Safe Return Doubtful

Split between contemporary Washington and Victorian England, this is a whole lot of fun, and as cross genres go, it covers many, contemporary, historical, ghost, horror and even some political satire.
In Washington Alexander Paine Wilson is a young Republican Congressman who is easily wound-up. One hot summer day, as he contemplates marriage to improve his political career, his air-conditioning fails, and a large box containing a taxidermied aardvark arrives. He is not amused.
In Victorian London Titus Downing is sewing and stuffing the said aardvark. He is a contrast to Alexander and yet they share a secret, they are both closet gays.
But the protagonist is the politician, and Anthony captures well his growing agitations with the world. Its that rage which she so cleverly pulls apart, and his misguided obsession with how he’s perceived by others.
It takes a while to pick-up the author’s style, and for that time I felt that I may be chuckling in the wrong places. But that’s credit to her. Its crisp, refreshing and sharp; a commentary on some key issues in today’s society, abortion, identity and power, blended with Blackadder-esque flashbacks to the 19th century.