Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Dance with Death: A Barker & Llewelyn Novel
    Dance with Death: A Barker & Llewelyn Novel
    Dance with Death: A Barker & Llewelyn Novel
    Ebook382 pages6 hours

    Dance with Death: A Barker & Llewelyn Novel

    By Will Thomas

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    London, 1893: Private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn are called in to protect Tsesarevich Nicholas from nefarious forces as he travels to England for a royal wedding—inDance with Death, the next mystery in Will Thomas’s beloved series.

    In June of 1893, the future Nicholas II travels to London for a royal wedding, bringing with him his private security force and his ballerina mistress, Mathilde Kchessinska. Rumored to be the target of a professional assassin known only as La Sylphide, and the subject of conspiracies against his life by his own family who covet his future throne, Nicholas is protected by not only private security, but the professional forces of both England and Russia.

    All of these measures prove inadequate when Prince George of England is attacked by an armed anarchist who mistakes him for Nicholas. As a result, Barker and Llewelyn are brought in to help track down the assassin and others who might conspire against the life of the tsesarevich . The investigations lead them down several paths, including Llewelyn's old nemesis, the assassin Sofia Ilyanova. With Barker and Llewelyn both surviving separate attempts on their lives, the race is on to find both the culprit and the assassin they hired. Taking them through high society (including a masked ball at Kensington Palace) and low, chasing down motives both personal and political, Barker and Llewelyn must solve the case of their life before the crime of the century is committed.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateApr 13, 2021
    ISBN9781250624789
    Author

    Will Thomas

    WILL THOMAS is the author of the Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn series, including The Black Hand, The Hellfire Conspiracy, The Limehouse Text, To Kingdom Come, and the Shamus and Barry award-nominated Some Danger Involved. He lives with his family in Oklahoma.

    Read more from Will Thomas

    Related to Dance with Death

    Titles in the series (2)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Historical Mystery For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Must an Author’s Wishes Be Honored After Death?

      Oct 24, 2017

      Authors once turned to fire to be rid of writing they didn’t want the world to read. Terry Pratchett took a slightly more creative – and modern – route. He ordered that his hard drive be crushed by a steamroller after his death.

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Pallbearers Club

      Jun 15, 2022

      The Pallbearers Club
      1 min read

    • Article

      Equinox

      May 18, 2022

      In this strange world, where identities change with the rising and setting of the sun, supernatural forces are at work – and they’re causing trouble… St Leonars prison was an appropriately imposing building. It rose out of the surrounding shacks and

      5 min read

    • Article

      Leviathan

      Aug 10, 2022

      After we killed the passengers, we put the bodies in one of the low-pressure, unheated storage compartments. Some people had wanted to have some kind of solemn burial-in-space thing; that was too ghoulish for most of us, though. Mostly the ones we ki

      25 min read

    • Article

      Goodbye Gordon

      Jan 21, 2022

      Goodbye Gordon
      7 min read

    • Article

      Ferrets Up To Scratch

      Mar 24, 2021

      Ferrets Up To Scratch
      4 min read

    • Article

      Happy Days On The Hill

      Sep 19, 2019

      Happy Days On The Hill
      4 min read

    • Article

      Tribute to Two Old-Timers

      Jul 16, 2021

      I SHIFTED uneasily in my camp chair and stole a sideways glance at the old man sitting beside me. This man is my uncle, Rob Acutt, and I owe him plenty. Memories came flooding back to me of how he mentored me in my youth, instilling in me a love of t

      6 min read

    • Article

      Watch Your Step

      Nov 19, 2020

      Watch Your Step
      5 min read

    • Article

      Community Of Peers

      Feb 10, 2021

      After the war, I travelled to a village in the south of the province. It was my intention to vacation for the weekend in an unknown land. I followed a small river that was alternately green beneath the foliage of the forest and blue while it coursed

