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The Inquiry Agent
London 1841: a city on the edge. Corruption is everywhere. The poor are starving in the streets. The wealthy fear an explosion of anarchy and insurrection.
Amidst the turmoil, a wealthy merchant and his spoiled, beautiful ward hire former Bow Street Runner Jack Brodie to recover incriminating documents from the lawless rogues that robbed them. It is no easy task even for a man with Brodie's criminal connections because an old and vicious enemy has returned from the penal colony of New South Wales seeking vengeance for the slaying of his brother. As Brodie hunts through the thieves dens hidden in the rookeries of Dickensian London, it is only a matter of time before their paths cross and murderous violence ensues.
The Inquiry Agent is a dark detective tale set in the early Victorian period by bestselling author William King.
Amidst the turmoil, a wealthy merchant and his spoiled, beautiful ward hire former Bow Street Runner Jack Brodie to recover incriminating documents from the lawless rogues that robbed them. It is no easy task even for a man with Brodie's criminal connections because an old and vicious enemy has returned from the penal colony of New South Wales seeking vengeance for the slaying of his brother. As Brodie hunts through the thieves dens hidden in the rookeries of Dickensian London, it is only a matter of time before their paths cross and murderous violence ensues.
The Inquiry Agent is a dark detective tale set in the early Victorian period by bestselling author William King.
181 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 18, 2011
14 people are currently reading
296 people want to read
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William King
350 books715 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 11, 2014
This is a very good, well written story. It is quite obvious that the author is a fan of Charles Dickens. There are a dozen of references to his characters.
There are three things which annoyed me about it though, two of them just being my personal preference and nothing to do with the way it is written.
First, I hate foreshadowing. When an author uses foreshadowing it reminds me that I am reading a story. It interrupts my reading. I'd rather be surprised. Five or six times this happened while I was reading this story. Fortunately, it is not everywhere. I did get surprised a few times and that makes this book even better. If only foreshadowing wasn't used at all.
Second, everything is bleak and more than depressing; too realistic if I may use the term. It is 1840s and Mr. Brodie is a former Bow Street Runner. After they had been disbanded and a new police force was created, most of the Runners had to find new ways to use their particular skills. Brodie is an inquiry agent, a man who discretely helps people retrieve their stolen items. Usually the focus is on a particular case. Here, you get that with a very vivid picture of 1840s London and its starved people. One example would be:
The case itself is straightforward: retrieve the stolen items from the robbers. The case made it possible for us to see just how mean and selfish the self-righteous can be, that not every person from the slums is a bad one (Sarah). The same can be said for the rich, only opposite.
Another issue Brodie has to deal with is a man, whose brother he killed while he was a Runner, and who wants his revenge.
I am certain that different people will see different things in this story, but that makes it only better.
There are three things which annoyed me about it though, two of them just being my personal preference and nothing to do with the way it is written.
First, I hate foreshadowing. When an author uses foreshadowing it reminds me that I am reading a story. It interrupts my reading. I'd rather be surprised. Five or six times this happened while I was reading this story. Fortunately, it is not everywhere. I did get surprised a few times and that makes this book even better. If only foreshadowing wasn't used at all.
Second, everything is bleak and more than depressing; too realistic if I may use the term. It is 1840s and Mr. Brodie is a former Bow Street Runner. After they had been disbanded and a new police force was created, most of the Runners had to find new ways to use their particular skills. Brodie is an inquiry agent, a man who discretely helps people retrieve their stolen items. Usually the focus is on a particular case. Here, you get that with a very vivid picture of 1840s London and its starved people. One example would be:
'Groups of two or three children between the ages of five and nine sat at the small tables and drank their gin and puffed their pipes, for all the world like miniature adults in their toping and smoking'London is 1840s was not a good place. And as if the pictures like that aren't enough, you find out that Brodie's wife died three years ago, leaving him with two young children. His daughter is very sick. The author doesn't simply skim over Brodie's household. He lives with them and their housekeeper, Mrs. Marshall. You see him as a father, reading to his children; you see him buying a used book because his daughter wants to read it. He does that even when he knows he needs it for more important things. You know it is irresponsible, but you can't help but thinking you'd do the same thing just to see your child smile. Even when he is in trouble, when he is suffering, he is always a gentle and devoted father. There are bitter-sweet moments of peace when he is home.
