Description
Book SynopsisAS AN URCHIN LIVING ON THE STREETS OF LONDON, WIGGINS SPIED FOR SHERLOCK HOLMES. AS A MAN, HE SPIES ON THE ENEMIES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
OUR MOST TALENTED HISTORICAL MYSTERY WRITER TODAY. --ANDREW GULLI, STRAND MAGAZINE
A TWIST-FILLED ADVENTURE. --THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
THE GAME IS MOST DEFINITELY AFOOT. --MICK HERRON
London 1909: Vernon Kell, head of counterintelligence at the war office, wants to set up a Secret Service, but to convince his political masters he needs proof of a threat. And to find that proof, he needs an agent he can trust who is smart, ruthless, and able to blend in with the hoi polloi.
As it happens, the man Kell needs is Wiggins. An ex-soldier with a talent for deduction perhaps second only to the Great Detective, Wiggins was a Baker Street Irregul
Trade Review
[A] twist-filled adventure that proves far from elementary * Wall Street Journal *
A thrilling story of espionage, murder and the creation of the Secret Service -- Charles Cumming, author of A Colder War
A flavoursome smorgasbord that features not only Holmes but also Winston Churchill, this is irresistible stuff * Barry Forshaw, Guardian *
A fine first entry in what promises to be a great new series. Wiggins is a captivating hero, and Lyle draws his Edwardian backstreets in convincing colour. The game is most definitely afoot. -- Mick Herron, author of Slow Horses
A good deal of excitement and some enjoyable riffing on both the history of espionage and the Conan Doyle canon, with cameos of everybody from Winston Churchill to Mr Holmes himself... the book is a treat * Sunday Express *
Impressive period detail and sharp dialogue add charm to the strong plot * Daily Mail *
H.B. Lyle has found the golden thread between Bond and Holmes in a thriller which engages on every page -- Giles Foden, author of The Last King of Scotland
An exciting, action packed adventure ... Lyle has chosen an interesting and highly engaging way to take the Sherlock Holmes legacy in a new and thrilling direction * Shots *
It is hard to generate something new in such an avalanche of well-worn tropes, but H.B. Lyle has managed to do that quite cleverly in The Irregular * Crime Time *
The pacing in The Irregular is near perfect... a rip-roaring page-turner of a book and a rollicking good read * The Tattooed Book Geek *
A fast-moving, hugely enjoyable story with interesting characters and authentic background...It is the first of a series, and I look forward to the sequels * The Historical Novel Society *
I thoroughly enjoyed H.B. Lyle's The Irregular, which imagines Wiggins, the street urchin who helps Holmes in Conan Doyle's tales, grown up and working for the real-life spymaster Vernon Kell...Smart, sophisticated...will still appeal to those unrefined readers - like me - who devoured the Holmes stories when we were young, and secretly believe that nothing in life has been as exciting since * Daily Telegraph *