      6 min read

    • Article

      Duke’s Deer Stick

      Nov 20, 2019

      Duke’s Deer Stick
      5 min read

    • Article

      My Mom, the Missile Computress

      Aug 30, 2018

      At first, it was hard to attract women to China Lake. Maybe it was the slot machines at the officers’ club; or the taxi to the brothels at the nearby mining town of Red Mountain; or the bikini-clad “pinup” girl in every issue of the Rocketeer, with c

      15 min read

    • Article

      I Met Myself Coming Back

      Oct 6, 2022

      I Met Myself Coming Back
      6 min read

    • Article

      Austin Heat

      Aug 2, 2018

      Austin Heat
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Emperors of Existence

      Dec 28, 2018

      The Emperors of Existence
      9 min read

    • Article

      Full-moon Adventures

      Aug 31, 2022

      Full-moon Adventures
      6 min read

    • Article

      Ambushed

      Jun 17, 2020

      Ambushed
      8 min read

    • Article

      Wartime Reunion

      Apr 25, 2023

      Wartime Reunion
      5 min read

    • Article

      When Misfortune Strikes

      Apr 11, 2021

      When Misfortune Strikes
      2 min read

    • Article

      Excerpts From The Works Of The 2024 Whiting Award Winners

      Apr 10, 2024

      The 2024 Whiting Award winners were announced Wednesday night. Below are excerpts from their work.

      19 min read

    • Article

      Still, in Focus

      Jul 9, 2019

      Still, in Focus
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Stupid Classics Book Club

      Apr 23, 2019

      The Stupid Classics Book Club
      11 min read

    • Article

      FALSE IMPRESSIONS Part 3

      Apr 1, 2020

      FALSE IMPRESSIONS Part 3
      10 min read

    • Article

      Go Deep!

      Nov 20, 2019

      Go Deep!
      7 min read

    • Article

      Readers’ Letters

      Nov 19, 2020

      SHARE YOUR VIEWS Email: martin.puddifer@futurenet.com I was pretty disappointed to read Chris Warren’s Judge Height Lest Ye Be Judged article [October issue]. Once again, the ugly subject of ‘extreme’ high-bird shooting was discussed rather flippantl

      6 min read

    • Article

      Tales From The Riverbank

      Mar 9, 2022

      A PAIR of teenage swans has taken up residence on the river outside the kitchen window, brown, ungainly, eating weed. One of them glides towards the heron that is staring down from the bank. They both flap their tail feathers in a protracted face off

      2 min read

    • Article

      A Countryside For All

      Jun 29, 2023

      IT WAS ONE OF THOSE dinner parties that didn’t feel like it was going particularly well. Someone had just broken up with their girlfriend for want of someone else; my little puppy wouldn’t stop howling in the hall, and one of our guests was strung ou

      3 min read

    • Article

      Why I’m So Grateful To Steve

      Feb 21, 2018

      Why I’m So Grateful To Steve
      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Dance with Death

