The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery

"Not everyone in this world wants to be a famous movie star."

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2012

Printed in: Summer Falls & Other Stories 02

Featuring: River

Synopsis

Movie star Rock Railton thinks someone is out to kill him – and detective Melody Malone is on the case. At the press party for Railton's latest movie, studio owner Max Kliener invites Melody to become their next star. But the cost of fame is greater than she could possibly imagine.

Verdict

The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery was a great short story to tie in with the broadcast of The Angels Take Manhattan concluding the first half of Series 7. I think it's a really strong idea to have books within a Doctor Who episode and then release them, or at least something close as is the case here, for the consuming public. It just works a treat. I think this was far superior to Summer Falls which I also read recently that ties in with The Bells of Saint John because despite there being no Doctor present, this felt very much like a Doctor Who adventure. Of course, the story is told with Melody Malone as the narrator which is good fun and the cover enough tells us who this woman really is. Whilst she is never referred to as such, it's tremendous to be getting a full River Song prose adventure. I think it serves well as essentially a prequel to the aforementioned mid-series finale in which the Weeping Angels take over Manhattan, and having them present is really good. I think it's clever to not fully utilise them or alert their presence to things until quite late on as it would be the television episode where they would make their mark fully. But River is very much aware of their presence in Manhattan and it's pretty dangerous! It's also incredibly widespread. I thought Melody alluding to the difference between doctor and Doctor was very amusing and getting a quick glimpse into their past from her perspective was terrific. I was amused with how cheeky this story was and definitely aimed to the older reader. I guess this is a detective story after all but I didn't think I'd be reading the word cleavage in a Whoniverse published story! And River was making more than one reference throughout on how she was presenting her own cleavage. Unbuttoned and pushed up. It was rather detailed! But that is the River we know. She's not a companion for the children and I think she's presented in a very real way here. Her flirting was on point and I loved the idea of her having a detective agency. I thought some of the characters in the story were good and it was amusing to have multiple versions of Hank. His surname was ludicrous though and I liked how he was on hand to reveal to River that there were more of him. I thought Kleiner as the studio owner revealed himself as a strong villain in his merry-go-round of movie stars on repeat, but River knew right away that there was more than met the eye when it came to the glass jars. She had experience with the Weeping Angels and she knew they were present. That immediately brought a sense of added danger to the story which was terrific. I was a big fan of the touch of an Angel being referred to here as a kiss as it just sounded a little more poetic. It was very nicely presented and just feels the right kind of thing for Melody Malone. Her allusions to her own name in the story was also brilliant as she basically admitted openly that this was not her name. I liked the simplicity of the conclusion and it seemed pretty fast paced once all the details were out, but that was always going to happen with the nature of the story being a prequel for River. We know where she'll lead. It's a shame this wasn't the actual book the Doctor was reading as I think the prose of her encountering Rory and then the goodbye of Rory and Amy with the last chapter title and goodbye would have been sensational. But I understand why repetition from what we heard on screen wasn't preferred. Overall though, a really strong read! I'd definitely read more Melody Malone mysteries. 

Rating: 8/10