Some Danger Involved

Barker & Llewelyn #1

by Will Thomas

Set on the gritty streets of Victorian London, Some Danger Involved introduces detective Cyrus Barker and his apprentice, Thomas Llewelyn, as they work to solve the gruesome murder of a young scholar. As Llewelyn learns the ropes of his position, he is drawn deeper and deeper into Barker's peculiar world of vigilante detective work, as well as the dark heart of London's teeming underworld. Together they pass through chophouses, stables, and clandestine tea rooms, tangling with the early Italian mafia, a mad professor of eugenics, and other shadowy figures, inching ever closer to the shocking truth behind the murder.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Historical Mystery, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Will Thomas, born 1958 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is a novelist who writes a Victorian mystery series featuring Cyrus Barker, a Scottish detective or "private enquiry agent," and his Welsh assistant, Thomas Llewelyn. The Barker/Llewelyn novels are set in the 1880s and often feature historical events, people, and movements. Martial combat is a recurring theme throughout this hardboiled series.

Prior to writing novels, Will Thomas wrote essays for Sherlock Holmes society publications and lectured on crime fiction of the Victorian era.

Will Thomas' first novel, Some Danger Involved, was nominated for a Barry Award and a Shamus Award, and won the 2005 Oklahoma Book Award. In 2015, he won the Oklahoma Book Award a second time for Fatal Enquiry. Will Thomas has been featured on the cover of Library Journal, and was the Toastmaster at the 2007 Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave in Manhattan, Kansas. His fifth novel, The Black Hand, was nominated for a 2009 Shamus Award. He is married to author Julia Bryan Thomas.

Series:
. Barker and Llewelyn

Reviews

[Adina ( not enough time ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s the end of the year again and I have too many reviews left to write (almost 20). What am I to do?? I suppose I will do the same as last year, write a few words about each. So, here it goes.

I started yet another series, again because the audiobook was about to expire from the free Audible catalogue. I do not regret I did since I enjoyed every bit of this book. It is another Victorian mystery, this time involving a duo, private detective Cyrus Barker and his apprentice, Thomas Llewelyn. A student resembling Jesus is found brutally murdered in the Jewish Ghetto and the duo is hired to investigate. In this book, I got to learn more about the underworld of that period, about the Jews with their business and plight. All interesting stuff. I also enjoyed both main characters and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series. Good thing I bought the nextone during the Audible site-wide sale.

[Blaine DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started backwards with this series, having begun with Book 14, and it was so good I decided to go back to the beginning. Well, that was a very good idea on my part as Book 1 is a wonderful introduction to this Victorian Mystery series that bears some resemblance to Sherlock Holmes. Barker and Llewelyn come together as Barker is looking for a new assistant to replace his recently deceased assistant. Barker is down and out and a desperate man who is ready to throw his life away. But the job interview is a success and before you know it these two are on their first case together as a young Jewish scholar is found crucified. We find out about the history of the Jews flocking London and the eventual backlash that this causes as their numbers swell and now they are causing resentment. There are loads of characters, many suspects and they are finally able to figure out who committed this crime, along with a 2nd murder of a Jewish lady. The descriptions are vivid, the characters well developed even in Book 1, and author Will Thomas does a great job of describing the looks and features of Barker and Llewelyn. Just a very fine effort and I cannot see this series letting me down in any of the future books! Luckily I have been able to find the physical copies of all of this series in our local library.

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while when a book had a twist that completely caught me off guard. Now, either I wasn't paying that much of attention or it's simply quite a good twist. I'm thinking the latter since I think I was paying attention.

ASSISTANT to prominent enquiry agent. Typing and shorthand required. Some danger involved in performance of duties. Salary commensurate with ability. 7 Craig’s Court.

A step away from suicide, a young Welshman Thomas Llewelyn finds this advertisement in the ‘Situations Vacant’ column of The Times and decides to give the life another chance. What follows is a well written story with great characters. His new employer, Cyrus Barker, is one of a kind. I've read that the author partly based his character on Sir Richard Francis Burton. Barker has an unusual group of people working for him ('Chinese gardeners. Jewish butlers. Lazy clerks. Temperamental French cooks, and last but not least, downtrodden Welsh assistants.') and a crazy little Pekingese.

