The Irregular by H. B. Lyle

The Blurb On The Back:

The streets taught him.
Sherlock Holmes trusted him.
The Secret Service wants him.
The Empire needs him.

LONDON, 1909: The British Empire seems invulnerable. But Captain Vernon Kell, head of counter-intelligence at the War Office, knows better. In Russia, revolution; in Germany, an arms race; in London, the streets are alive with foreign terrorists.

Kell wants to set up a Secret Service, but to convince his political masters he needs proof of a threat – and to find that, he needs an agent he can trust.

Kell needs Wiggins. Trained as a child by Kell’s old friend Sherlock Holmes – he led a gang of urchin investigators known as the Baker Street Irregulars – Wiggins is an ex-soldier with an expert line in deduction and the cunning of a born street fighter.

Wiggins turns down the job – he “don’t do official”. But when his best friend is killed by Russian anarchists, Wiggins sees that the role of secret agent could take him toward his sworn revenge.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

H. B. Lyle’s debut historical thriller is a clever but uneven and at times clunky affair that marries the febrile anti-German atmosphere of 1909 with a minor character from the Holmes canon but while Kell and Wiggins have an interesting odd couple relationship that holds promise and I loved Kell’s no-nonsense, Suffragist wife Constance, some of the twists were predictable and the flashback scenes interrupted the pace.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.