Fallen (Seven Deadly Sins, Book 2): Erin McCarthy

Gabriel St. John has been Fallen for one-hundred and fifty years. His inability to remember the horrific act of violence that led to the death of his mistress Anne Donovan has haunted him to the present day. When he reads of a recent murder that duplicates Anne's down to the smallest detail he begins to believe that he may find vindication. The only complication will be working with the recent victim’s grieving daughter Sara, a talented forensic scientist who has reasons of her own for wanting to investigate her mother's unsolved murder.

When Gabriel first came to from his absinthe-and-opium induced stupor to discover Anne's mutilated body in 1849 he was still an angel, living under the name of John Thiroux. His time among mortals had been exceedingly difficult for Gabriel and he took the only solace he thought would help, the mind-numbing excess of drugs and alcohol and comfort in the arms of Anne, his whore. He has no recollection of how she died or who may have done it, or even it may have been he. The protracted trial found him not guilty but the laws of Heaven are very different and Gabriel fell, becoming a demon.

After hearing of the murder of Jessie Michaels, Sara's mother, Gabriel knows that the killer of both women is one and the same but he has to investigate to be sure. He feels that working with Sara is his best bet. As with his case, the prime suspect, Jessie's boyfriend Rafe Marino is found not guilty but this doesn't mean he is innocent. As Gabriel and Sara hunt down dead-end trails and trial transcripts Gabriel must work to keep his distance from Sara, knowing that his very touch may incite obsession in her, as it has with every other woman he has known. Unknown to him, Sara is keeping her own secrets; Anne Donovan was her great-great-grandmother and every woman in the line thereafter has suffered the same fate. Will Sara be next?

Unlike the first novel in the series this one was much more... introspective. You genuinely felt for Gabriel even though he seemed to have brought this on himself. He may be a demon but he didn't sell his soul for something vain; he fell because his spirit was wounded by the suffering of humanity. Sara is unconsciously drawn to this but it's a situation of addicts leaning on each for comfort; not a good foundation for any relationship. There was markedly less sex in this novel and yet it seemed much more erotic for it. I liked the first one but I really enjoyed this one so much more.
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Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Jove (April 29, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0515144622
ISBN-13: 978-0515144628