This fanciful thriller from bestseller Neggers (The Widow) starts slowly, but picks up steam once the action moves to Ireland. When Keira Sullivan, a young Boston illustrator and folklorist, decides to travel to Ireland to research a Celtic legend about three brothers battling for a stone angel, she pays no heed to warnings not to go from eccentric antiques collector Victor Sarakis, even after Victor drowns under suspicious circumstances in the Public Garden pond. At a Beacon Hill benefit, Keira fortuitously meets FBI agent and search-and-rescue expert Simon Cahill, who later volunteers to locate Keira after she goes missing in southwest Ireland. When Simon rescues the trapped Keira from an ancient ruin, the stone angel she claims to have found disappears and mysteriously reappears in the United States. Is it magic or the work of a madman? Either way, fans of romantic suspense will be charmed. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Folklorist Keira Sullivan's love of Irish tales leads her to her family's homeland in search of one particular legend, that of a stone angel which appears on summer solstice as a harbinger of fate. Exploring an old ruin, she catches a glimpse of the angel before being trapped in a mysterious cave-in. Help arrives in the form of rescue expert Simon Cahill, who is far more concerned about the very real earthly dangers that seem to have followed her. Little things keep this romantic suspense from fully coming together. Secondary plots are interesting but may crowd out Keira and Simon's romance, leaving their relationship feeling rushed. The questions left about the villain's motivations and connections to past events don't provide satisfying closure. The lore entwined in the story, however, is intriguing, giving just enough otherworldly flavor without turning away those who aren't big paranormal fans; and readers will find themselves anxiously going forward to find out how the mystery unfolds.--Davis, Nina C. Copyright 2008 Booklist