarly Satanic design.
Lucifer Box - the gorgeous butterfly of King Bertie's reign, portraitist, dandy and terribly good secret agent - is feeling his age. Assigned to observe the activities of fascist leader Olympus Mons and his fanatical Amber Shirts in a snow-bound 1920s New York, Box finds himself framed for a vicious murder.
Using all his native cunning, Box escapes aboard a vessel bound for England armed only with a Broadway midget's suitcase and a string of unanswered questions. What lies hidden in the bleak Norfolk convent of St Bede? What is 'the lamb' that Olympus Mons searches for in his bid for world domination? And what has all this to do with a medieval prayer intended to summon the Devil himself?
From the glittering sophistication of Art Deco Manhattan to the eerie Norfolk coast and the snow-capped peaks of Switzerland The Devil in Amber takes us on a thrilling ride that pits Lucifer Box against the most lethal adversary of his career : the Prince of Darkness himself.
Mark Gatiss is the author of several successful Dr Who novels. He is perhaps best known as one of the creators, writers and stars of the hit BBC television programme, THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN.
