The Black Hand: A Barker & Llewelyn Novel [Paperback]

Will Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2008 | Series: A Barker & Llewelyn Novel

When an Italian assassin's body is found floating in a barrel in Victorian London's East End, enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his assistant Thomas Llewelyn are called in to investigate. Soon corpses begin to appear all over London, each accompanied by a Maf ia Black Hand note. As Barker and Llewelyn dig deeper, they become entangled in the vendettas of rival Italian syndicates -- and it is no longer clear who is a friend or foe.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In this fifth adventure for Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn, the Victorian detecting duo pulls out all the stops to squelch an Italian incursion into local organized crime. Characters worthy of Dickens’ London cross paths with mafiosi as creatively brutal as Mario Puzo’s Corleones. The secretive Barker, with his dark glasses, squat dog, and Buddhist leanings, is pushed to his psychological limit when he is called to the scene of a particularly gruesome murder and is later threatened with a “black hand” note and physical attacks on his household. Challenging cases are Barker’s forte, but sorting out gangland vendettas tips the balance toward a less-than-legal solution. Despite the unrelenting violence and burgeoning paranoia, Llewelyn’s first-person narrative infuses the story with his trademark humor—wry, self-deprecating, and sometimes macabre (think Madame LaFarge’s knitting). After a particularly personal attack, Barker lands on a unique solution to rid the East End of the unwelcome Sicilians. In an underground meeting readers won’t soon forget, the pugnacious Barker foments a gang war guaranteed to leave fans with clenched fists. --Jen Baker

Review

"I've read every book in the series, and loved them. If you love Sherlock Holmes, historical mysteries, or just a good, rousing adventure, you'll love these books, too." -- Laurell K. Hamilton

"With his four Barker and Llewelyn novels, Will Thomas has worked his way up on my personal list of When's the Next One? So I was overjoyed (although not surprised) to find The Black Hand easily living up to the previous adventures of this unlikely, stimulating, colorful pair of investigators. Which leaves me with the question, when's the next one?" -- Laurie R. King, author of Touchstone

"This series is a constant pleasure. Barker and Llewelyn are two of my favorite sleuths, and their Victorian London evokes images of damp fogs and gaslights and muted footsteps on cobblestone streets. What mystery lover could ask for more?" -- Sharon Kay Penman, author of Time and Chance

"Stunning, witty, informative, thrilling -- how often do you get all of those in one book? If you blended the authenticity of Conan Doyle, the research of Caleb Carr and the sheer readability of someone like Grisham, you'd have some idea of the bliss of The Black Hand." -- Ken Bruen, author of The Guards and Priest

"Will Thomas's The Black Hand is what Conan Doyle would write after taking tea with Lee Child. The Barker & Llewelyn series transports you to the fog-shrouded, gaslit streets of Victorian London, then sweeps you away like the Thames at flood tide. This atmospheric historical thriller is as good as it gets." -- Julia Spencer-Fleming, Edgar finalist and author of I Shall Not Want

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416558950
• ISBN-13: 978-1416558958
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas is the author of Some Danger Involved, the first novel featuring Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn, and now a Barry and Shamus Award nominee. He lives with his family in Oklahoma.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars (4.5) "The presence of the Sicilian mob would alter crime in London forever.", July 21, 2008

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Black Hand: A Barker & Llewelyn Novel (Paperback)

"Escalated violence, extortion, weapons smuggling, murder and vendettas." This is the recipe for the future inquiry agent Cyrus Barker envisions should the Sicilian Mafia succeed in their current bid for dominance in the 1885 London crime scene. Aided by his youthful and faintly acerbic sidekick Thomas Llewelyn, Barker is first awakened to the threat when called to assist the Thames Police with a recent murder: a barrel has surfaced bearing the dead bodies of an Italian assassin and his wife. Soon after, a prominent businessman is found dead, a sharp object inserted in his ear, into his brain. As the authorities request Barker's expertise with these violent murders, threatening notes appear bearing the Mafia signature, the Black Hand, messages indicating each recipient is a target. One such subject is an Italian import from Paris tasked with teaching the latest method of criminal investigation, one that uses photographs and precise body measurements to categorize criminals. (In competition with fingerprinting, another investigative tool in its infancy, Bertillon's System will eventually lose credibility as an accurate technique.)

