Fatal Enquiry
With Fatal Enquiry, Will Thomas brings us a sixth entry in the suspenseful Barker & Llewelyn series set in the streets and back lanes of Victorian London. Throw in a beautiful and mysterious woman, a dead nobleman, and accusations that Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn made him that way, stir well with Barker’s oldest enemy Sebastian Nightwine, and you have a can’t-miss winner.
Sebastian Nightwine has not only finagled reentry into England, he’s been able to do it wearing the cloak of diplomatic immunity, and it all has something to do with the Chinese and the legendary Shambalaa. The immunity is designed to keep Cyrus Barker off his back, but Nightwine is not content to leave it to just that. Quickly, a nobleman is found dead and the deed is laid at Barker and Llewelyn’s feet, leaving the intrepid pair the difficult task of both staying out of police custody and finding out exactly what Nightwine’s real scheme is. And, in the process, revealing a good bit about Cyrus Barker’s history.
While comparisons can certainly be made between Holmes and Watson and Barker and Llewelyn, author Will Thomas does an excellent of differentiating the pair. With the Asian intrigue, Barker and Nightwine’s enmity, and Llewelyn’s sometimes humorous commentary, Fatal Enquiry is a welcome addition to author Thomas’s well-written series. Recommended.
