Anatomy of Evil

March 9, 2015
Thomas puts his Holmes and Watson stand-ins, Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn, on the track of Jack the Ripper in their less than satisfying seventh outing (after 2014’s Fatal Enquiry). In 1888, Robert Anderson, newly appointed assistant commissioner of Scotland Yard and known as England’s “spymaster general,” approaches Barker, London’s preeminent private investigator, after two prostitutes are butchered in Whitechapel. Anderson is about to leave the country to recover his health, and with Queen Victoria herself very interested in the crimes, he asks Barker to abandon his business and accept a temporary assignment to serve as a special inspector to catch the killer. Barker and Llewelyn move into the East End, to better understand the terrain, and divide their time between walking the streets and navigating the infighting among the police. Thomas is best at depicting the police tensions, which hampered the real-life search for the Ripper, but the contrived resolution to the case leaves some significant questions unanswered. Agent: Maria Carvainis, Maria Carvainis Agency.

March 1, 2015
In 1888, two private inquiry agents become involved in one of Scotland Yard's most infamous cases.Cyrus Barker and his assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, receive a visit from Robert Anderson, an old friend who's just been appointed assistant commissioner of Scotland Yard and head of the CID. Because Anderson's doctor has insisted he go away for a rest, he asks Barker to become a temporary member of Scotland Yard's team, investigating what will soon be known as the Jack the Ripper murders. Although he's not popular with the Yard's upper echelon, Barker agrees to work as Anderson's assistant, and Llewelyn becomes a special constable. The wealthy Barker (Fatal Enquiry, 2014, etc.) leaves his comfortable home, and the pair move into a room in Whitechapel, the poor London neighborhood where horrific murders and mutilations of prostitutes are spreading fear and tarnishing the reputation of Scotland Yard. Llewelyn already has a friend among the Jewish population that is slowly gentrifying the slum, but anti-Semitism is rife, and the government is desperate to keep a lid on it. Already rumors are spreading that a member of the royal family could be involved in the murders. Barker and Llewelyn slowly learn the location of every street and alley as they investigate those suspects the Yard has already turned up and hunt for new ones. The latest rehash of the Ripper case is packed with historical detail and is interesting enough as a police procedural but contains no surprises.

May 1, 2015

It is 1888, and private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and assistant Thomas Llewelyn are back where they started--in the East London district of Whitechapel attempting desperately to prevent a pogrom against Jewish residents. Only this time the duo are working with Robert Anderson, the head of Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Department, as undercover detectives and envoys to the Royal Family. And what has them keeping such exalted company? A growing number of savagely mutilated prostitutes and a serial killer billing himself as Jack the Ripper. With Barker and Llewelyn, the question is never when they'll catch their man, but how? VERDICT A satisfying addition to a satisfying series. Thomas (Fatal Enquiry) continues to contribute to the historical thriller genre by combining appealing characters with thoroughly researched historical detail. He remains distinct in his focus on Jewish Victorian London, and Ripperologists are sure to discover something new to debate in his unveiling of the legendary killer.--Liv Hanson, Chicago

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