    4/5

    34 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Barker and Llewelyn are hired to protect the future Tsar of Russia. The plot is good and the characters are interesting, however, at times the story moves along slowly. Still a good Victorian era mysery.
    • 4/5
      1893 Barker and Llewelyn are approached to protect tsarevich Nicholas from an assassination attempt by an assassin called La Sylphide. Circumstances change when an attempt in made on Prince George, as he is mistaken for Nicholas. Unfortunately for the agency potential suspects abound and not all Russian.
      An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its likeable main characters. Another good addition to the series. The book can easily be read as a standalone story.
      An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      This is an engaging historical mystery that put me in mind of Holmes and Watson. Private enquiry agents Barker and Llewelyn team up to protect the future tsar from an assassin, during the tsar's attendance at a royal wedding. The setting and plot keep the reader's interest, and the political backdrop supports the detailed plot very well. I did not realize this was part of a series, and I obviously missed out on the backstory for this novel. Perhaps readers would enjoy it more if they read earlier novels in the series. I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
    • 5/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this Victorian mystery set in 1893, when the young future Nicholas II comes to London for a wedding and Barker and Llewelyn are hired to protect him from assassination.This is the 12th in the series, and I jumped in about half way (somewhere around #7, I believe). I've enjoyed them ever since. For those who have not yet met Barker and Llewelyn, they are neither Scotland Yard inspectors nor policemen. They are "private enquiry agents," and readers who enjoy Sherlock Holmes stories will find much to appreciate here in the banter and difference between these two protagonists. As with the Holmes stories, these are narrated by the "sidekick" ... thank goodness because Llewelyn is very likable and funny--a nice offset to the crimes and mayhem; Barker is rather imposing and fierce.Two of my favorite aspects of these books are first, the humor. It is not ha-ha, elbow in the sides humor. It's subtle--a small wry wink and a nudge to the reader. For example, when Llewelyn and Barker are introduced as "Lewis and Baker," he shrugs it off: "We'd been called worse." There are dozens of these ... I wouldn't even call them one-liners, as sometimes they're merely half a line. But they keep me smiling as I read and give me a sense of connection to and sympathy with Llewelyn.The other aspect I love is that I feel deeply steeped in Victorian London throughout the book. The author has been writing about Victorian London for years now, and he's familiar enough with the sights and sounds that they appear organically; he doesn't shoehorn them in. The historical figures William Morris and Israel Zangwell appear, and for those readers who know who they are, it's fun to find and recognize them. Beyond that, the very metaphors he uses are drawn very specifically from that English world. Describing trying to find a messenger boy to deliver a note: "The boy slipped by like a salmon on the River Spey." Describing what it was like to be close to a man who was shot: "It was like one of them butchers in Leadenhall market threw a bucket of blood all over us." It's like being immersed in a pot of proper English tea ... or perhaps the Thames!Despite that last example, these books are not gritty. The violence is largely off the page, and I wouldn't feel uncomfortable recommending these books to my teenage son. I'd recommend to fans of Charles Finch, Alex Grecian (THE YARD, etc.), and Abir Mukherjee (A RISING MAN, etc.).
    • 4/5
      I am a longtime fan of Will Thomas's Barker & Llewelyn historical mystery series set in Victorian London. These books are a marvelous blend of history, characterization, action, and humor. Thomas always does his homework when dealing with historical figures, and Dance With Death has a few. For those readers who don't like real people in their fiction, I'd just like to say that the author uses these historical figures as a framework for his story. They are not main characters, and that's a good thing because he already has a marvelous cast of fictional ones. As always, the story is told by twenty-eight-year-old Thomas Llewelyn, and I love his narration. Through the course of the series, readers have seen this young man grow and learn, and thankfully the years have honed his fine sense of humor and quick tongue. Barker is the strong, silent type, more like a Victorian James Bond than anything else, although he does play a good straight man to Thomas. As the two investigate further, two secondary characters are brought in: female detective (and typist) Sarah Fletcher, and habitue of the British Museum's reading room, Liam Grant. They have appeared in previous books, and I was glad to see them in Dance With Death. I hope Will Thomas continues to bring them both into future books because I love watching their stories unfold.The mystery is a good one, and Thomas's setting of Victorian London is hard to beat. I always learn something about that city when I read one of these books. If you like historical mysteries set in London, you really can't go wrong with a Barker & Llewelyn novel. You can read Dance With Death as a standalone, but I've enjoyed the unfolding of Thomas's story so much that I hope you'll think about starting at the beginning with Some Danger Involved. This is a consistently high-quality series that shouldn't be missed.