Review: The Hellfire Conspiracy

This is the latest in a series of historical mysteries set in London in 1885 featuring private detective Cyrus Barker and his assistant Llewelyn. It is hard to avoid comparison with that far more famous London private detective Holmes and the assistant who documents his cases, but in fact, the two duos share little more than a period and profession.

Barker is a tough man with a mysterious past and foreign connections and his assistant Llewelyn, with few options following a false accusation of theft and the tragic death of his wife, is eager to progress in his new trade.

A young middle-class girl, visiting the East End to observe her mother carrying out charitable work and to learn how the poor live, disappears from the charity's office. Even worse, when Holmes and Llewelyn are hired by the girl's father to find her, they discover that hers is not an isolated disappearance. A number of young girls from the district have disappeared, one at a time. Their bodies have been found, but investigation into their deaths has been hampered by competition between rival police forces, and a lack of political will to overcome such differences for poor or immigrant victims. If the missing Gwendolyn DeVere was attacked by the same person or persons, she may already be dead.

There are, of course, other possible causes for Gwendolyn's disappearance. Campaigns against prostitution are targeting white slavers - gangs who entice or abduct very young girls and women into a life of brutal sexual exploitation. Although tales of these villains terrify many parents, others claim that the stories are mere fantasies invented to support efforts to raise the age of consent for girls. And someone is writing anonymous letters boasting of involvement in the mystery. Should Barker and Llewelyn be hunting a lone madman, a violent child rapist, or a gang of white slavers?

The period detail is rich and convincing. I generally do not like finding real people in fiction as they are so rarely portrayed in a convincing manner, but in this book, the real and fictional intermingle completely. The name I thought must have been the author's work - the pseudonym of the letter-writer - was in fact from a real (if fictional) work.

The characters are well-developed, as one might expect for the third book in a series. They have long histories, and necessary information is deftly inserted where needed without the author resorting to infodumps.

This is an excellent historical mystery, especially for those interested in Victorian London.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Cheryl - RAM

Book Review: The Hellfire Conspiracy