A young scholar is murdered then crucified and the prominent people from the Jewish community hire Barker to get to the bottom of this. The most important thing is to find out if this murder is an anti-Semitic act and a threat to the Jewish community as a whole or a crime towards one person. This happening in the middle of the refugee crisis (the Jews are arriving to England en masse running from the continent) doesn't help matters.

I don't think I can do the themes in this book justice. The most pronounced one is anti-Semitism. Some of these people blame the Jews for anything that comes to their mind. But worse, if you can call it that, are those who honestly believe them inferior. One can only feel impotent rage after reading some of the opinions on the subject. When one of them is asked about Christ, Barker and Llewelyn get this answer: “But what of Jesus, sir?” I blurted out. “Wasn’t he a Jew?” The fellow smiled condescendingly. “Not really, Mr., er, Llewelyn, was it? He was the ‘New Man.’ Can you picture him as a hook-nosed, kinky-haired, furtive little fellow? Of course not! He was a big, bluff carpenter, a robust leader of men, a man’s man. He was the perfect specimen of manhood, and in all ways we should aspire to be like him.' Fortunately, Barker is not a fool ('He wants to make Christ over in his likeness, not the other way round.')

It doesn't matter who the killer is (I must say that particular titbit caught me unprepared). The things young Llewelyn learns in the course of this investigation are well worth the reading. From eugenicists to the different types of rabbis to Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews to new and wonderful friends and so much more, no wonder he was occasionally overwhelmed a bit. One of the most beautiful and heartbreaking (there is another one but I won't get into it because it would be a spoiler) moments in the book was the funeral of the young man ('I thought he had no family.” “The fact that he had no family is why the crowd is so large,” Barker explained patiently. “It means that the entire community becomes his family. Also, the Jews have great respect for the teachers of their children.')

Even with this gloomy subject there is humour to be found ('The story goes that after Christ’s death, Joseph brought the holy relic, the rock upon which old Jacob lay his head, to England, where it now sits under the coronation chair. As proof of the transfer of grace, God sent King Arthur and his Round Table after the Holy Grail, the chalice Jesus drank from at the Last Supper.” “If so,” I said, with a smile, “then it never reached the English at all. Arthur was a Welshman at Tintagel. It’s the Welsh that are the chosen people, not this Anglo-Saxon lot.” “Ha!” I’d actually made Barker laugh.' or when they question the victim's colleague: 'We have close to four thousand students.” “Four thousand, you say?” I asked. “Yes, and sometimes, it feels as if they were all in my class.' and '...every one of these little monsters has a mother convinced he is the Messiah, and wouldn’t we please give him just a little bit more attention than that other boy, whom we all know is just a bit dull?' - for the record I know exactly how he feels).

To be honest, this book is not that original (at one point Barker says this about himself: 'You see, I try to throw a web over London and sit like a spider in the midst of it all, my fingers on the strands, ready for any subtle vibration.') but the way it tells a story is wonderful.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Victorian mystery series that features Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn.

*****

There's a good deal of unrest in late 19th century London, with immigrants flooding in and much of the population - both native and foreign - living in poverty.



Twentysomething Welshman Thomas Llewelyn, a former Oxford student who'd served a brief stint in prison, is unemployed and homeless. Thus he's hopeful when a job opportunity presents itself. A classified ad in The London Times announces that inquiry agent Cyrus Barker is looking for a new assistant, and that the position involves 'some danger.'



Intrepid Llewelyn applies for the job, and - after a harrowing interview - is hired. Llewelyn soon settles into the Barker household, which includes a Jewish butler/jack of all trades who's good with a gun; a talented French chef; Chinese gardeners; lazy clerks; and a fearless Pekingese dog. Thomas's interaction with this bunch provides some of the lighter moments in the novel.







Inquiry agent Barker is hired when a Polish Jew named Louis Pokrzywa is murdered and crucified, with claims of responsibility from the anti-Semitic league. A Jewish community leader asks Barker to look into the matter, fearing that anti-Semitic sentiment - which is rife in the area - might lead to a pogrom.


