Luminaries

by T.M. Brenner

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is requested by the British Government to form a team of psychics capable of tracking down a serial killer who murdered a member of the British Royal Family. Conan Doyle, who has the ability to touch objects and ascertain their history, travels to the United States to enlist the aid of his longtime friend Harry Houdini, a master of telekinesis, and new found acquaintance Orson Welles, who is gifted with the power of mental telepathy. Even though Conan Doyle and Houdini have a bitter history, they put aside their differences and work together for the greater good, but not without friction.

Luminaries is an alternate history mystery-thriller set in the early 1930's, and combines elements of the supernatural, suspense, intrigue and adventure into a story about the importance of friendship.

"Brenner captured the period perfectly! He set the scene and the tone from the first few paragraphs and followed it flawlessly throughout the book. The plot was interesting and well-planned, and the life he gave to these characters in their alternate existences was inspired. " - M. Leighton (NYT Bestselling Author)

"I was entranced by the cleverness of the story and the fullness shown in the creation of each character within the plot." - Jeannie Blethen-Rigod (Amazon Top 1000 Reviewer)

"I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, whether a fan of the protagonists or not, as the story itself is an awesome read. It's hard to imagine other first time books I've read that I've enjoyed as much." - James Thomas

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 2011

About the author

Hailing from the desolate wasteland that is Portland, Oregon, T. M. is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. He may have been a spy for the Allies during World War II, or possibly the greatest fencer who ever lived. He might also be the person who invented the bread tie (a bow tie made out of bread), or the man responsible for the end of disco. But you don't know, and he can neither confirm nor deny any of it. He has the mind of a steel trap; an old, damaged, rusted out steel trap, and a face to match. He can lift 50+ pounds without assistance, and jump several feet in a single bound. He is both your friend and your worst nightmare. He is myth, legend, and sometimes devourer of baked goods. He is T. M. Brenner, author extraordinaire.

Reviews

[M. Leighton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this novel was like watching a Sherlock Holmes film in my head. Brenner captured the period perfectly! He set the scene and the tone from the first few paragraphs and followed it flawlessly throughout the book. The plot was interesting and well-planned, and the life he gave to these characters in their alternate existences was inspired. I've never read anything like it, nor anything by this author, but it's easy to see he has a boat load of talent.

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me longer to read than my normal speed. Why? It is simple actually, I was entranced by the cleverness of the story and the fullness shown in the creation of each character within the plot. Thus, I had the need to stop and read aloud passages to my husband. Then, we had to activate the computer and look up names that were familiar but somewhat forgotten, John Lister etc. We had to explore what a 1930's Cord automobile looked like. Why was the Oregon vortex familiar sounding to me, I had visited it in person in 1970. There was many other researches done.

The plot is a government asking it's top policemen to find a serial killer that has left victims in Russia and the U.K. and is now believed to be in North America. The time period is the early 1930's. The agent assigned is Mycroft (of the Sherlock Holmes books.) Mycroft asks Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to use his powers of touching objects and divining their history. Sir Arthur realizes that to handle this mystery he will need the help of his estranged friend, Harry Houdini. Magician Houdini possesses the talents of telekinesis. The two gentlemen realize that they need even more help, and we are introduced to Orson Welles. Orson's talent being mental telepathy. Why these unique, and primarily disbelieved talents? Because, the killer's method of murder is a laying on of hands and extreme power.

I will refrain from telling you the name of the dastardly criminal but I was startled. As I read on it made total sense. The action was dynamic and breath-holding.

This novel is historical fiction and the reader may have to remind themselves of this fact. The characters were not all of an like age in real life. Plus, Mycroft is not a fictional character in this book.

The ending was superb and I fell in love with Jean and Bessie, wives of two of the friends. The blurb on the back of the novel says it best, "...combines elements of the supernatural, suspense, intrigue and adventure into a story about the importance of friendship."

An excellent read!

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was self-indulgent. It reads like a meal review that gets sidetracked. The premise is great, but the execution falls way short.
Lumanaries doesn't play by the rules. I don't mean that it's clever or groundbreaking, I mean that it isn't set in our reality, but makes no effort to describe the reality around it. It is not at all a mystery, steampunk novel, superhero book, or historical fiction. The characters are barely described, likely because they're "historical", and yet they are clearly not the same characters found in the encyclopedia. Moreover, I did not find a single one of our heroes particularly likeable.
Brenner plays with language, but not cleverly enough to be a puzzle or simply enough to be clear. It is tedious and with little reward. Although all the characters find themselves quite clever, I did not.
Everything, including the plot, seems to be thrown together almost as a side-note. "He had an emotion, then he recovered." "He had a sandwich, it was excellent." "He had a head wound, but then they fixed it." "She was pretty. Whatever." "Then the house exploded. Oh." "He flew into a rage and broke some stuff. They both felt bad later." That's what the whole book is like, no joke. The best part was the murderer, and even he had no depth or explanation.
All in all, I was entirely disappointed. I'm sure this book is for someone, but it certainly wasn't for me.

[Barbara Biasiotta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly but fun. Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini and Orson Welles, all gifted psychics, team up to track down serial killer, Rasputin! Unfortunately this e-book is filled with typos, misspellings, incorrect grammar and many other inconsistencies, but it was a fun read anyway.

[April M Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

It was just okay. Feels like it skipped over some important pieces to the story and clipped the ending. Never really came together cohesively.