The Hellfire Conspiracy: A Novel [Paperback]

First Sentence: I recognized the sound, though I had never heard it before.

Private Equity Agent Cyrus Barker and his assistant Thomas Llewelyn are hired to find the young daughter of a Queen's guardsman. The fear is of white slavers. The police find the body of another young girl who had been abused, strangled and maimed and the hunt is on for a serial killer who is taunting Barker with bad poetry.

The biggest problem I had with this book is that I couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. But who needs sleep when you've a book this good. The story is told by Llewelyn; a young man with a painful past. Barker is fascinating and because you learn about him as Thomas does, and it's interesting to watch bits of his past unfold. I love the historical detail both of life in that period and police procedures. The style is one of a traditional mystery but it takes to the dark side of Victorian London. The story has emotion, danger, politics, humor and I wanted more.

I've read the first 3 novels in this series and have enjoyed them. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for The Hellfire Conspiracy.
It seems that Barker has lost his "voice" and there was too much focus on Llewelyn and his "romance".
While the historical setting and facts were interesting, the topic of a serial killer of young girls seemed primarily chosen for its sensational value. The story feels too slow, plodding and disjointed in the beginning and wraps up too rapidly.
It also seems that Thomas is a bit too pleased with himself and his inclusion of real people in his stories--and the actual story suffers for it.
Well, at least he has cured me of this series. Now, I will get more done!

It is 1885 in Victorian London, and private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker is retained by Major Trevor DeVere to find the abductor of his twelve-year-old daughter, Gwendolyn. Major DeVere informs Barker that his wife, Hypatia, was in the habit of bringing her daughter to the squalid East End to witness her work for the Charity Organization Society; Hypatia was hoping to sensitize her spoiled child to the needs of the poor. The little girl resented having to spend her time in this way, and she fled, never to be seen again.

In "The Hellfire Conspiracy" by Will Thomas, Barker and his Welsh assistant, twenty-two year old Thomas Llewelyn, are faced with a daunting task--tracking down a sadistic fiend who kidnaps and slaughters young girls and then disposes of their bodies in sewers or in the Thames. The killer sends Barker mocking poems, in which he defies the agent to find and capture him before he kills yet again.

Will Thomas, as he did in his previous Barker/Llewelyn novels, skillfully contrasts wealthy Victorians with those unfortunates who live in such places as Bethnal Green. The indigent come to London looking for work and are condemned to life in a "bland, seedy quarter, choking daily on the reek of factories and dung of dust-covered streets." While members of the upper class have servants to do their bidding, the impoverished slum dwellers eke out a meager subsistence in filthy and overcrowded conditions. Some, in desperation, turn to prostitution or petty theft in order to survive. Against this backdrop, it is small wonder that depraved individuals are able to prey on innocent victims with impunity.

The varied cast of characters includes the brusque but compassionate Cyrus Barker, the callow and ambitious Llewelyn, a man who has yet to put his tragic past behind him (his wife, Jenny, died two years earlier in horrific circumstances), as well as a host of snitches, dandies, and do-gooders. The police prove to be ineffectual and uncooperative; the Thames Police and Scotland Yard are rivals who refuse to share information with one another. In addition, people of means with high-powered connections pay off and pressure those who are supposed to enforce the law to turn a blind eye to their misdeeds.

Barker and Llewelyn have a difficult time trying to locate a criminal who always seems to be watching them and anticipating their next move, and the two agents nearly lose their lives in their search for the murderer. In addition, Thomas comes across his old nemesis, Palmister Clay, who challenges him to a boxing match presided over by "the Marquis of Queensberry himself, creator of the famous rules of boxing." Barker's old friend, Reverend Andrew McClain (Handy Andy), a former heavyweight bare-knuckle champion, has the unenviable task of trying to teach young Llewelyn how to box four days before the dreaded bout.

"The Hellfire Conpiracy" combines an intriguing murder mystery with black humor, biting social commentary, and well-researched historical information about the chasm between the rich and poor in urban England during the latter part of the nineteenth century. To the author's credit, the book does not culminate in an unrealistically happy conclusion. There is a cliffhanger ending, however, which indicates that Will Thomas is busily preparing the next installment in this extremely entertaining series.

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