Barker & Llewelyn Books In Order

Publication Order of Barker & Llewelyn Books

Barker and Llewelyn is a series of detective novels written by Will Thomas.

+The story

The Barker and Llewelyn series can be categorized as historical fiction. Will Thomas’ stories are primarily set in Victoria London, and they have been described as taking a hardboiled approach to the concept of historical crime fiction.

The books center on Detectives Barker and Llewelyn. In the beginning, it is just Cyrus Barker who is a Scottish detective. Thomas writes him as an eccentric character with a lot of enigma surrounding him.

When Barker is tasked with solving the murder of a scholar, it is determined that he will need an assistant to perform his work. So Barker puts out an Ad in the newspaper. Barker doesn’t shy away from explaining the dangers of the job for anyone who chooses to assist him, determined to only partner with those who will willingly step in harm’s way for the sake of Justice.

Thomas Llewelyn answers the Ad. The Welshman is young and brave and ready to do his part to bring a killer to justice. Over time, Llewelyn begins to take an interest in Barker, not only his life but the way he solves crimes. Llewelyn is also fascinated by the dark underbelly of Britain and its cities.

The books began in 2004 with ‘Some Danger Involved’.

+The Author

Will Thomas is the novelist responsible for producing the Barker and Llewelyn series. Thomas was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. With Scottish immigrants for parents, Thomas was constantly made aware of the critical nature of understanding his heritage.

Thomas’ love for Victorian times began when he came across ‘Great Expectations’ as a teen. The book nurtured a love for literature set in those times. At seventeen, Thomas became a member of a local Sherlock Holmes society.

He knew everything there was to know about the Holmes mythos and its creator. The author was availed an opportunity to strut his abilities by Ellery Queen’s Mystery magazine which published his poems.

It wasn’t long before Thomas began itching to create his own stories. The author spent so much time absorbing everything there was to know about Arthur Conan Doyle, not to mention the Victorian Underworld and English History that stories about a gumshoe working to in Victorian London began to take shape in his mind.

Thomas plays with both real history and fictional elements whenever he is writing his Barker and Llewelyn series of books, though he rarely bothers to reveal what is real and what he simply made up.

While the author’s novels are historical fiction, Thomas has admitted to simply approaching them as literary mysteries. The historical aspect isn’t always central to his thought process.

Indeed, some of Thomas’ stories could work just as effectively if they were set in the modern day.

Will Thomas refers to himself as an old-fashioned author, probably because he likes to write in longhand. He also enjoys the outdoors. He will sit in one place for a long time, simply smoking his pipe and thinking.

Thomas has admitted to working hand in hand with his wife to produce the Barker and Llewelyn novels. Not only does she type his work and edit it but they cooperate on the revisions.

+Some Danger Involved

When a young scholar in the Jewish Ghetto of London is murdered, Detective Cyrus Barker takes the case. He decides to hire an assistant to help him in his endeavors and Llewelyn answers his Ad.

The young man is brave yet downtrodden, struggling to overcome his past. The pair quickly works the case, revealing new truths about the murder even as Barker draws Llewelyn further into his world as a vigilante detective.

This is a great historical fiction novel, especially considering how it brings its protagonists together. Barker is an enigmatic vigilante detective who teams up with a young Welshman. Llewelyn Thomas is just a moment away from suicide when he comes across Barker’s Ad.

He is convinced to give life one more chance, especially when he meets his boss who turns out to be one of a kind. And he isn’t the only one. Barker is basically surrounded by unusual individuals and they give new meaning to Llewelyn’s world.

The focus of the book is a young scholar who was crucified. Barker is hired to get justice for him. The Jewish community does not yet know whether or not the murder was some sort of anti-Semitic Statement designed to threaten them as a whole.

The killer is somewhat important to the book but not nearly as important as the themes that Will Thomas tries to bring across. Fans of mystery and historical fiction are not going to fall over themselves at the originality in this book.

The novels stand out because of the author’s unique storytelling abilities.

+ To Kingdom Come

A storm is brewing in London, exacerbated by the bombing of the Special Irish Branch of Scotland Yard. A brazen faction of Irish dissidents comes under fire for the act. Barker and Llewelyn are not so convinced, though they still volunteer to infiltrate a unit of the Irish Republican Brotherhood.

There is a plan in place to bring London down, and Barker and Llewelyn will stop it at all costs. They will undertake a journey that will drag them across Britain as Llewelyn is put to the test.

This is an excellent sequel in the Barker and Llewelyn series. This time Will Thomas tackles the Irish and their violent approaches to attaining liberation from the English. The elements of terrorism in the book are very reminiscent of modern times.

Thomas plays on the historical conflicts between the Irish and the English to tell a tension-filled story about a young man clearly out of his depths in his attempt to meet the expectations of his eccentric boss.

While most mystery novels typically avoid the politics of the times they are writing about, Will Thomas boldly tackles the Irish/English conflict, this along with the elements of discrimination.

Barker and Llewelyn are very different. Barker is unique in almost every aspect while Llewelyn is a little generic. However, that complements their dynamic, with Llewelyn constantly working to keep up with and understand Barker.

3 Responses to “Barker & Llewelyn”

1. Maria: 3 years ago

   Love the series and listened to the first nine audiobooks. The Will Thomas puts you right in it. You feel
   Like you are there in the era. The narrator Anthony Ferguson is masterful and incredibly enjoyable to listen to. I love this series and highly recommend it.

   Reply
2. Dr. Ron Honeycutt: 3 years ago

   I have been reading the entire Barker and Llewelyn series but cannot find any hardback or paperback copies of “An Awkward Way to Die”. Do you know where I can get a printed copy- I hate reading in kindle and love this series.

   Thank you

   Ron

   Reply
   • Graeme: 3 years ago

     Unfortunately, that one is Kindle only.

     Reply