“I know what a rake is,” said Rachel with a sweet smile. Mrs Marshall was shocked. I looked at her sternly, as if to ask what she had been teaching my children when I was not there. “It's what gardeners use to sweep up leaves. Why are they bad, Mrs Marshall? And why did they wander the streets?” You could see the childish vision of an army of garden implements drifting around the roads and alleys of London light up her face.Third: mistakes. I was surprised that book this well written contains sentences like this one: 'I feared for my life. Now, as we are leaving it, I fear for their's... or ''The boy's fathers chatted with each other in that great logjam'. Fortunately, there are only few of them and I won't let two or three mistakes influence my opinion.
The case itself is straightforward: retrieve the stolen items from the robbers. The case made it possible for us to see just how mean and selfish the self-righteous can be, that not every person from the slums is a bad one (Sarah). The same can be said for the rich, only opposite.
Another issue Brodie has to deal with is a man, whose brother he killed while he was a Runner, and who wants his revenge.
I am certain that different people will see different things in this story, but that makes it only better.
October 11, 2025
Well written tale of struggle and survival
This was a very well told story of very depressing lives in a very depressing world. This is challenging cuz I am aware of how much effort King poured into this novel and I know several of King's other creations...and this was not my cup of tea. I love his Sword and Sorcery and though I knew this is not that, it is quite different in tone, pace, even attitude. Historically atmospheric, definitely deadly, absolutely survival of the fittest oriented, but for me not an enjoyable read unfortunately. Very Dickensian but amped and darker.
This was a very well told story of very depressing lives in a very depressing world. This is challenging cuz I am aware of how much effort King poured into this novel and I know several of King's other creations...and this was not my cup of tea. I love his Sword and Sorcery and though I knew this is not that, it is quite different in tone, pace, even attitude. Historically atmospheric, definitely deadly, absolutely survival of the fittest oriented, but for me not an enjoyable read unfortunately. Very Dickensian but amped and darker.
April 25, 2017
The Good
King clearly knows a lot about early Victorian London; he paints a vivid picture of the dirt, the poverty, and the despair of an age when many lived from hand to mouth, and many more didn't make it. In many ways, I think his portrait of London was the best part of the book - possibly London, rather than his protagonist, was the main character.
And, speaking of the protagonist, I can't remember the last time I read a book where the MC was a single father (widower) with (not counting the ones where wifey has been murdered by the baddies and MC is Out For Revenge). It gave the story an interesting extra twist, that our Inquiry Agent isn't just the usual PI-type: he's a dad with kids to look after.
The Not-So-Good
For some reason, I never quite got invested in the story. It's less than 200 pages, and I still found myself stopping reading.
Also, I dislike foreshadowing ("If I'd known then what I know now" and so on) - and even more so when the story doesn't quite deliver on it.
As a detective story, there's not really a great deal of detecting going on, although the end is satisfyingly neat. But really, I found myself liking King's descriptions of London more than the actual plot - which is presumably not what he intended.
Plus, there were a few irritating spelling/grammar errors.
Conclusion
Read it for the description of London! King is either passionate about it (and about Charles Dickens) or does a very good imitation. Plus the joke about rakes. I liked that - and it rang very true as a young-family sort of thing. :-)
King clearly knows a lot about early Victorian London; he paints a vivid picture of the dirt, the poverty, and the despair of an age when many lived from hand to mouth, and many more didn't make it. In many ways, I think his portrait of London was the best part of the book - possibly London, rather than his protagonist, was the main character.
And, speaking of the protagonist, I can't remember the last time I read a book where the MC was a single father (widower) with (not counting the ones where wifey has been murdered by the baddies and MC is Out For Revenge). It gave the story an interesting extra twist, that our Inquiry Agent isn't just the usual PI-type: he's a dad with kids to look after.