A pogrom

Barker and Llewelyn make inquiries, during which they interview people who might harbor animus against Jews, including Italians, Irish, a racist eugenicist, and even messianic Jews who converted to Christianity.

As Barker and his assistant traipse around London, they dine in Chinese and Italian restaurants; meet people with a variety of jobs; and hear many hateful sentiments about Jews. Llewelyn is even sent to infiltrate a meeting that foreshadows the KKK and - at one point - is almost shot in a hansom cab.





When Barker learns that victim Louis was an eligible bachelor being pursued by Jewish mothers for their marriageable daughters, he decides he needs an inside man. Thus Barker arranges for Llewelyn to be the 'Shabbos goy' for the area's head rabbi. (A Shabbos goy is a non-Jew who performs tasks forbidden to Jews on the Sabbath, like lighting fires and dispensing medicine).

While Llewelyn spends the Sabbath (Friday night to Saturday night) in the rabbi's home, his 'undercover assignment' is to sneak a few words with the rabbi's daughter. The girl was acquainted with Louis and might know if he had any enemies, etc. It turns out that the rabbi's daughter is a raven-haired beauty and Llewelyn develops a serious crush.



When another body is found - a Jewish woman who was stoned - it gives Barker the clues he needs to solve the crimes.

Thomas's book provides a compelling overview of Victorian London, and I could almost sense the corrosive squalor, hunger, and rivalries that led to the hatred and violence that plagued the city.

The Barker-Llewelyn partnership has a Sherlock Holmes vibe, and the book's finale - describing how Barker uncovers the perp(s) - could have been delivered by Hercule Poirot himself. Thus the book has amusing elements. For me, though, the vitriolic anti-Semitic venom spouted by many of the characters - though it may be historically accurate - was overdone and disturbing.

Still, I'd recommend the book to fans of Victorian mysteries.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

[Jamie Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Merry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the start of the series and plan to continue with it. It captures the late Victorian periods living conditions and atmosphere. The book is about the murder of a Jewish man and the influx of Jewish refugees from all parts of Europe. I found the book to be a rather typical Victorian Detective series with a trail of clues and false leads till the end when it all is revealed. I give the book 3.5* for the writers first book. 12 have since been published and I look forward to reading them.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first I've read from this author & I really enjoyed it. Set in victorian London, it begins a series featuring an eccentric enquiry agent (don't call him a private detective) & his assistant, a down on his luck Welshman. Full of period details, real life characters & wry humour, it makes for a quick & entertaining read.
Cyrus Barker is an enigmatic renaissance man who may well be the best enquiry agent in London. It begins with him interviewing for the recently vacated position of assistant. Unfortunately, his last side kick took a bullet between the eyes so it's important prospective applicants realize there will be "some danger involved". After three days, he meets Thomas Llewelyn. Thomas is a young man who has lost it all....his wife, his reputation & maybe his future. With three shillings in his pocket & few possessions, he has decided that if he doesn't get the job, his only option is a swan dive into the Thames.
But Cyrus sees something in the small, dark man & before Thomas knows it, he has a job, a home, a wardrobe & three square meals a day.
They catch a new case. A promising Jewish student has been murdered & left hanging from a light pole in a disturbing recreation of the crucifixion. Anti-semitism or something more personal? Sir Moses, a prominent & influential english Jew fears the possibility of a pogrom like those that have occurred in other European cities & wants this nipped in the bud. Cyrus & Thomas begin an investigation that will take them into neighbourhoods that are affluent & poor, Jewish & Christian.
Cyrus is an interesting man who seems to know every hidden doorway, back alley & trapdoor in London. Raised in the far east, he has an appreciation & profound knowledge of all things Asian, reflected in his practice of Tai Chi, an ornamental garden & Harm, a cantankerous Pekinese who doesn't hesitate to go for the ankles of any intruder. He's surrounded himself with odd characters: Mac (the Jewish valet/housekeeper/bodyguard), Etienne (a temperamental French chef who knows how to hold a grudge) & John Racket (the ever present cab driver).
Thomas is a sympathetic character who has known only poverty, hardship & heartbreak 'til now. Under Cyrus' employ, his world expands as he's exposed to people & places he never knew existed & he has to learn on his feet. It's not going too badly & it takes a full week before someone attempts to kill him. Huh, maybe he should have read the help wanted ads more carefully.
There are lost of twists & turns in this smart & amusing who-done-it. I know other reviewers have made comparisons to Holmes & Watson & there are similarities but this is much more fun. Cyrus has his secrets but is much less arrogant than Holmes, not as cold & supercilious. The book is narrated by Thomas so we get his take on everything that happens plus his witty impressions of the colourful cast they encounter during the investigation. Through his eyes, we experience the simmering struggles between different ethnic groups set against the age old British class system. Dialogue is lean & smart & the tension slowly builds as we reach the action packed finale. Like a good Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie mystery, only with hindsight do you realize the significance of earlier comments that seemed inconsequential at the time.
There is a huge variety of characters & the author's descriptions bring them to life ("Her hair was pulled back so severely, it would have won approval from the Spanish Inquisition as a method of torture."). And there is a compelling murder(s) mystery to be solved. But at its' heart is the budding relationship between the two main protagonists. Many of the passages I enjoyed the most took place under Cyrus' roof during conversation between the boss, Thomas, Etienne & Mac. And Harm, of course (I don't want to risk pissing off the tiny terror).
Clever, witty & atmospheric, this is a book that keeps you chuckling as you follow the intrepid agents on their current case & I will definitely pick up the next one to see where it takes them.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Description: 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.

