"MIDNIGHT ANGELS," by Lorenzo Carcaterra, Ballantine Books, 320 pages, $26 (f)
Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of the best-selling novel "Sleepers" and other gritty crime novels, jumps on the Dan Brown ("The Da Vinci Code") bandwagon with his latest novel, "Midnight Angels."
The thriller follows Kate Wescott, an American art history student, on a romp through Florence, Italy, in search of a lost Michelangelo masterpiece — three angel sculptures known as the Midnight Angels.
Treasure hunting is in Kate's blood. Kate's parents were the founders of the secretive Vittoria Society (named for Signora Vittoria Colonna, the only woman ever known to have captured Michelango's heart), a collection of artists, historians and treasure hunters dedicated to finding lost works of art and returning them to their rightful owners.
When Kate was a small child, her parents were murdered during a quest. She ws raised by professor Richard Dylan Edwards, a member of the Vittoria Society who nurtured Kate's interest in art and prepared her to take her place in the society.
In Kate's search to find and safeguard the Midnight Angels, she is aided by her handsome Italian boyfriend, Marco, and watched over by Edwards and the Vittoria Society. Also watching are members of another secret society, the Immortals. The Immortals are also treasure hunters, but their motives are not so altruistic. Led by the mysterious figure known as the Raven, the murderous Immortals seek art only for the highest price it will fetch on the black market.
As if two shadowy groups were not enough, Kate and Marco also have to contend with Antonio Rumore, a detective from the Rome Art Squad, an elite police unit that recovers stolen art.
Kate and Marco have quite an adventure on their hands as they lead the secret societies and the police on a fast-paced chase through the streets of Florence.
"Midnight Angels" offers plenty of action and some fun Michelango factoids — he apparently suffered from constipation and complained about it often (no veggies in Renaissance Italy).
"Midnight Angels" is a slick and entertaining summertime diversion — but Brown still does it better.
e-mail: jwilliamson@desnews.com