The Not-So-Good
For some reason, I never quite got invested in the story. It's less than 200 pages, and I still found myself stopping reading.
Also, I dislike foreshadowing ("If I'd known then what I know now" and so on) - and even more so when the story doesn't quite deliver on it.
As a detective story, there's not really a great deal of detecting going on, although the end is satisfyingly neat. But really, I found myself liking King's descriptions of London more than the actual plot - which is presumably not what he intended.
Plus, there were a few irritating spelling/grammar errors.
Conclusion
Read it for the description of London! King is either passionate about it (and about Charles Dickens) or does a very good imitation. Plus the joke about rakes. I liked that - and it rang very true as a young-family sort of thing. :-)
December 4, 2013
William King is generally known for his fantasy stories but he shows here that his talents go much further. 'The Inquiry Agent' is a historical detective story - something like an unusual cross between the worlds of Charles Dickens and Raymond Chandler. It creates a strong and vivid world - strange, yet familiar, utterly unlike our own, but not so very far removed. It seems to live and breathe in a way that many historical novels fail to. The scenes of children in a gin palace, the dark skinned man known Caliban or rat and dog fights in the Rookery of Seven Dials are strong and imaginative and linger in the mind. King's ability to create new worlds that have stood him in such good stead in the fields of fantasy and science fiction are clearly in evidence.
It is narrated by its central character, Brodie, a former Bow Street Runner, speaks to us with a voice that manages to sound largely authentic. His manner of writing feels - whilst not archaic - properly of its time. It is un-showy and plain, yet it manages, at times almost a degree of poetry. Of one character returned from transportation to Australia he says:
'It was the voice of what they called a Government Man in our furthest colonies... His unblinking eyes were very blue and they had a strange porcelain quality to them and were not sane as you and I would judge sanity... His voice was level and calm and yet somehow it carried a greater freight of menace than I'd ever heard in any man's voice before.'
Brodie's home life provides an unexpected, but touching, tender emotional element to the story. His thoughts about his life, the investigation and his past add a touch of homespun philosophy on the difficult violent and uncaring world that he operates in. The investigative elements are secondary in this story, providing the motor for the action, rather than in anyway being puzzle for the reader to figure out but are well, and convincingly, handled.
All this means that the occasional error stands out all the more glaringly: trenchcoats were not invented in the 1840s (though military greatcoats were), for example. The odd phrase stands out as sounding slightly anachronistic and it is likely that the former policeman who had sent a number to the gallows would know that people are generally said to be 'hanged' not 'hung'. They are a suprise given the obvious care and attention that has gone into the story - from the decaying buildings of a lost London to the contemporary literature (from Dickens to the penny dreadfuls) of the day. These are slight concerns, however, in the context of a book that otherwise delivers more than I had expected and exactly what I had hoped for.
It is narrated by its central character, Brodie, a former Bow Street Runner, speaks to us with a voice that manages to sound largely authentic. His manner of writing feels - whilst not archaic - properly of its time. It is un-showy and plain, yet it manages, at times almost a degree of poetry. Of one character returned from transportation to Australia he says:
'It was the voice of what they called a Government Man in our furthest colonies... His unblinking eyes were very blue and they had a strange porcelain quality to them and were not sane as you and I would judge sanity... His voice was level and calm and yet somehow it carried a greater freight of menace than I'd ever heard in any man's voice before.'
Brodie's home life provides an unexpected, but touching, tender emotional element to the story. His thoughts about his life, the investigation and his past add a touch of homespun philosophy on the difficult violent and uncaring world that he operates in. The investigative elements are secondary in this story, providing the motor for the action, rather than in anyway being puzzle for the reader to figure out but are well, and convincingly, handled.
