Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas

Overview:

An atmospheric debut novel set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, Some Danger Involved introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar in London's Jewish ghetto. When the eccentric and enigmatic Barker takes the case, he must hire an assistant, and out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved," he chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man with a murky past. 

As they inch ever closer to the shocking truth behind the murder, Llewelyn is drawn deeper and deeper into Barker's peculiar world of vigilante detective work, as well as the heart of London's teeming underworld. Brimming with wit and unforgettable characters and steeped in authentic period detail, Some Danger Involved is a captivating page-turner that introduces an equally captivating duo.

My Review:

This is the first book in the Barker and Llewelyn series.  In it we meet Cyrus Barker, a Scotsman living in London, who owns a private enquiry agency.  His first assistant Quong, had been murdered several months earlier so Barker put an advertisement in the paper looking for a new assistant and is very clear in the ad that there will be "some danger involved" in the position.  Enter Thomas Llewelyn, fresh out of Oxford Prison and in desperate need of employment.  

Barker has been asked to solve the murder of a young Jewish scholar whose body had been found crucified and hung on a cross.  It is trial by fire for young Llewelyn who is quiet and scholarly and he must learn the tricks of the trade quickly or he may be the next victim.

The story is well-plotted and full of period detail that enhances the tenseness of the story, rather than take away from it.  

The characters are superbly crafted and the author has done an excellent job of feeding the reader details of their lives and personalities at just the right moments.  We don't learn until much later why Mr. Llewelyn had been in prison but by that point, we have already learned what kind of person he is and can understand completely his actions which led to his incarceration.  Cyrus Barker is an enigma and we don't learn nearly as much about him but it's enough to really connect with him.  Even the secondary characters are fleshed out and help to advance the story as opposed to being just "filler" like in most books.

I loved this book and can't wait to read the rest of the series.