Opening: If someone had told me, those many years ago, that I would spend the bulk of my life as assistant and eventual partner to one of the most eminent detectives in London, I would have thought him a raving lunatic.

Some good, some not but overall I liked Some Danger Involved. Will read the next one after checking out the subject matter. A fast read.

3.25* Some Danger
MB To Kingdom Come

[Jay Schutt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical of a Victorian murder mystery. The crime is committed, the suspects are interviewed, the veiled clues and red herrings are presented.
I had better hopes for this one. At 288 pages, the real excitement of the book didn't begin until the last 50 pages.
It was slow moving, to say the least.
A disappointment.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I just couldn't get into this book. I think I should stay away from detective series written by serious Sherlock Holmes fan, as too many of them seem to be trying too hard to write a Sherlock Holmes story without the actual Sherlock Holmes... and all they really ever achieve is a weak imitation.

So here, our Ersatz Watson gets hired by Ersatz Holmes as an assistant, and right away we take a detour from actual plot to spend maybe forty pages finding out how INCREDIBLY eccentric and INCREDIBLY diverse our Ersatz Holmes is, with his knowledge of secret Chinese restaurants hidden in a hole dug under the Thames (great business model) and his catalog of household servants, each one more quirky than the last. It's not till later that you get to see his ninja penny-throwing skills, but you'll be happy to know he knows everything there is to know about the city, from ex prize fighters and anti-Jewish pastors to the Italian mafia.

There's a mystery, I suppose, but most of that takes a back seat to "character development." But even the character development was pretty fricking flimsy. We spend a lot of time in Ersatz Watson's head, but somehow almost every action the character makes seems inexplicable and inauthentic. Why does he dislike Mac the butler again? What was that weird game of bocce (or whatever) he played with the chef intended to show? Why exactly did he run off like that when he realized it was the anniversary of his wife's death? I probably should hide those as spoiler details, but I assure you -- those details had NOTHING to do with the story itself.

I suppose after a few hundred pages, even the author got bored, so he decided to wrap up the plot with the villain suddenly revealing himself. And honestly, that didn't really make sense either. But by then I was just happy to have reached the end of the book.

[Marty Fried · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars, rounded up because it's such a good start to a new series.

An interesting glimpse into 19th century London where they are going through some similar problems as modern day America. Let's hope we are more enlightened than the average citizen back then, although I don't hold much hope.

Back then, jobs were scarce, people were poor, and the easiest scapegoats were the immigrant Jews, who were considered less than human - greedy and degenerate. They came into the country poor, and somehow were guilty of things like charging increasingly high interest rates on loans to the unfortunate citizens. How they became successful enough to have this extra money is a mystery to me, considering their low levels. But like many people in modern days, the poor working class people were duped by the fake news of those days into hatred and violence against the Jews, even the ones who had lived and worked there for 100 years or more.

