In Boston, film restoration expert Graham Woodard receives a call from L.A. that changes his life forever. A reel of film of the 1926 silent movie Angel of the Abyss, lost since its premier and in desperate need of restoration, has been found. The woman in possession of the reel hints that there are more, and she's willing to pay Graham's expenses to come to LA to do the restoration. She also indicates that Graham's ex-wife is involved somehow.
In 1926, on the cusp of "talking" pictures, silent films were heavily censored. The scandalous Angel of the Abyss was intended to transform the film industry with its controversial plot and sensual star Grace Baron. However, Grace disappeared just days before completion of filming, and following a disastrous debut, the film also went missing. Neither Grace nor the film were ever found, but decades of rumors, myth and speculation have endured about them both.
What begins as the opportunity of a lifetime soon includes murder with Graham the unwitting suspect. Also getting involved in the intricate scheme is Jake Maitland, Graham's unwanted companion from Boston, who insisted on coming to LA. It will take both of them, along with some seemingly inept cops, to uncover the truth behind the missing film and the infamous Grace Baron.
Using timeline shifts from the past to the present, with the different characters' points of view, Ed Kurtz keeps ANGEL OF THE ABYSS very interesting. Plotting is consistent and characterization believable for each era and point of view. The resolution of the mysteries, both past and present, gives readers a satisfying ending.
When Graham Woodard is hired to restore part of a previously lost silent horror film—Angel of the Abyss—the last thing he expects is the first in a series of murders clearly meant to keep it lost. With one-time friend Jake Maitland in tow, the two must now navigate the treacherous enigma that is the lost film, while piecing together the story of the film’s ill-fated starlet, Grace Baron, who vanished in 1926. The closer they get to the truth, the more blood is spilled, and it soon becomes apparent that there is much more to the lost film than anyone expected, as there are still forces that will stop at nothing to keep it and its star buried. The darkness the strange film conjured all those years ago has come alive again with its discovery, and now everyone from Graham’s own estranged ex-wife to the LAPD is getting involved. And the body count is growing. From the burgeoning film studios of 1920s Hollywood to the perilous streets and dark underbelly of modern-day Los Angeles, Angel of the Abyss is a dangerous tapestry of cinema, history and murder, at the center of which stand two men with everything to lose.
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