St. Patrick's Gargoyle

St. Patrick's Gargoyle, Katherine Kurtz, Ace Books, 2001

Once a month, the gargoyles on all the buildings in present-day Dublin get together in the tunnels under the city to pass along pieces of news and chat. This day, the talk is of petty vandalism and theft on church property. The monthly meetings occur on the night of the full moon, and gargoyles can become mobile only for the day after. Padraig, the gargoyle from St. Patrick's Cathedral, enlists the reluctant aid of an elderly man named Francis Templeton to find the thieves.

While convincing Francis that this is for real, Padraig makes a huge error. Gargoyles are actually avenging angels direct from God, and the only way to see their true, human, form is with the help of a black mirror. Padraig unintentionally lets Francis see his true form reflected in the door of Templeton's black 1929 Rolls Royce. One of the major rules of gargoyles is: Never let a human see your true form. Any human who does so must die.

The next day, after the thieves are caught, Death comes for Francis. Padraig convinces Death to give him some more time, and to let him, Padraig, do it when the time comes. Good thing, too. During the time of the Crusades, the spirit of a major demon was buried beneath the city. The bonds holding the demon are loosening; the freeing of this demon would be a major calamity for the whole world. The demon was originally buried by members of the Knights Templar. All of the gargoyles are called in to help, but a human is still needed. Francis happens to be a member of the Knights of Malta; he agrees to help, knowing that it may kill him. He also knows that because he "saw" Padraig, his time has come. Francis gets help from a temporarily resurrected member of the Knights Templar, who died about a thousand years ago.

This novel starts off interesting and rather "cute," but gets a lot better. Kurtz is a veteran writer, and it shows here. Besides, there aren't nearly enough novels about gargoyles. This one is very much worth reading.