When a Jewish man is killed and crucified, Cyrus Barker, a well-known private detective, or "enquirer" as he called himself, is hired by the Jews to find out who did it and why. Just before this, he had hired an apprentice, Thomas Llewelyn, a smart but down on his luck young man who was close to suicide, via an ad in the paper for an assistant, "some danger involved." That was a bit of an understatement, it turns out.

The story was very entertaining and interesting, with some unusual characters, especially Barker's staff, which included such people as a Jewish Butler, a French Chef, etc. I look forward to reading more.

[Heidi (on slight hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery-- filled with everything I generally adore-- took me three weeks to read-- that pretty much sums up my three star rating.

I really, really wanted to like this book more than I did. Will I read the next installment? Probably. Am I in a rush to read more about Barker and Llewellyn? Unfortunately not.

Great characters but the mystery itself was a bit of a snooze and mostly unsolvable by the reader. I really don’t like it when guessing the villain is generally near to impossible.

(Reviewed 5/4/16)

[Andrews WizardlyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

More people should be talking about this… a wonderful duo and a unique Victorian murder mystery. I will be continuing the series for sure

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn are possibly the finest crime fighting duo since Sherlock Holmes and John Watson... and that's saying a lot coming from me. I'm sure by now most people have realized that I am a dedicated Sherlockian of long standing.

The series is set in Victorian London with Cyrus having his office near Whitehall.

"Some Danger Involved" is the first book in the series, covering Thomas' being hired as Cyrus' assistant and an introduction to the cast of supporting characters, including Cyrus man servant, Jacob Maccabee aka Mac.

The plot of the book involves that murder of a young Jewish man whose body is left crucified in Petticoat Lane. The Jewish community fears the rise of an Anti-Semitic group and hires Cyrus Barker to get to the bottom of the matter.

The book is heaped high with interesting and well researched information about Victorian London.

The plot twists and turns and the denouement is a total shock!

Brilliant book which I cannot recommend highly enough. I have already read another book in the series, so I will go so far as to say that this is a series that has much to recommend it.

[Connie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars
Thomas Llewelyn applied for the position of "assistant to prominent enquiry agent...some danger involved in performance of duties." The down-on-his-luck young man was hired by detective Cyrus Barker, an expert in both Asian and European fighting arts. The two men set out to investigate the murder of a Jewish scholar in Victorian London.

Jewish refugees were pouring into London, fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe. With high unemployment in the city, there were Londoners who resented the presence of more immigrants. When the Jewish scholar--who resembled Jesus in a famous painting--was found crucified, the enquiry agents wondered if they were looking for a single murderer or an anti-Semitic organization.

The historical mystery was fast-paced, and contained many interesting details from the Victorian era. Llewelyn had a dry wit which lightened the book. This was an enjoyable debut novel from Will Thomas who has written a series of Barker and Llewelyn mysteries.

[Cookie M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is for the audio book narrated by Antony Ferguson.
"Some Danger Involved" is the first book in a series written from the point of view of the assistant to a Victorian Inquiry Agent in London. Of course this Inquiry Agent cannot be a normal, human detective who came to the business in the usual manner, so our man is a Scot who was orphaned in China, where he grew up on the streets among the gangs, he injured his eyes in a way I've forgotten and always wears dark glasses. I don't know how a man orphaned in China as a boy can have a full Scottish accent, but he does.
And, Anthony Ferguson does a passable Scottish accent. He does a lot of other dialects in this reading, too, but they all slightly miss the mark. His website calls him an "expert" at dialects. I think he sounds generic British.

It is a fun little story. There are better out there, but there are a lot worse.
I would stick with the book, though, and just do the dialects in your head.