The violent methods of the Mafia are unprecedented in Victorian London's lexicon of criminal enterprise, local agencies, Scotland Yard, the Thames Police, the Home Office currently overwhelmed with the usual unlawful activities of the population. They turn to Cyrus for a solution, under the aegis of the Home Office. While the Sicilians are distinct from other Italians, so are law-abiding Sicilians different from the Mafia criminals who have threatened the balance of the city with ever more frequent and deadly attacks. Nonplussed by the ramifications of the ruthless Black Hand, hallmarked by vendettas and bold assassinations, Barker realizes that a serious confrontation looms, that he must gather whatever ragtag forces available, London street gangs, five French brothers and volunteer dock workers. Barker's hasty alliance with varying factions assembles in common purpose, prepared to face a fearless enemy and defeat the takeover.

London law enforcement has yet to benefit from the fruits of revolutionary investigative techniques. Cyrus Barker is a sophisticated man of the world with eclectic interests, standing boldly against a landscape littered with the usual criminal elements, the docks a haven for discontent as laborers compete for jobs. Barker and his man, Llewelyn, are familiar faces from the author's other mysteries featuring the duo, the urbane and somewhat foolhardy assistant with a curious nature and willingness to follow his employer into the maws of hell if necessary. Compulsively readable, Thomas captures a fascinating era, the world on the cusp of dramatic change, an intrepid team schooled in the gentlemanly arts, resorting to other methods when appropriate. In this case, extreme measures are required: "How long before the Italians are against the Irish, and the French against the Chinese... one man wishing to be head... through murder and intimidation?" It's up to Barker and Llewelyn to negotiate this treacherous contretemps. And with Barker, nothing is what it seems. Luan Gaines/ 2008.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not the best in the series, but still good, August 23, 2008

By 

Nancy O (hobe sound fl) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Black Hand: A Barker & Llewelyn Novel (Paperback)

Thomas' new novel, "The Black Hand" is number 5 in the Cyrus Barker/Thomas Llewelyn series. In this installment, the two enquiry agents are hired by the government to try to thwart the establishment of a group of Sicilians known collectively as the Mafia from infiltrating the British underworld. There are also fears that these troublemakers will begin a reign of extortion, murder and other nefarious deeds. Several people have been found dead and the manner of their deaths is known to be those used by the Sicilians. Somehow these people have to be stopped, and soon, especially since the criminals hit very close to home for our heroes. The author also gives his readers a very brief history of the Mafia (up to that time, of course), which was very interesting.

I've really enjoyed all of the Barker/Llewelyn series, and while I enjoyed this one, it wasn't my favorite of the five. I figured out the plot twist pretty early on, which kind of disappointed me, and it just seemed a bit flat storywise, not as exciting as some of the previous novels in the series. . Overall it was still a pretty good read; the reader learns more about the enigmatic character of Cyrus Barker, which is a plus.

I'd recommend it, but I strongly urge readers who may be considering the series to start with the first one, Some Danger Involved, and to read through the books in order. Now, I wonder how long I'll have to wait for the next one?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just Gets Better, August 27, 2008

By 

Richard A. Mitchell "Rick Mitchell" (candia, new hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Black Hand: A Barker & Llewelyn Novel (Paperback)

When the Barker and Llewelyn series started it seemed to be an unabashed cousin of Holmes and Watson. As the series has progressed, however, Mr. Thomas has developed his two heroes with distinct personalities of their own. Additionally, the reader is given a history lesson of London, 1885, in every book.

Although this is a series, each book stands alone. There are a few references to prior cases, but nothing the reader needs to know about to understand or appreciate the goings on in this book.

In the Black Hand, Barker and Llewelyn are up against a new threat to law and order in London - the Mafia. They are teamed up in a conspiracy to fight the new criminals and especially the Mafia's new leader. Although the plot does not have as many twists and turns as prior ones, Barker's willingness to break the law to enforce the law adds tension to the plot.

The best part of this book, relative to the others, is the maturation of the characters. As the series has progressed, Barker, Llewelyn and their entire supporting cast has gained in depth and personality. Llyweleyn's sardonic humor comes through and another member of the household is given a life away from Barker.

The characters are a pleasure to revisit and the plot good as always. I can't wait for the next installment. I do worry, though, that Mr. Barker will run out of ethnic groups in old London, having now done in the Italians, Jews, Irish and Chinese. I have faith that with his knowledge of Victorian London the next installment will surprise and impress - again.

This is a very good mystery, with terrific characters set in a wonderful historic backdrop. Highly recommended.