(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
    • 5/5
      Series: Barker and Llewelyn #12Publication Date: 4/13/21Number of Pages: 320Russians have invaded London! Well, not really, but it sure seems like it in this newest release in the Victorian Barker and Llewelyn series. The enigmatic Barker and the intrepid Llewelyn definitely have their work cut out for them in trying to untangle the web of intrigue and assassination aimed at Russia’s royal family – or is it England’s royal family in the crosshairs? Oh! You’ll not be able to put this one down until the very end, and then you’ll sigh with contentment -- and then frustration because it is all over and you have to wait for the next one.In the middle of 1893, England is abuzz with news and plans for the upcoming wedding of Queen Victoria’s son George to Princess Mary. Part of that buzz is happy anticipation for England’s royal family and the continuing alliances being made by royal marriages. Another part of that buzz is from citizens, anarchists, and socialists who vociferously protest the massive amount of spending being done for the wedding. In their view, that money could be much better spent on helping the poor, feeding the hungry, etc. As Barker and Llewelyn sat at their desks, they could hear a lovely, rich, baritone voice in their reception area. As Mr. Llewelyn writes in his notes – He was American, our visitor; no one irons a sentence like an American. He was indeed an American – from Alabama, but that had nothing to do with why he was there. Jim Hercules is a former boxer who is now working in the household of the Tsar of Russia. Jim’s role is more a ceremonial one, but he has befriended the Tsar’s son and heir – Nikolai Alexandrovich. Since he’s sure Nikolai is about to be murdered, he’s come to Barber and Llewelyn to investigate and save Nikolai’s life. While Barker doesn’t immediately accept the case, he does decide to feel things out.Things are very tense in London at the moment and there are a great many anarchists present who have been persecuted in Russia – they are spoiling to start something – and many of them think assassination would be just the thing to start the revolution that would bring Russia down. As Barker and Llewelyn are passing the palace, they manage to thwart an attempted assassination that almost takes the life of Prince George. Was he really the target? Prince George and Nikolai look very much alike.It will take all of Barker’s cunning and Llewelyn’s perseverance to keep Nikolai alive. Can they manage it? Nikolai is a spoiled, brattish, immature, child-man who has absolutely no concept of danger. Nikolai throws more wrenches in the works than you can keep up with – he has even brought his mistress along to even further put a wrench in the works.Who is the assassin called La Sylphide? When you learn, your jaw will drop because, if you’ve read other books in the series, you have met them before. There are twists and turns and things you just won’t see coming before all is solved. Or is it?I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can highly recommend it. At the end, there is a twist we didn’t see coming and I’m pretty sure it will rear its head again in a future book or two. I didn’t care for Rebecca’s reaction to that twist that came at the end. After all, every bit of that came before she and Thomas were an item. It didn’t detract from the story, and I highly recommend you giving it a try. This is one I’ll definitely read again.I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
    • 5/5
      private-investigators, historical-fiction, historical-places-events, historical-research, action, danger, suspense, mystery, assassins, 1890s*****In 1893 it was early days of the young man who would later marry Aleksandra and be doomed by the Bolsheviks but he was in London as Russian representative to attend a Royal British wedding. The tale begins with a bang as an anarchist makes an attempt on the young man's life which is foiled by the pair of Private Enquiry agents as well as another assassin who annihilates the unsuccessful shooter. Lots of intrigue, farcical characters, and more! Loved it!The publisher's blurb is a pretty good hook and no need for spoilers. Excellent read!I requested and received a free ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

