Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

When a student bearing a striking resemblance to artists' renderings of Jesus Christ is found murdered -- by crucifixion -- in London's Jewish ghetto, 19th-century private detective Barker must hire an assistant to help him solve the sinister case. Out of all who answer an ad for a position with "some danger involved," the eccentric and enigmatic Barker chooses downtrodden Llewelyn, a gutsy young man whose murky past includes recent stints at both an Oxford college and an Oxford prison.

As Llewelyn learns the ropes of his position, he is drawn deeper and deeper into Barker's peculiar world of vigilante detective work, as well as the dark heart of London's teeming underworld. Together they pass through chophouses, stables, and clandestine tea rooms, tangling with the early Italian mafia, a mad professor of eugenics, and other shadowy figures, inching ever closer to the shocking truth behind the murder.

Brimming with wit and unforgettable characters, and steeped in authentic period detail, Some Danger Involved is a captivating page-turner that introduces an equally captivating duo while signaling the start of an exciting career for Will Thomas.

Average Customer Rating:

Fabulous! Fabulous! Fabulous!	Customer Rating:
I've had more fun reading Will Thomas books in the last couple weeks than I have the whole rest of the year. Absolutely terrific. Wonderful writing, intriguing plots, and characters that are so real you'd think they actually existed somewhere, or wish they did. The only problem I have with Will Thomas is his books come out but once a year. Drat!

Enjoyable but not engaging

Customer Rating:

This author was recommended by another author I read frequently, so I came on Amazon and picked up a few books by authors suggested. This is the first one I read and I was pleased with the choice. The beginning and ending were fabulous, but everything in between lacked substance. Knowing absolutely nothing of the Jewish customs or history made it difficult for me to follow the plot, and at times there were so many antagonists that I became thoroughly confused and almost chucked the book. However, the desire to learn the outcome and to find out "whodunnit" drove me to read to the last page, and with a twist ending I am glad I did. It just took a while to get there!

Just plain fun

Customer Rating:

Some Danger Involved was a fun book to read. It presents almost Conan Doyle-like characters in the form of the eccentric Cyrus Barker and his Watson-like side-kick, Thomas Llewelyn. The opening chapters of the book reminded me a little of the Red-Headed League; but the author has not plagiarized Doyle, he's gone him one better! The Victorian era is a wonderful setting for murder mysteries, because it provides the characters with a venue wherein wits, intelligence, and courage are still the detective's best tools. The author makes a rollicking tale of trips to the dangerous underworld of London, fights with the bad-guys, and drawing room drama, while also providing an interesting tale of a world in transition. The center of the narrative is the growing issue of anti-Semitism in the European world and of a culture that is making its way toward the 20th century and--as the reader is aware--the world wars that helped to define the new world order. It was an instructive jouney into history as well as an entertaining tale of adventure. A fun book.

Very Pleasant, Enjoyable Victorian Mystery

Customer Rating:

SOME DANGER INVOVLED is the first novel in Will Thomas' series involving a private detective and his assistant in Victorian England. While this novel isn't a great or memorable one, I found it a very enjoyable, diverting read. The real pleasure of SOME DANGER INVOVLED is being introduced to the two main characters, who meet for the first time in this book. The detective Cyrus Barker, as well as his young assistant, Thomas Llewelyn, are both likable people, and it's fun to read about their interactions. The author also does a good job of re-creating Victorian England, as well as explaining how the Jewish minority lived in Britain during that period. The plot of this novel is rather thin. It involves the murder of a young Jewish scholar, and Barker's attempts to find his killer. The plot moves forward in a leisurely fashion that doesn't really generate a great deal of suspense. The dialogue is also a bit stilted in spots. Still, the author has a good writing style, and I found this book entertaining to read even during the slower parts. If you're looking for breathless excitement, SOME DANGER INVOLVED probably won't do it for you. But if you're looking for a traditional mystery with loads of charm, this is a fine choice, one of the best I've read recently in this category.

Keeping it simple

Customer Rating:

While this series is supposed to be a Sherlockian knock-off, there seem to be much stronger ties to the Hardy Boys series. Although there is a whole lot of Victoriana thrown in for color and mood, the characters are too modern in attitude, as if they too had time warped into the past along with the reader. While this is a readable book, in as much as Thomas can write a clear sentence in English, his dialog is often forced, there are frequent expository or information dumps, in the 'as I'm sure you know vein' and there must be hundreds of 'certainly, sirs' in the book, along with the all too frequent 'lad' which become numbing. The biggest problem in this book is poor plotting. Thomas isn't a story teller, that is, someone who has an interesting story to tell that makes you want to know what happens. He is more of a plodder, trudging thru his tale, not a plotter, who is working his magic and someone should have talked him out of the forced and quite uninteresting, jack-in-the-box ending to this story.