Fatal Enquiry

March 31, 2014
Thomas’s witty sixth Victorian thriller featuring private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker (after 2008’s The Black Hand) provides welcome glimpses of Barker’s early life. As a 12-year-old in strife-torn China, Barker trusted Sebastian Nightwine—a British Army officer Barker met after the death of his missionary parents—with his older brother’s life, and he was betrayed. Within hours of Nightwine’s return to London, after years abroad, clues planted near the body of a murdered lord implicate Barker in the crime. Barker flees, dodging through London just steps ahead of Scotland Yard while seeking evidence to exonerate himself. Meanwhile, Barker’s assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, encounters a violent gang and a beautiful assassin, both acting at Nightwine’s command. It takes all of the two agents’ considerable ingenuity to keep pace with this remorseless opponent in a battle full of surprises to the end. Readers will relish the appealing characters, clever twists, and colorful vision of late 19th-century London. Agent: Maria Carvainis, Maria Carvainis Agency.

April 1, 2014
A villain from his past almost destroys the life of a Victorian private enquiry agent. Cyrus Barker first made the acquaintance of Sebastian Nightwine when Cyrus was growing up in China. Disguised as Chinese, Cyrus became involved in the Taiping Rebellion back when Nightwine was a British officer with a reputation for butchery. Cyrus is sure Nightwine deliberately got his newly arrived brother killed in battle. Now, Nightwine's maps of a hidden Tibetan kingdom he can claim for Great Britain have made him the darling of the Foreign Office. He's already worked his connections to get Cyrus warned off, knowing that when Cyrus hears he's in London he'll do everything he can to thwart the scheme. Soon enough, Cyrus and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, are on the run, falsely accused of murder, with prices on their heads. Luckily, Cyrus has many friends and bolt-holes he can use while he tries to get proof that Nightwine is behind a conspiracy to bilk the Foreign Office out of large sums of money. But he and Thomas are chivvied from place to place as both Nightwine's minions and Scotland Yard close in on them. Along the way, Thomas has become enamored of Sofia Ilyanova, Nightwine's bastard daughter by a Russian countess. She claims to despise her father yet does his bidding, although she does save Thomas' life after her father savagely beats him. As Nightwine continues to have Cyrus' friends killed and his house and office broken into, it seems certain that their battle will come down to a face-to-face encounter in which the odds are stacked against Cyrus. Cyrus' sixth (The Black Hand, 2008, etc.) is a page-turner in which a more physically imposing Holmes and a more intellectual Watson dominate a thrilling but less-than-mysterious tale.

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Starred review from May 15, 2014

Readers rejoice and scoundrels take heed--the streets of Victorian London just got a little safer now that Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn are back on the case! When Barker's archnemesis, the villainous and aristocratic Sebastian Nightwine, returns to London with a governmental pardon in his hand and revenge in his heart, the detective duo quickly find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Soon they are battling detectives, thugs, and the feminine wiles of one Miss Sofia Ilyanova in a race to clear Barker's good name and foil Nightwine's most mercenary scheme to date. This reviewer missed her train stop two days in a row, so engrossed was she in Barker and Llewelyn's latest exploits! Although this is Tulsa librarian Thomas's (Some Danger Involved) sixth Barker and Llewelyn story, as his first book for Minotaur, it serves as a reintroduction to the series. It's a charming one at that, powered by well-developed character dynamics and a delightfully idiosyncratic cast of characters. Newcomers are sure to be absorbed into these warm, witty, and richly atmospheric historicals, and devotees will not be disappointed. VERDICT Recommended for historical mysteries enthusiasts, Anglophiles, and Sherlockians. Fans of Alex Grecian ("Scotland Yard's Murder Squad" series), Anthony Horowitz (The House of Silk) and Charles Todd ("Bess Crawford Mysteries") should take special note. [Library marketing; Minotaur First Edition Selection; Thomas was profiled by Wilda Williams in "Shelf Life," LJ 2/15/04.--Ed.]--Liv Hanson, Chicago

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2014
Private-enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his apprentice, Thomas Llewelyn (The Black Hand, 2011), are drawn into a diabolical cat-and-mouse game when Barker's arch-nemesis, Sebastian Nightwine, returns to London under diplomatic protection. Although he's warned away by Scotland Yard, Barker doesn't consider complying; he's certain that Nightwine murdered his brother years ago. Now Nightwine plants a witness who fingers Barker for a wealthy businessman's murder. Barker and Llewelyn go underground to avoid arrest, leading readers on a tour of the city's hideaways. When Nightwine draws first blood, Barker becomes more determined to orchestrate a final confrontation before his adversary can close his mysterious government deal and escape. Like Sherlock Holmes, Barker stays a step ahead of both criminals and coppers, but his methods rely on networking both underworld and society contacts, which treats readers to the full range of experiences in Victorian London. Well crafted and immersive, this a great addition to the to-be-read stacks of Thomas' fans, as well as fans of Alex Grecian and Anne Perry.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)