All this means that the occasional error stands out all the more glaringly: trenchcoats were not invented in the 1840s (though military greatcoats were), for example. The odd phrase stands out as sounding slightly anachronistic and it is likely that the former policeman who had sent a number to the gallows would know that people are generally said to be 'hanged' not 'hung'. They are a suprise given the obvious care and attention that has gone into the story - from the decaying buildings of a lost London to the contemporary literature (from Dickens to the penny dreadfuls) of the day. These are slight concerns, however, in the context of a book that otherwise delivers more than I had expected and exactly what I had hoped for.
May 21, 2012
Enjoyed this book very much. It was well researched and the historic details were amazing. It taught me a lot about the seedy side of London in the 1840s. Character development was excellent, even the minor characters were well established. Some people have commented on typos and I noticed a few minor errors, but nothing that distracted from the story.
March 15, 2012
I loved this book. One of the better historical mysteries I have read in quite a while.
It is very reminiscent of Bruce Alexander's Sir John Fielding's series.
I highly recommend this book.
It is very reminiscent of Bruce Alexander's Sir John Fielding's series.
I highly recommend this book.
January 14, 2013
I really enjoyed this and hope there is a sequel.
April 25, 2014
Enjoyed being transported back to 1840's London.
The style of writing made me feel like I was there.
I felt a part of this interesting, dark detective tale.
The style of writing made me feel like I was there.
I felt a part of this interesting, dark detective tale.
March 19, 2020
This is not a cozy English mystery. It showed the poverty of parts of Victorian London and so was very gritty and seemed realistic. I hope to read more mysteries by William King featuring Jack Brodie.
November 15, 2012
There's just something captivating about Victorian England that lends itself the a good detective story. Especially when a good author is at the helm.
Jack Brodie is an inquiry agent, a private eye. He's tasked with retrieving a rich merchant's stolen goods after his home is broken into. Jack senses all is not what it seems. And he's right. Jack has to work the case as well as deal with a specter of the past while trying to get the job done.
What makes this a very fun, fast paced read isn't just the detective story. It's the characters. Jack Brodie isn't just some stuffy and stiff reading 19th century detective. He's not dashing and he's not James Bond. He's awkward looking, he's honorable but he's imperfect. That's what makes him interesting. His a widower and father to two children, one of who is sick. He also flirts with the dark side and wonders which side he should really be on. As the story is told in the first person, the reader gets a very good idea of what's going on in Jack's head which makes him seem all the more real.
The rich merchant and his somewhat 'off' neice are interesting to read as are all the seedier characters in the novel.
This is my first time reading William King. I actually didn't know that fantasy was more his wheelhouse. I know of Gotrex and Felix. I have the first two omnibuses which I haven't read yet. But seeing how well Mr. King writes I'm eager to visit his sandbox once again.
The Inquiry Agent is very fast and engaging detective story which I have no reservations of recommending to anyone who enjoys a good cozy mystery.
Jack Brodie is an inquiry agent, a private eye. He's tasked with retrieving a rich merchant's stolen goods after his home is broken into. Jack senses all is not what it seems. And he's right. Jack has to work the case as well as deal with a specter of the past while trying to get the job done.
What makes this a very fun, fast paced read isn't just the detective story. It's the characters. Jack Brodie isn't just some stuffy and stiff reading 19th century detective. He's not dashing and he's not James Bond. He's awkward looking, he's honorable but he's imperfect. That's what makes him interesting. His a widower and father to two children, one of who is sick. He also flirts with the dark side and wonders which side he should really be on. As the story is told in the first person, the reader gets a very good idea of what's going on in Jack's head which makes him seem all the more real.
The rich merchant and his somewhat 'off' neice are interesting to read as are all the seedier characters in the novel.
This is my first time reading William King. I actually didn't know that fantasy was more his wheelhouse. I know of Gotrex and Felix. I have the first two omnibuses which I haven't read yet. But seeing how well Mr. King writes I'm eager to visit his sandbox once again.
The Inquiry Agent is very fast and engaging detective story which I have no reservations of recommending to anyone who enjoys a good cozy mystery.