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas is one of the most engaging historical mysteries set in Victorian England that I have read in a long time. Very atmospheric and informative--informative without being pedantic. The story begins with Thomas Llewelyn, a down-on-his-luck ex-Oxford man and ex-prisoner. Llewelyn has found it very difficult to get employment after spending time in Oxford prison for a very small crime. He is nearly ready to end his suffering--permanently--when he sees an advertisement in The Times:

Assistant to prominent enquiry agent. Typing and shorthand required. Some danger involved in performance of duties. Salary commensurate with ability. 7 Craig's Court.

He goes to Craig's Court on the first day, but the line is so long he quickly gives up the wait. When the advertisement is still running for a fourth day, he decides to give it one more try...and if he doesn't get this job, then he will be seeking out the river.

Fortunately for him, Cyrus Barker, the enquiry agent in question, sees something in this downtrodden man that makes him give Llewelyn a chance. The Welshman has barely had time to settle in to his new establishment--which serves as home as well as work--when Barker is called in by prominent men in the Jewish community to investigate the horrible murder of a young scholar in the Jewish quarter. It is Barker's job to determine if this was a private feud or if this represents a violent outbreak of the unrest which is sweeping England with the influx of Jewish refugees. Neither Barker nor Lord Rothschild and Sir Moses Montefiore want to see an English version of the pogroms. The trail takes Barker and Llewelyn from the meanest streets of the Jewish ghetto to the lair of the early Italian mafia to the churches of London. There will be another murder and Llewelyn will come close to being a third victim before he and his employer can close the case.

Thomas gives us a new look at the Holmes and Watson/Wolfe and Goodwin detective team. Lots more action than most of the Holmes stories and Barker is far more mobile and physically involved than Nero Wolfe generally is. I thoroughly enjoyed this new addition to the ranks. The characters are interesting and I particularly like the interaction between Barker and Llewelyn. They have the chemistry necessary to create a duo to follow in such auspicious footsteps. We learn a lot about Llewelyn background, but there is still plenty to be revealed about his employer. The other members of Barker's staff from Mac the butler and general factotum to Dummolard, his French chef, are also well-drawn. And I hope to see more of Inspector Poole of the C.I.D. I also enjoyed the historical information that Thomas works into the narrative. I appreciate learning something when I pick up a historical novel without being beaten over the head with scholarship. Thomas weaves knowledge about the Jewish population in England into the story without overburdening it. He gives us enough to know why this was such a hot topic without sounding like a text book.

This is an interesting and entertaining beginning to a fairly new historical mystery series. I look forward to future installments. Five stars.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This wasn't a bad story, there was just not much that was memorable about it. It's set in Victorian London but I never really got a strong sense of the time period. The central mystery surrounds the murder of a young Jewish student and much of the racial tensions of the time are brought into focus but it was all too neatly delineated into more modern ideals of right/wrong. The main issue, at least for me, concerns the investigation itself. The two main characters, the much experienced Barker and his newly-hired-no-experience assistant, Llewelyn, set about interviewing the most random people they have marked as potential suspects and the final revelation made little sense to me. All in all, the mystery aspect felt poorly constructed. I can make allowances for that if I like the characters enough to follow them through several more books. While I have no extreme negative feelings towards our two enquiry agents, I also don't have any strong positive feelings about them.

[Barb]

I made it about 125 pages into this one and I found that the story just wasn't keeping my interest and I did't care for the characters.
I was really looking forward to this series...
Bummer.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this author recommend to me by a friend. I can't thank them enough. I was so lucky to find the first book in the series. This book starts the partnership between Barker and Llewelyn. The narrator is Llewelyn, and you follow the story through his experience, from meeting Barker through their first investigation. I was surprised by who the killer was, but in hindsite the clues were there through out the story. I can't wait to continue on to further book's in this series. As I had this author recommend to me I highly recommend him to other's.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fun fast moving plot made it easy to skim past the historical inaccuracies and over-the-top eccentricness of Barker.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

*A typical but engaging historical mystery*


Some Danger Involved follows the typical Sherlock style storyline. You have the genius investigator, the dedicated sidekick narrating the tale, and the historical London setting. The biggest difference is that Barker isn't as socially obvious as most Sherlock clones. He's also religious and quite the social reformer. The story certainly doesn't romanticize the time period.

