"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it." (James Bryce)

Monday, May 14, 2018

FATAL ENQUIRY (Will Thomas)

I have to admit that, despite my love of mysteries, I had never heard of Will Thomas before.  If you haven't, either, and you enjoy historical mysteries, I would highly recommend this series.  It reminded me a bit of the Nero Wolf series.  Cyrus Barker is both wealthy and quirky and Thomas Llewelyn, his young assistant, is a good-looking romantic.  Their relationship and their wide swath of acquaintances and associates, many of whom become involved in tracking down sociopath Sebastian Nightwine. is reminiscent of how Wolf and Lewellyn operate.

It took me a while to get into this novel because I was on vacation and occupied with helping out with my grandson as his Mom makes the transition from maternity leave to Clinical Psychologist once again.  Once I was engaged in the story, though, I was completely caught up in the incredible plot with its twists and turns, desperate escapes, disguises, and near-death experiences.  The author must be a genius!  To create the characters of Barker and Nightwine, both astoundingly intelligent and creative men who are morally juxtaposed yet with intertwining histories, is a feat of great organization and imagination.  There is much blurring of the lines between good and evil, right and wrong.  Barker is gruff and resourceful, protective and patriotic.  Nightwine is amoral and avaricious, a megalomaniac who craves power and notoriety above all.  Lewellyn in the middle of it all, is intelligent and loyal and sometimes naive and compulsive.

Nightwine has returned to England with promises that he has the means to conquer Tibet so England can add the country to its empire.  The British government has promised him a knighthood and great wealth for his efforts, choosing to ignore his past indiscretions in anticipation of expanding Britain's influence in the world.  Only Barker seems cognizant of Nightwine's true goal, to gain even more power, possibly as king of Tibet.  The result of Barker's efforts is that he and Lewellyn end up as wanted men, overcoming seemingly impossible odds in an effort to survive and, ultimately, defeat Nightwine.

Sound exciting?  It definitely is!

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