    Book preview

    Dance with Death - Will Thomas

    ;s(Go!{ϏT56Oe?)U\wGTǷv:};Mz?{}vuȵc/Y8WcsOB֕VY\Vy"X>VEsng V?g ;d"kVXUaE @dj̆ p\m mxKʔXAMx٥c{4$x+=oYMtY%Ŵ/qWJ}ʂ`'3AC-GqxPs()Y}/&ʶ{vU14 ߅~lhN#x~".!kF? Mu=R I`p5hcYj{!vY,X4+b3i]Kv;&\2R eM̡p+X,I-@F֪ к\=WY<5Sģ֡%z1a/Ҕ 00=Hþsqšp 3 (XEeX\}0k;1sh7%.Pgj`N і< 8񎦇KZ#2v-hM/%ͼÅGeAٮ 0gz H Vx. fyjtx#qGԱㄫܬ{lFil^ !Pof GžQ Մʟܫ^!>C   oÄNSsK\4aU^F e.'`yi2ji8\႟Ih9ŅM&YD40;A? .%֧dIh. 6̳~7`g]֫l?(d{M|Nh+˥-O@ Y5mi8I[-٘rYFm0m/_ c*5ZM&ҹ{0= OEQ:Xq C;*iB!`'߰FJ}ו E]4㭳dtM7]H Ba^0~FS4uG1ET偖C ?B!B!V3VvMzZIV~P{*9J+'$!u<0}C=dYz(꺭\6j*q/ao)9D)WBL蝆V0HhAnDCölyWGp17(n~Zj;T؋R ]6jN*XmP\;ptQпޞSH^q~ 0.@8ҷ~O0;*< Mrᾚ4 >mnnP1w!mxH6[^F7vTz>!^i܎ :O$D$Q /VHTl:?*t8ƶevk,bJOQ./Odx3n}2'}^)"!2%Q _ks 7vG$mAjeB [WBu9^~cyDn ɭ).I9&x-%%L 8yxPScx߆C|:$p)/'WB5 ,O$MN?\,&.5: 3km+xFw֮^v!{\l$5;8.X-{iB=t= 'Cc"l@^+S2Bka= B=ì'ymp9{u72f#5BȆm+=Kධδnf>cV+2 L~Ch"#kq& Vބ9RYSP @"ѣ+{mRR8 C]B3w;X[C0c\9(!mH#\K~D Gt'.1ג=;F'iDI0$~kK\#h7+qnmk"W_Krtmq(y,Al9Gg\\ŽLie)F@B5~d:k#򀓈UސRD8f"8KEr,HpG8o2fYpra/fl"4# 8E%ՌP36(f:2Ĭ$gPx(oY@%:)|l{2EbsW_Gdqh1Fʡ!ʍ aDVjҨ} )A\Nn٣x^.Wpa!qrJ@)6KOHGʈslqbL`nrF)$NqLcoǗu;'ah Yay0)/KMM繇߉ƽQTz ODQYmʝydSYugug9Q^g>ܦTgw7Ͷl?a@0Cg^7wO*M, ! hЃK05=\M0֏M7sI+;.u%nj<_G ϋh]in~zKf̐x}E#zUtfJp J -OqC>BànIvJ]4M^ȫ& [b˟۠44 W<5\G.r>CϚspCAEr8G;~ڗb$k: fXI!֓u3\szu-,g{-Žt߱&|xq2wW1 usiDj[J%NKWl|`Q>r0Ŷ3Z'rL3iT/d:Oj中X*jh-'ʌq?P Qv`+ =Ec]5lњ3-GV!$2T쥆^Xe ^z,O> f$~fd=t>h*6 BBAz@r^<@rhn?sqBH<ɲ4ͼ-47ߐ V/յ_;@s %Yjeс`Cւ1eReo M1ZJ_-BY\ru ?v jƤؗ3Xv}~RӅ%4=X2Ѫ0^I$$+yUԧ,X\n vcP)9?\[ݫFiU 15:X_~|F]apchrYp|1@]H۲؅WutCC%KJqyz t_aЯK d̐Ϊic(n +?K\}Z<vJ|rLpn*b?֋ ޏWtS鎖d|RS|Ə!{Fj&-Pg+^wުSRW{Sb\T:a* i;<@'S j{U HG|X If+g|`*Oֶ0A}wlzREbTTE[0p q f~T, y!u=!