The London Particular: A Newbury & Hobbes Investigation

by George Mann

A Newbury & Hobbes Investigation
When Sir Maurice Newbury, gentleman investigator for the Crown, and his close friend and assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes accompany Sir Charles Bainbridge, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, to a society party at the home of the enigmatic Greyson Fairfax, none of them have any idea of the danger they are walking into.
Disquiet grows as the host, Fairfax, fails to appear for his own party, and when one of the guests is found murdered in the grounds, that disquiet turns to panic. Thick fog hems them in, and some sort of mechanical monster prowls the night. The house is sealed, with the so-efficient servants insistent that no one should leave. Can Newbury and Hobbes get to the bottom of what's going on before it's too late for all of them?

Genres: Science Fiction, Steampunk, Fiction

92 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 6, 2022

About the author

George Mann is an author and editor, primarily in genre fiction. He was born in Darlington, County Durham in 1978.
A former editor of Outland, Mann is the author of The Human Abstract, and more recently The Affinity Bridge and The Osiris Ritual in his Newbury and Hobbes detective series, set in an alternate Britain, and Ghosts of Manhattan, set in the same universe some decades later.
He wrote the Time Hunter novella "The Severed Man", and co-wrote the series finale, Child of Time.
He has also written numerous short stories, plus Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes audiobooks for Big Finish Productions. He has edited a number of anthologies including The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, The Solaris Book of New Fantasy and a retrospective collection of Sexton Blake stories, Sexton Blake, Detective, with an introduction by Michael Moorcock.

Reviews

[J. Griff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great, suspenseful novella I found just in time for the season. Am a fan of the “Newbury & Hobbs Investigations” series. It’s worth a quick read.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better steampunk series out there, and I haven't visited for a long while So I was in the mood and happy to visit these characters again.

[Robin Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable mystery that hits many of the Steampunk high-points. It quite easily could be an Agatha Christie whodunnit with its 'closed-room' country mansion aesthetic, if not for the copious and very satisfying genre elements. These elements are wonderfully described, bringing the setting to life. I would have enjoyed this even more if the characters were similarly fleshed out, however I became frustrated at not discovering anything about the protagonists, why they work together, who they are, and how they relate to one another. Their propensity (certainly in the opening sections) for stating the obvious also grated. Finally, I was irked at the lack of explanation of the world's wider context, which is mentioned passingly on the first page, but never again (in any meaningful way). For me, this (for me) could have been much more if character were not sacrificed in favour of plot.

[Al Gritten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the characters in this book! Mann writes with style and moves the story along at a quick pace. The plot is interesting, and though it did get predictable it was well done enough to continue to move the story along. Would like to see more of these characters though.

[Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

More to follow?

Another very good N & H story. Hoping for more. Characters are well drawn and Bainbridge keeps getting more and more depth. Hopefully he'll write some more. Recommended

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent addition to my favorite Steampunk series - Newbury & Hobbes. Would make a nice B movie.

[Alan Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent series

I've followed Newbury and Hobbes from the beginning and I love them, their relationship and their adventures. George Mann is an excellent author.

[Heather - Just Geeking By · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

Content warnings:
This book contains scenes of blood, gore, violence, death, body horror and dismemberment.


It is always a delight to read a new Newbury & Hobbes Investigation and The London Particular by George Mann was no exception. I’m going to start by saying that if you’re familiar with the series this story goes exactly how you expect it to but let’s be honest; that is one of the reasons why we read the adventures of Maurice and Veronica! We know that wherever they go they will get themselves into a mischief and will uncover some sort of dastardly deed!

Set before the final book of the series, The Albion Initiative, it is an uncertain time for our heroes. Along with their long-time companion Sir Charles Bainbridge the pair attend a party at the home of the enigmatic Greyson Fairfax. Everything seems in order, save for one glaringly obvious issue; where is Greyson Fairfax?

When a search for the man turns up a dead body, suspicions rise even further, but before anyone can decide to leave the premises a dense fog (a ‘London Particular’) forces them to stay indoors. Their situation takes a serious turn for the worse when everyone realises that the fog is filled with a strange monstrous mechanical creatures, especially after they witness it murder two party goers who refuse to listen to warnings not to go outside.

While Veronica draws the short straw, and has to stay behind with the guests, she holds her own as some of them get unruly and decide they don’t want to listen to a woman. The scenes of Newbury and Charles hunting through the house were pure thriller, but watching Veronica at work was wonderful. It was great to see Mann’s writing and character creation skills at work with the various different personalities in these scenes as well. I was quite sad that these characters were just appearing for a one-off, especially with the series coming to an end, so it was unlikely that they would appear again (I can’t remember if The Albion Initiative was released before or after this novella).

Things wrapped up as I expected, but as I mentioned, the fun was in getting there. Mann packed a lot of character development into this novella, with each of the characters looking back over their adventures and preparing themselves for what was to come now that Queen Victoria has pushed them into a corner. As another reviewer rightly pointed out; Mann packs a massive punch in 92 pages. It felt no different from reading a full length Newbury & Hobbes novel in terms of pacing and enjoyment. This is a definite must-read for Newbury & Hobbes fans, and you won’t be disappointed.

If you have never read a Newbury & Hobbes investigation, I highly recommend picking up book one, The Affinity Bridge, especially before reading this novella as this book will give you huge spoilers for the series, and you will probably feel a little bit confused about some things.

BLOG | REVIEWS | REVIEW SCHEDULE | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST |

[Maurizio Codogno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steampunk e horror in una breve storia

[Disclaimer: Ho ricevuto il libro grazie al programma Early Reviewer di LibraryThing]
Questo racconto lungo (sono meno di 100 pagine) ha come protagonisti la coppia di detective vittoriani Sir Maurice Newbury e Miss Veronica Hobbes, insieme con l'investigatore capo di Scotland Yard Charles Bainbridge. Non avendo letto gli altri libri della serie ho avuto qualche problema con le caratteristiche dei personaggi, e probabilmente ho perso qualche riferimento: la storia è comunque un mix tra steampunk e horror, con quest'ultimo per mia fortuna abbastanza secondario e quindi non disturbante per un fifone come me. È abbastanza immediato immaginare cosa abbia fatto Greyson Fairfax, il padrone del palazzo dove un certo numero di invitati sono stati invitati per una festa in cui però manca proprio Fairfax. Il racconto però scorre bene fino alla fine: l'unico problema che ho avuto è che nella mia copia elettronica per recensione (o a causa della mia app per leggere epub) il soggetto della scena cambiava spesso senza nessun segno grafico, il che mi ha dato qualche fastidio nella lettura. La coppia Newbury/Hobbes è molto diversa dei classici Holmes e Watson, essendo più alla pari anche se formalmente Veronica è l'assistente di sir Maurice; questo da' un tocco di novità alla storia.

[Kristine Booksandstuff123]

I'm a big fan of the Newbury and Hobbes series. Considering this is less than a 100 pages it's still full of the horror and suspense that I'm use to with these books. Thoroughly enjoyed it :)