In the first of the series, Some Danger Involved tells the story of Thomas Llewelyn transformation from destitute young man to assistant to London’s most successful detective. Despite the unoriginal premise, I enjoyed the story. Both the characters and the plot kept me engaged. It’s well researched and immersive. This is a good book for those who enjoy the Sherlock style mysteries. And I look forward to continuing with the series.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars

[Ioana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This is a tentative, confused first novel - with potential. The historical issue addressed - pogroms against Jews in Europe in the late 19th century - is unique and not often portrayed (ever?) in this genre; in fact, overall, Thomas seems quite race-class-ethnicity-conscious and contextualizes 19th century London as a hodgepodge of immigrant groups, working people of various backgrounds, churchmen and women of all denominations, soldiers, rabbis and Jewish scholars--this is not a typical whitewashed and sanitized, apolitical historical mystery.

However, the execution falls flat. Thomas' writing isn't bad, but his characters are a hodgepodge mix of every detective that has walked the pages of a first-rate novel--and they never coalesce into distinct, unique, and clear identities. The dialogue is flat and unbelievable at times (eg: Barker & his sidekick walk into a shiva, and begin asking questions about the deceased, which all the mourners answer truthfully, eagerly, and without resistance--while speaking ill of the deceased...) More broadly, Thomas's dialogue is uninspired - it aims to describe 'factual' information without at all taking into the account the speaker, their personality and relationship to those spoken to. Meanwhile, the mystery I could have cared less about, but the atmosphere alone would have made this a worthwhile read had it been fleshed out with more detail and nuance.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannot say enough good things about this novel. To me, it was a Triple-WOW. Loved the way it was written, thought-out, built-upon, laid-out; not one page disappointed me. I am now a very big fan of Will Thomas. Have so much faith in in him and his talent that I purchased a signed, first-edition of "Some Danger Involved."

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 62%

I tried and tried to 'get into' this story. It was so boring and I cared not a thing for either character. Whatever mystery was lost in the attempt at character development for me. I say attempt because again, I was bored to tears by both of our MC's. I spied some reviews and see this series seems to pick up in Book 4 and I might skip ahead (blasphemy!! Who AM I?) and see if these characters can snare and keep my interest.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “The Jews are making things hot for themselves, here, flooding in like a Mongol horde from Eastern Europe. I fear the citizenry has grown tired of the steady influx of foreigners, and taken matters into their own hands.” (p. 131) This is a statement from well-known anti-Semitic minister, the Very Reverend Algernon Painsley, in Some Danger Involved. It summarizes the broth coming to boil, plot-wise, in Some Danger Involved, Will Thomas’ first mystery involving his Victorian London-era Personal Enquiry Agent, Clyde Barker, and his Welsh assistant and chronicler, Thomas Llewelyn. In this mystery, a young Jewish rabbi bearing an interesting resemblance to a popularized representation of Jesus’ image, has been crucified by an anti-Semitic group. So, naturally, a portion of the investigation comes to the church building where the “Reverend” Painsley presides.

One wonders if Painsley represents another form of prejudice closer to our day. After all, a Protestant minister named Ian Paisley was the leader of the Unionist movement in Northern Ireland during the latter part of “The Troubles” and made such statements of Irish Catholics as, "They breed like rabbits and multiply like vermin." Although Algernon contains more syllables than Ian, one must note that the last syllable rhymes somewhat. Of course, the fictional minister’s rant against immigrant Jews sounds painfully like some anti-immigrant rants, both in the U.S. and in the Brexit movement.

But that’s only one interesting aspect of Some Danger Involved. Thomas also surprised me by not being antagonistic toward Christianity. Don’t get me wrong. Not everyone who professes to be a Christian in this novel is Christ-like. But Barker himself is a Baptist who attends Charles Spurgeon’s famous tabernacle of the era and Llewelyn is himself from a Methodist background. To be sure, the aforementioned Jew-hater used some of the verbiage of the Christian, but Barker dismisses Painsley with, “He wants to make Christ over in his likeness, not the other way round.” (p. 134) When Barker is asked how these twisted ministers can get away with it, he answers, “My dear Llewelyn, you have a naïve side, if I may say it. People don’t read their Bibles. They hire pastors to preach to them. And some pastors will preach total nonsense if it will tickle the congregations’ ears enough to open their purses.” (p. 136) An important portion of a penultimate scene is compared in our narrator’s mind to Gideon’s deception played on the Midianites (p. 259) and even the first page of the Author’s Note had a line from Paul’s sermon in Athens embedded in the second paragraph.