April 18, 2012
I found “The Inquiry Agent” to be a very enjoyable read in spite of several editing errors at the beginning in the form of missing words, missing punctuation, and unnecessary punctuation. I would describe this novella as Sherlock Holmes meets Sam Spade, but you might be disappointed if you are expecting a fast-paced, tightly written whodunit. Although the main character, Jack Brodie, does have a mystery to solve, the story centers mostly around his interactions with his family and his day-to-day routine of mingling with the venders, thieves and prostitutes as he makes his inquiries. There is much rambling internal dialogue from the main character as he moves through the less reputable areas of Victorian London describing in great detail all the sights, sounds and inhabitants of the city, but it is really interesting to experience everything from his point of view. King is a mesmerizing storyteller and uses language very artfully to create a strong sense of place and time. Even with the typos, it was a fun read and well worth the $2.99 price.
March 2, 2012
Well.
That sucked.
Okay, so it wasn't all bad. I could not, in good conscience, give it only one star. There were excellent moments of wordsmithing in here.
But then there were the moments when I wanted to write to the author and beg him to fire his editor. That book should never have been published in that state. It's a disgrace, honestly. Missing words, bad or missing punctuation, and OH GOD THE RUN ON SENTENCES. Seriously, this is stuff even an amateur editor like myself would have been ashamed to miss.
And frankly the characters and story left something to be desired. There was one moment that left me laughing out loud, but to be honest it was a rare moment of pleasure during reading this novel. For the most part, I was kind of sorry I picked it up and mostly looked forward to finishing it.
That sucked.
Okay, so it wasn't all bad. I could not, in good conscience, give it only one star. There were excellent moments of wordsmithing in here.
But then there were the moments when I wanted to write to the author and beg him to fire his editor. That book should never have been published in that state. It's a disgrace, honestly. Missing words, bad or missing punctuation, and OH GOD THE RUN ON SENTENCES. Seriously, this is stuff even an amateur editor like myself would have been ashamed to miss.
And frankly the characters and story left something to be desired. There was one moment that left me laughing out loud, but to be honest it was a rare moment of pleasure during reading this novel. For the most part, I was kind of sorry I picked it up and mostly looked forward to finishing it.
Read
February 10, 2016London 1841: a city on the edge. Corruption is everywhere. The poor are starving in the streets. The wealthy fear an explosion of anarchy and insurrection. Amidst the turmoil, a wealthy merchant and his spoiled, beautiful ward hire former Bow Street Runner Jack Brodie to recover incriminating documents from the lawless rogues that robbed them. It is no easy task even for a man with Brodie's criminal connections because an old and vicious enemy has returned from the penal colony of New South Wales seeking vengeance for the slaying of his brother. As Brodie hunts through the thieves dens hidden in the rookeries of Dickensian London, it is only a matter of time before their paths cross and murderous violence ensues.
February 11, 2022
Got this free on Amazon ages ago. Looking for stand-alone books to serve me in the middle of other series, I finally got around to reading it.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
If you're in the mood for a rough and dirty 1800's English novel with a bit of mystery to it, pick this one up. Well, it's not so much mystery as just finding the right people to ask. There aren't interrogations so much as persuasions and trades. I'd say more historically accurate, but I don't really know, so maybe non-romanticized?
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
If you're in the mood for a rough and dirty 1800's English novel with a bit of mystery to it, pick this one up. Well, it's not so much mystery as just finding the right people to ask. There aren't interrogations so much as persuasions and trades. I'd say more historically accurate, but I don't really know, so maybe non-romanticized?
October 8, 2013
This wasn't bad. Seemed rather old for a book from 2011, but since it was the setting was Victorian period in London it probably should be.
A man with a secret hires Jack Brodie to find out who robbed his home and to recover the items taken, no questions asked. The man's ward, who is spoiled and used to getting her own way, has a tendency to interfere with the investigation process.
I like the setting although it seemed kind of a plodding story. It didn't take that long to read, but it seemed kind of hard to get into some of the story at times.