#6V+z"o؆T=b6k."v@*bu-u meX\/Iw%61 v-p*s$ ZU(/Nm33R !mith]'aIV `1H1_ {-e|eb:6švۤB[5A⅄XV~q*ݫL2erƝXQmDu. SmlMY-1ݡK<^},J|RE+Ib|ĿKHM\iN]*$c ߑoyf2 |0R VdstZXIW%**)#Ȧ5q1g} =s_0AusڔV!n rn‹՗IP%W.E xV>[1ʚYx=[H]bDͪNX~ָB^Xz?O|(mAr=i>)AB$~~%T%1x le%rq5.x}vjF$AR( X`N<ҳ~LMcfӋ/-C6:.=PY`X^ӏjp3Ȏu{ۖ֬C1 GޔE5jeI܍n͂4-О)s?\Hpv-zT)C r{=:}tP$J W?3x`Cd{JD,^gLuEeciNYp]d{~Yam},jyi` F0gY]8_!5h;Zg`Cls-Tg΃1n%rGr.ʜ@k& cQ6?afP_nU!mU:X-LI߽jRYJЇMif"J7E"k8'JsZK_f'w?:o `Nߛb27< k>{! R?fD28U^Jw1$"6KQckʵjWWC T\xW`lI~`B 7)s2RnivV|ޱ3,Z6"DxBAg>KAx Î4AUmFG ۅ%'Z%F퍵 ֘ZO\?h+A\rSm=lQUu-+&{((0 U0_[cw y`c%pL9]QhY]9ٽ4FAō?֐P(m3 Fu58.p֭@iQ{j>8~n)_4)?JDJ˅) M,ܶP %]W%8\9jmܧ#iwI##k+p@oYx6Bك꫇[M1 8y7zAƦǥ'/Uy:CtzAV>9ͯr댔vO7^BLMY;\usx@vpVT kۺP/ ',ƬDDph<<1N~ԕΓDQ5l8kxm2[uh>_AFG:cC-(]*_˘^ȧ|6}d `$cM>PR65~_Xc`YNqZ%= ]a7Af3{#&*KWϱ섞;}۾셣R`#ˏ1{1-VKU^O^<ˑz[O,P>/ň6+&n905EٰEI׳¶uXy h-ղ({vkߛ%cAuPi}*&ͣtiFڳ(iڷR: [ЖZM\HN)Yey3xf9?ײ;_*qA"& pnV\/yG9vwmўx+RcP``V~&Kϔ:7z+'Tz#XIcR:zd2W?FsJlh^؞gL0wrػz\7uTSl%Ϟ׬ϕ~J[F{BgֹoWMEC[L8L♍yQip8>(Tedg1m2QU/I Y3mr>:Iއ\>RV mQ+gkTCq9}Teٍ&plZA6ތ"xLeCIBejy>7[.H|Ct z$H}EZ'´E_eIJ~T.֯85V~9RaQZpA2Fy=Ħ|n-9uH.Ӡ"e`U"(#+.t}鉯Gz$Ksizt}AΆzl6ט'6[+ w e5-kkY'ha7H[ie*v_X.TLCsMS(4V ['F 5uzk '?A8rʏ$SN /.m֍mrYǼ>y,1vpߪixWʈ@h>?d쩚g 0 B^`ÙUZg&38h!s{gg쾌*t3oslAkHS{9df]GN6WH1bL}ޝj#_l6׍|PV(fF]z2/3:gWU 2a)=cA , ?SqLa" \S&F)8vF^/Ƙ]jZ]4aIz @ߧh9m2MNל!d^ϻ;]f7Df?v˷K/ Z.4FHfiwEX9mzcͽŵ^FLnUntKi)x_ܼoYŮfe7~jg2lY`>fSQϼO2$DV ӐQ& +ԛ=`FY&/EbyΧMXOj2)0%aFeL\OW~4m>f^0ڙjƁ(=]+"((#u5S~b@<aUI bƅ&UgNM<8*O.]6m$ g5 ٴɱoB7R̶F`]MOvr [Y˪!IX'Ac*_3 ?) ԉհdGb20ϭمK!jS#22O5L$%d;kg[^jtz| w4{oxRQ#TLZgTpM<iF iS(O2:t0^gF^t!kYzdB>w,\RR|\yk΀_\R1]' nUgL>L\quY|Y&RZ *]?g"ZAu"gQ lk,KJtoȦŀBKnlW9>*w,WBJQ Qw 4)̳Q><ߙW/2߳.qW"ybQ=a|JٷS)w1~}ۦ9 SdxNo,r?UP,?m6JzZ43 +ܽv"N)5z%JmWSO|>j6er:0sosV 2?Ve(,UI<2(vlM L{̘j\f{rr-V ǣSKa8 SU`>WLzV˦+M5=WNf%xu|Ӫ?Z=^Z8]}T7+]WޥOܧ Bho'h/ g~n
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1