Official Synopsis from Goodreads: A bombing injures private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker, leaving it up to his soon-to-be-married junior partner Thomas Llewelyn to find the person trying to murder them both before it’s too late—in the newest mystery in Will Thomas’s beloved series.
In 19th century London, Cyrus Barker and his associate Thomas Llewelyn are renowned private enquiry agents, successfully employed by the highest levels of Her Majesty’s government as well as private citizens. Their success, however, has led to their acquiring a powerful group of enemies, many of whom are determined to have their revenge. At least one of those enemies is responsible for a bombing of their offices that puts Cyrus Barker into the hospital and endangers Thomas Llewelyn’s rapidly forthcoming nuptials. To add to the confusion, Barker’s long-lost brother Caleb turns up on the rubble of their doorstep not long after the not-quite-fatal bombing.
Unsure of Caleb and warned about him by Barker, Thomas reluctantly accepts Caleb’s help both with a new case that comes in as well as trying to pinpoint which of Barker’s enemies is making a move against them. As Thomas works his way through their enemy list, someone else is winnowing down that list: one by one those enemies are dying.
With time running out—and his bride-to-be reconsidering their marriage—Llewelyn must (with the sick-bed bound Barker’s help) uncover the killer and the plot before it’s too late.
Genre: Historical Mystery
Setting: Victorian London, approx 1890
***I received an eARC copy of Blood Is Blood from the publisher, Minotaur Books, via NetGalley***
*** this post contains affiliate links ***
Review: Another fun entry in the Barker and Llewelyn mystery series. Blood Is Blood by Will Thomas takes us back to the world of Barker and Llewelyn and the setting of Victorian London. This setting is one that I just love, and I always look forward to see what adventures Barker and Llewelyn get into. This time around, the adventures are mostly all Llewelyn’s as Barker is injured early on in the book in a bombing of their office, and Llewelyn is tasked with solving the case.
Thomas Llewelyn is a likeable character. He’s an everyman who complains about his job and his employer, but when push comes to shove, he’s there for Barker and will do anything for him. Llewelyn is about to marry his sweetheart, Rebecca, and I am not a huge fan of Rebecca. She’s quite bland, but I’m hopeful that she’ll gain more personality as the books go along. Cyrus Barker is, as always, a magnetic personality, and I miss him when he isn’t on the page.
A new character we meet in Blood Is Blood is Caleb Barker, Cyrus’s brother. Caleb is a Scotsman who lives in America and has turned cowboy and also Pinkerton agent. I enjoyed reading Caleb. He’s an unpredictable character, as you aren’t sure whether he’s good or bad, on Barker’s side or conspiring against him, and I liked trying to figure it out. Along with Caleb, we meet many old enemies of Barker’s as Llewelyn digs through old cases to see who wants Barker dead. The answer is that everyone wants Barker dead, so there are many suspects, and Llewelyn travels to Paris and to various prisons in London trying to interview suspects. I liked the mystery here, and while elements of it felt a bit far-fetched, it was fitting for the series, and was a great entry in the series. I can’t wait to see what happens to Barker and Llewelyn next!
Bottom Line: Another fun adventure with Barker and Llewelyn.
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Author Website
And here’s a link to an excerpt from Blood Is Blood
The Barker & Llewelyn Mysteries:
luvtoread 
Oh, Ami, I’m so glad you’re here and reading and reviewing! Every time I hear about the California fires, which is EVERY DAY on NPR, I think, “Should I contact Ami or let her read in peace?”
Back to your review: I’m glad that you like this series and are sticking with it. It gives me hope for a read-along I’m co-hosting with Death by Tsundoku in 2019. The read-along is for a 15 book series of fantasy novels be Mercedes Lackey. I hope I don’t get worn out, but you don’t seem to with your series! It’s encouraging.
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Thanks for all of your thoughts! The Camp Fire (the big one that burned the town of Paradise and other small towns in the area) is about 3 1/2 hrs away from where I am, and the one down in So Cal is much further away. The smoke from the Camp Fire has really affected our air quality, and a lot of our schools were closed part of last week and most of this week due to the bad air quality. It was hard when the fires first started last week as the sepia-toned sky and the smell of smoke was very triggering for a lot of us in the area. My heart hurts so much for the people affected by these fires. It is so devastating.
Wow! 15 books is a LOT! That is so ambitious of you guys!! Do you have a set timeline for reading & finishing the series?
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Yes, we’re trying to read two per month for the first 2 months and then one per month to get all 15 in. I hope it works out! I’ve never be a leader in a read along.
Are you still thinking about moving to Colorado?
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