Publishers Weekly
09/02/2019
Early in Thomas’s lackluster 11th Victorian mystery featuring private investigators Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn (after 2018’s Blood Is Blood), the pair are summoned to a secret meeting, where Lord Salisbury, the prime minister, informs them of the murder of Hillary Drummond, a Foreign Office operative. The day before, Drummond was stabbed with a sword by one of a group of young men wearing blue uniforms on a London street. Salisbury suspects that Drummond’s assailants followed him from somewhere on the Continent, but rather than have Barker and Llewelyn investigate the killing, he asks them to deliver a package to Calais. Drummond had secreted a key in his shoe, which led the Foreign Office to a railway locker containing a satchel. While the PM refuses to disclose what’s inside, Barker manages to learn that the contents are an ancient manuscript, which may be a previously unknown gospel that a scholar believes contains heretical ideas, such as giving money “generously to the poor.” Despite his instructions, Barker delays heading to France and concentrates instead on identifying who may be behind Drummond’s death. Action trumps detection in this outing. Series fans will be disappointed. Agent: Maria Carvainis, Maria Carvainis Agency. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
"Think a Victorian-era Archie Goodwin narrating the exploits of a sleuth with an Indiana Jones-esque penchant for derring-do...There is really nothing out there quite like it." —BookPage
"High adventure recommended for fans of Victorian-era thrillers, who will find the rich aroma from Barker’s meerschaum pipe thoroughly intoxicating." —Booklist
"The author is so talented that the novel works both as an enjoyable romp and as a comment on Victorian issues both societal and political. He weaves in history—London especially comes alive—without it seeming like clumps of a school lesson and gives just enough background so that new readers aren't lost in arcane references to past events. Even the most observant reader will be surprised at the final twists and turns and hope for another case soon." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
FEBRUARY 2020 - AudioFile
From the first words, the first scene, narrator Antony Ferguson delivers an intense Victorian spy thriller that is interspersed with swaths of dialogue and internal discourse. Clyde Barker and Thomas Llewelyn are a formidable team of private inquiry agents hired to deliver a mysterious package to Calais. Unknown foreign agents will murder and maim to abscond with the heavy parcel. Ferguson imbues Agent Barker with a smooth Scots accent, which contrasts with Llewelyn’s lilting Welsh tones. Ferguson also produces a mix of high- and low-class British accents, audibly contrasting them with the accents of Italy, France, Germany, and Austria. Barker and Llewelyn use their considerable talents and wits to foil foreign agents and gain Scotland Yard’s respect. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2019-08-19
It should be a simple and prestigious job for two London private enquiry agents: At the prime minister's request, they are to transport a satchel to a courier waiting in Calais. But when the agents are Caleb Barker and Thomas Llewelyn, it's no surprise that mayhem, sabotage, and even murder will ensue.
Readers who have followed this lively, intelligent series (Blood is Blood, 2018, etc.) know that nothing is straightforward where the gruff Barker is concerned. And now that young Llewelyn has been made a partner, he too can question the motives behind the request. After all, it's 1892, and spies and political plots are rife across Europe. And if the contents of the satchel are indeed priceless religious manuscripts meant for the Vatican, the agents know others will want them, too. Using everything from ties to the Knights Templar to a savvy gang of street urchins, the duo will have to outguess and outmaneuver every other player. The author is so talented that the novel works both as an enjoyable romp and as a comment on Victorian issues both societal and political. He weaves in history—London especially comes alive—without it seeming like clumps of a school lesson and gives just enough background so that new readers aren't lost in arcane references to past events.
Even the most observant reader will be surprised at the final twists and turns and hope for another case soon.
