“There it was again. A moment, a flash, something indescribable and so quickly discarded that one would feel obliged to disbelieve one’s own eyes had it not become inescapable by multiple repetition in my presence.”Murder and intrigue abound. At the center of it all appears a mysterious sheik and his cursed ruby.–In the style of Arthur Conan Doyle, Clay Boutwell brings back the Agora Society and … back the Agora Society and its premiere scholar, Carl Brooke. This is the fourth novella in the Agora Series, the others being, Two Tocks before Midnight, The Penitent Thief, and The Peace Party Massacre.
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Excellently wrought mystery! With astute observations and careful investigation, ideas and suspicions are explored and the truth is uncovered. Do spend the time to read this one!
A solidly good historical mystery with rich narration
I reviewed the audiobook format.
This is the first book by Clay Boutwell that I have read, and I will definitely listen to more. The author narrated it himself, and I must commend him for the excellent job that he did. The sound quality is top notch. The author’s rich, masculine voice as the narrator Carl Brooke was a pleasure to hear. It was smooth as honey with excellent enunciation. His voices for the other characters were distinctive, believable, and instantly recognizable in the story when they appear. I was especially impressed with the voices for Captain Barnwell and Mrs. Chodary. There were a few instances of mispronounced words, but it so rarely occurred that I could overlook it. For example, the city of “Venice” was made to sound like the planet “Venus”.
I was entertained by this historical mystery novella. It was about 2 hours long. The mystery took place in Boston in 1860, although the story was told in epistulary format by Carl Brooke thirty years later in 1890. Carl Brooke was an upper middle class man who belonged to the Agora Society, a group of intellectuals. (I think he owns a bank, but it is not clear). Carl Brooke’s rational mind and talent for cracking cases led to him being sought out as a private detective. The epistulary format and 19th century setting is pleasantly similar to that of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Carl Brooke carefully interviews people, keeps a level head, and smartly asks for police assistance in the form of his friend Captain Barnwell. I really like Carl Brooke’s personality, his mode of investigation, and his quick thinking.
The novella was smartly written and was thrilling sometimes. My only minor complaint is that I could identify the culprit too easily. I think there were not enough suspects in the story. However, I couldn’t figure out exactly how the culprit did it, and it was fascinating how those facts unfolded. I quite liked it, and I plan to listen to more books in the series.
I received a free advanced reading/listening audiobook copy from the author, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
Education
All the world’s a play and the Agora Society’s Carl Brooke must figure out: who are the players? This is the fourth in a series of epistolary-style short stories which carefully and delightfully mimic the styling of 19th century mystery literature. Each stands on its own although reading from the beginning gives one access to the Easter eggs provided on earlier events. The narrator is the author himself, and who better knows how each person is meant to sound?