This is first in a series by Will Thomas. I definitely will keep reading more. My sister Cris, an avid reader of historical fiction mysteries, told me when we spoke recently that I'd really enjoy this series. She was right! Although it is a Victorian "private enquiry" detective story set in London in the 1880s, and the detective has a sidekick who does the narrating, don't expect the highly rationale classic detective stylings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes & Watson, nor even the rich language and contextualizing of Anne Perry's Charlotte & Thomas Pitt. This is a lighter, quicker read, with some wonderful flavoring from dime novels or Sax Rohmer fiction, so be prepared for exotic stereotypes, sudden surprises, hidden passageways, false beards, coins tossed expertly as deadly weapons--you get the idea.The author does a fine job of starting slowly and flushing out the two main characters, helping us come to know them and care about their mutual rapport as the book continues. I am particularly sympathetic to his choice for the sidekick narrator, a scrappy, tough little Welshman named Llewelyn who has grit and wit, and at the age of 22 has already demonstrated those essential Horatio Alger characteristics for a fellow from the lower classes: luck, plock, and virtue, and has experienced such tragic hazards as class injustice, losing his coveted and valuable scholarship to Oxford, subsequent imprisonment, and the painful death of his one true love, all before he even begins his life of intrigue and nonstop adventure with Barker. Barker is a man with a murky past, an English orphan adrift in China who raised himself, learned all kinds of martial arts, was awarded a Pekingese guard dog by the dowager empress, and with vision and perseverance became the smartest, fastest, multitalented detective you can imagine, who still likes to tend his beautiful garden, smoke one of his specially carved pipes, and read in his luxurious private library. He surrounds himself with an eclectic mix of exotic associates and has innumerable close personal ties who are in his debt for a service earlier rendered throughout the underworld, the government, and apparently, the planet.This was great diversion when I didn't want to contemplate something dense yet still wanted to be intellectually stimulated while entertained. The plot in this opening volume is also an intriguing topic: someone appears to have initiated a pogrom against the Jews of London by crucifying a rabbinical student and leaving him hanging as a statement in the middle of a major Jewish market area, warning of dire attacks to come. Barker has just taken on young Llewelyn (his previous assistant seems to have been shot and killed...) and Anglo-Jewish leaders appeal to the detective to help them discover and stop whoever is behind this vile killing. Newly hired, Llewelyn learns as he goes--and so, in a charming manner, do we.
So far, my friend and coworker Shannon is 2/2 on her book recommendations for me. We were chatting about finding a good historical mystery, and she told me to check out Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas. As if I don't have enough books on my TBR list already (holding steady at 980 last count), I grabbed it off of the shelf and checked it out.This is one of those books that I dragged out reading because I didn't want it to end. When it ended, I'd have to go to the library to get the next one in the series. Not that that's at all difficult, since I work there, but still.Our wonderfully snarky (and proudly Welsh) narrator Thomas Llewelyn is at the end of his rope. If he doesn't get a place as an assistant, it's the Thames for him. Fortunately for him (and the reader, because if he jumped in, we'd have a very short book), he gets the position. It is, to be sure, a bit out of the ordinary. The posting did say "some danger involved." But what has he got to lose? Well, maybe his life, but isn't that a given when you're an assistant to one of the best enquiry agents in London?Cyrus Barker certainly cuts an imposing figure. He's big and burly and Scots and covered in scars. Oh, and those ever-present tinted spectacles? I hope, like our friend Thomas, you'd catch a hint from "big and burly" and simply not ask about them. Barker is a fascinating enigma and a true Renaissance man. Born in China, he speaks several languages, and introduces the rather sheltered (I suppose one would be having been born into poverty, packed off to Oxford University, married into poverty, and then packed off to Oxford Prison) Llewelyn to the diversity hiding in plain sight in London. In this first volume, Barker and Llewelyn investigate the murder-by-crucifixion of a Jewish man who looked suspiciously like Jesus (well, I suppose it would be an artist's representation of Jesus, since they didn't exactly have cameras in the First Century). Barker worries that whoever murdered the man, a student, is going to incite a pogrom.From here, we go on a tense chase across London, into secret Zionist meetings, encounters with former professors, and the Sicilian mafia. Amazingly, Thomas (the author Thomas) keeps everything balanced perfectly and unravels everything at the end. Barker and his coterie of helpers are fascinating, from Mac the Jewish man-of-all-talents to Harm, the ferocious Pekingese who takes a toothy shine to Llewelyn. Highly recommended.
Do You like book Some Danger Involved (2005)?
I gave this book 2 stars instead of one. I did so simply to be fair because this type of book is not my normal cup of tea. It is probable that my enjoyment of the book was affected by that somewhat. The book failed to draw me in at all, I didn't find the characters likable or believable and I didn't buy the Victorian era setting either. I read through the first few chapters anyway, and I'll keep it because maybe someday I'll read it all the way through and find that I like it more. But I doubt it. Pick up an Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes book for an authentic Victorian era mystery.
—Samuel
A murder mystery set in late 19th-century London, populated with a sufficient number of quirky and mysterious characters and imparting the requisite history lesson - about the influx of Jews into England following the 19th century pogroms in eastern Europe.It’s not a bad read, but the book is cozy and facile, and has very little atmosphere. I never believed in the setting. By contrast, Anne Perry’s most tedious novel still leaves me feeling as if I’m bored in Victorian London.I was disappointed in the main characters, meant to be something of a Holmes/Watson analogue. They’re kindhearted and earnest and boring, despite the detective’s carefully constructed collection of eccentricities and the sidekick’s elaborate sob story.
—Jamie
This is book one for this series. I started with a book from the library, book 5, and had to back track. I really wish there was a 4.5...This book pulled me in, and I understood the deep loyalty that all of Barkers associates have for him. This is a great series about not, detectives, but Enquiry agents..of the Victorian era. There is a different feeling than Sherlock Holmes, and for that I am glad. I love Sherlock Holmes, and I read many books about his stories. I like a new personality at the head of this book. He is smart, and powerful, and was a sea captain..he has suffered much loss, and he shows his scars. He also has a softer side, and on occasion it slips through. He does not have the satiric whit, of Holmes, but he still makes you stand up and take notice.
—Pamela