In terms of other historical interest in Some Danger Involved, Thomas draws a nice distinction between the syndicates of protection (and crime) brought to London with Italian immigrants. In the U.S., we use the term “Mafia” to aggregate all Italian criminals involved with organized crime (as well as some other nationalities), but don’t usually realize that the Neopolitan version of this “society” would be “Camorra.” Barker explains about the “Camorra,” “It, or rather they are one of the crime families of Naples. Like their rivals, the ‘Ndrangheta of Calabria and the Mafia of Sicily, they rode into power on the coattails of Garibaldi. They’ve divided the country into personal city-states, concentrating power like the Medicis.” (p. 162)

So, plenty of period detail, plenty of unexpected action (at times, more pulp adventure than mystery, but too well-crafted to tie that comparison too closely), interesting characters, and a mystery which completely fooled me (not a typical experience for me) make Some Danger Involved both an incredible first novel by the author, but a hearty recommendation

[Gram · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me very hungry. Throughout its 290 pages are details of a variety of meals eaten by the main characters, London private inquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his young assistant Thomas Llewelyn. The cuisine varies from Chinese and Italian, through French and basic British fare, to Hungarian and Jewish delicacies. The other inhabitants of Barker's household and office are characters who are as rich and varied as these aforementioned meals, which are eaten in a variety of London restaurants and cafes as Barker and Llewelyn investigate the stabbing and crucifixion of a young Jewish scholar in London's East End.

Throughout the book, the reader will find a wealth of information about Jews of all religious persuasions and Jewish culture and religion. In fact, many times, I felt rather overwhelmed by so much detail. I also found it rather annoying that Barker seemed to pick suspects according to his opinion of whether he thought they were anti-Semitic, before discarding them as the investigation progressed. Ultimately, the murderer's motive was much more mundane than most of the theories Barker came up with.

Of far more interest to me was Llewelyn's back story and some information on Barker's background and those of his other employees. Meanwhile, it's blindingly obvious that the author is portraying Barker and Llewelyn as similar to Holmes and Watson, but Barker needs to be a bit more scientific and unbiased if he's to live up to Conan Doyle's most famous creation. This is the first in a series of stories about this pair and I'm likely to add them to my reading list, with the hope that there's more plot and less description of meals and pipe smoking in future adventures.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

SOME DANGER INVOLVED (Historical Mystery-Victorian England) – VG
Thomas, Will – 1st book
Touchstone, 2004-Hardcover
Thomas Llewelyn is desperate to the point where, if he does not get this job, it's off the bridge for him. But he is hired by enquiry agent Cyrus Barker to be his assistant, including room and board. Barker has been asked by Sir Moses Montefiore to investigate the murder and crucifixion of a young Jewish student who bore a resemblance to images of Christ.
*** Thomas has created a marvelous cast of characters with Llewelyn, Barker, the manservant Mac, French chef Dummolard, and even the feisty Pekinese Harm. The sense of time and place of Victorian England, taking us from elegant drawing room to the Jewish ghetto and the back alleys of London add richness to the story. Because the story is told from Thomas' point of view, you share a bit of his frustration from being kept in the dark by Barker. This does make the ending seem rather abrupt. But that's a minor point when weighed against a very well written, enjoyable story. I eagerly await the next case. This is a very good debut.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Barker & Llewelyn series. I liked the victorian setting.

The characters were the highlight in this one. They drew me right in. As Barker and Llewelyn were trying to solve the mystery at hand, they were easy to root for. The story was a little slow, but so many unexpected things happened, it helped the pace limp along. So 3 stars is what I have for this one.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved loved this book. I fell deeply into the story from the very first page. Patterned on Sherlock & Watson, this story is well told & tightly written. I did not see the reveal coming. More, more, more!!