The Limehouse Text

Will Thomas' well written historical crime drama "The Limehouse Text" takes great pains in meticulously describing the setting, Victorian London of 1885. Narrated by Thomas Llewelyn the young assistant of venerable enquiry agent Cyrus Barker, a Sinophile who spent many years in China studying their customs, the novel recounts an investigation conducted by the two men. Barker's previous assistant Quong, had been gunned down in the Limehouse district of London, home to nearly 600 Chinese immigrants. A full year of investigation by Scotland Yard yielded no solution to the murder. Re-examination of the personal effects of Quong produced a previously undetected pawn ticket. Barker and Llewelyn toook possession of the ticket and discovered that the item pawned was a sacred Chinese manual of boxing which had been stolen from a monastery in China. The manual contained secrets of dim mak or death touch, a technique forbidden to be divulged to Westerners. The manual became the reason for a slew of murders of those who came in contact with it including the man who stole it and the pawnbroker who bought it. Barker and Llewelyn wise to the customs endemic to the Limehouse denizens skillfully gathered clues while being subjected to great personal danger. In Holmesian fashion, Barker using both Eastern and Western skills is able to unearth the identity of the killer while preserving the sanctity of the sacred manual. Thomas creates a Victorian detective team that rivals Holmes and Watson in s style reminiscent of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that keeps you riveted and eager to read the next chapter.

Private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his assistant Thomas Llewelyn discover a pawn ticket in the suit of Thomas' predecessor, Quong, who had been murdered. The ticket leads to a rare book on forbidden martial arts techniques, stolen from a Chinese monastery. Many people want this book and many die, nearly including Barker himself, as he and Thomas try to protect themselves, save the book and discover who killed Quong. It is always a delight to read the newest book in this series. Will Thomas paints a vivid picture of turn-of-the-19th Century London and the characters in it. Barker is delightfully enigmatic; we learn only bits of him with each book. Llewelyn is an impatient young man who has already seen much of the harsher side of life and yet is still somewhat naïve. The supporting characters, including Ham the pug, are fully drawn and add great dimension to the story. The plot is entertaining and even with the "gather the suspects" scene at the end, I was intrigued to learn how Barker determined the killer. I hope this series continues for a long time to come. If you've not as yet discovered Will Thomas and enjoy a Holmes-style investigator, I highly recommend these.

Will Thomas is one of the freshest voices in the mystery field right now. Fine characterization, breakneck plotting, a dazzling evocation of Victorian London, and a funny, energetic first-person narrator, all add up to books that are pure pleasure to read. But one thing I don;t understand is why everyone seems to be comparing Thomas' characters to Holmes and Watson when it's so clear to me that they're more closely based based on Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, the heroes of the greatest traditional detective series ever written in America. Admittedly, the active and deadly Barker is no housebound 300-pounder like Wolfe, but the relationship (and especially the tone of the relationship) pays creative homage to Rex Stout's immortal creations. And since I love Wolfe and Archie, and am a complete sucker for Victorian novels (both the real thing and those written today) and since Will Thomas is a terrific writer in his own right, "The Limehouse Text" knocked me out. One thing I especially like is that Thomas is withholding so much information about Barker: what's his real background? Is he Chinese or part-Chinese? Where did he get his skills? Barker has an enormous, exotic, unexplored backstory, and I'm sure that's going to give Will Thomas material to work with for many books to come. And I'll be buying them as fast as they come out.

Will Thomas's third installment in his entertaining Victorian mystery series is "The Limehouse Text," featuring the formidable enquiry agent, Cyrus Barker, and his faithful young assistant, Thomas Llewelyn. The year is 1885 and the Limehouse is London's Chinese district, which is crime-ridden and dangerous. The text referred to in the title was stolen from the Xi Jiang Monastery in the Jiangsu Province of China and was later brought aboard ship to London. The book is an instruction manual containing secret and highly dangerous martial arts techniques practiced in China, and if the volume should fall into the wrong hands, the consequences could be disastrous. An unknown assailant has already murdered several people in an attempt to get his hands on this prized work. One day, Inspector Nevil Bainbridge hands over a pawn ticket to Barker. The ticket was found among the effects of Quong, Barker's first assistant who was found dead a year earlier, "shot with a single bullet between the eyes." Barker has long reproached himself over his failure to find Quong's killer, and he thinks that this new development may break the case wide open. Barker has an advantage in this investigation since not only does he speak fluent Chinese, but he also spent years in China as a soldier. He even has a sobriquet, "Shi Shi Ji," which means Stone Lion in Chinese. Barker is an expert in martial arts and a courageous and determined fighter. Indeed, the pawn ticket does lead to the famed Limehouse text, and the case sends Barker and Llewelyn into a labyrinthine world of intrigue. As always, Will Thomas's thorough research yields rich dividends. One of the main delights of reading this series is absorbing the sights, sounds, and smells of Victorian London, with its vivid and evocative atmosphere and flavor. The characters are expertly depicted, including Ho, a Chinese chef with attitude, Mr. K'ing, the powerful and feared overlord of the Limehouse District, Trelawny Campbell-Ffinch, an obnoxious representative of the Foreign Office with a secret life, Bok Fu Ying, Barker's beautiful ward who is devoted to her generous benefactor, and Jimmy Woo, a Chinese man with a plummy British accent who may know more than he is revealing. Barker is a compassionate but tough mentor, and Llewelyn is anxious to please his "Guv." However, neither man is perfect. Barker is vulnerable to attack from other martial artists and Llewelyn's impulsiveness and poor judgment nearly cost both men their lives. "The Limehouse Text" has exciting and entertaining fight scenes, droll humor, a colorful cast, and a complex and intriguing plot. Llewelyn is an engaging and likeable narrator, and Barker is crusty, tough, and quick-witted. Will Thomas recently said in an interview, "I created the series intending it to have a long run." What good news! I look forward to this talented writer's next book, "The Hellfire Conspiracy," scheduled for release in 2007.

In 1885 Inspector Nevil Bainbridge visits enquiry agent Cyrus Barker holding a pawn ticket found sewed in a robe owned by the late Quong, who was Barker's assistant before Thomas Llewelyn. Confused as Quong had no secrets, but assuming his former assistant was just learning about western ways with trips to out of the way shops, Cyrus, Nevil and Thomas visit the pawn shop in the Chinatown Limehouse section of London. They learn the pawn store owner recently fell down a set of stairs and died, and someone broke into the shop. They retrieve a Chinese book so they next go to see Chinese cuisine Chef Ho for an interpretation of what they possess. He cautions them that the book is a sacred "hidden text of a boxing school" that should never have found its way to Europe. They soon learn first hand why Ho gave a "death touch" warning when several people, some willing to kill as Cyrus believes happened to the pawn shop owner and Quong, want to possess the book. THE LIMEHOUSE TEXT is a terrific Victorian mystery that pays homage to Holmes and Watson as did the two previous enquiry thrillers (see SOME DANGER INVOLVED and TO KINGDOM COME). The whodunit is fun though the killer seems obvious early on while readers will appreciate Cyrus's tour of 1880s Limehouse section where many Chinese expatriates lived. Sort of like a cross between Derek Flint (see movies IN LIKE FLINT and OUR MAN FLINT) and Holmes, readers especially the Baker Street Irregulars will enjoy Cyrus' latest escapades. Harriet Klausner