A man with a secret hires Jack Brodie to find out who robbed his home and to recover the items taken, no questions asked. The man's ward, who is spoiled and used to getting her own way, has a tendency to interfere with the investigation process.
I like the setting although it seemed kind of a plodding story. It didn't take that long to read, but it seemed kind of hard to get into some of the story at times.
February 6, 2014
Okay historical crime novel set in 1841 London. Far too much 'telling' with not enough 'showing' makes for a rather dry effort. Plus the central character is not all that interesting or sympathetic. A former Bow Street Runner now doing private inquiry work is an interesting premise, but in the hands of William King turns out to be tedious.
There are much better historical mysteries out there, with Edward Marston heading the English contingent. Go there for reading that is worth your time.
There are much better historical mysteries out there, with Edward Marston heading the English contingent. Go there for reading that is worth your time.
December 13, 2014
A callback to the Classics
The first book I ever bought and read on my kindle, The Inquiry Agent holds a bit of nostalgia for me. I love everything Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has written, and this reminded me of Sherlock Holmes. While a bit slow to begin with, the plot picks up speed and has a great ending. I went to recommend it to my mother-in-law but lo and behold... she was already reading it. And so should you be!
The first book I ever bought and read on my kindle, The Inquiry Agent holds a bit of nostalgia for me. I love everything Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has written, and this reminded me of Sherlock Holmes. While a bit slow to begin with, the plot picks up speed and has a great ending. I went to recommend it to my mother-in-law but lo and behold... she was already reading it. And so should you be!
July 30, 2012
I'm bad at choosing a number of stars to rate books. =) I enjoyed this one - well-written, interesting, good sense of the time period. But the central mystery was kind of boring. And there was a whole chapter about "ratting" dogs that I could have lived without.
That being said, it was pretty good, especially as a free book.
That being said, it was pretty good, especially as a free book.
March 25, 2013
This was a rather interesting story of a 'retired' bow street runner. I had to skim a long over some of it because it repeated information twice sometimes three times. That's because it it s first person and worries and woes of a man in that time period were many. If this is a series, I will look at the next book. Is that it about Sarah?
September 14, 2013
I enjoyed this book, though there were parts that dragged a little. As I read it I found myself thinking that the two primary plot points were going to resolve themselves independently, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but in the end the author pulled the two together nicely. All in all, I enjoyed it.
September 25, 2014
Wonderful Read....Great Adventure
Loved this story of doing right even if it was wrong. This story covered all emotions of life.love,envy,desire,revenge and fear. I wanted the main character to win his battle, but a small part of me felt for the bad guys too. Over all a very fun read.
Loved this story of doing right even if it was wrong. This story covered all emotions of life.love,envy,desire,revenge and fear. I wanted the main character to win his battle, but a small part of me felt for the bad guys too. Over all a very fun read.
October 21, 2012
An excellent homage to the 19th century detective, with an authentic feel and "sound" to the characters. Imagine a Noir Bleak House, about 1/4 the length, and you'll be prepped. And King's protagonist is definitely a keeper, I'd like to read more about him in subsequent books.
October 5, 2013
The book well describes the setting in London, 1841, but the story is lacking in pace. I liked the second book of the series better. The main character is unique and he gives the book most of its interest.
January 14, 2015
Thoroughly enjoyed this period tale. I liked the characters and enjoyed the interaction in the family. Found myself on the edge of my seat a few times worried about Bordie. Very good tale, well told. I'll be checking out this author.
March 24, 2012
Excellent historical fiction. I found the main character, Jack Brodie, very engaging. An essentially honest man in a very dishonest world. Well done.
August 22, 2013
Historical mystery set in London. Not just a detective story - great descriptions of everyday life too.
February 8, 2016
Not my usual read and I must admit that the writing style made continuing to the end a chore at times, that said actual story was quite good.
March 10, 2015
Some irritating grammatical errors, but otherwise a good read. That's why it's a 3 instead of a 4.
April 15, 2012
Reminded me a whoooole lot of Ashley Gardner's Captain Lacey books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews