Some Danger Involved

This book is serviceable, but there's something very bland about the writing style that doesn't grip me quite as much. Not to mention, it's set in gritty Victorian London and really does not filter some of the incredibly abrasive and problematic views in those times, touching upon subjects like anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and racism. It seems like almost all the non-Jewish subjects that Barker and Llewelyn interview have some incredibly controversial opinion to air, and then B&L will just sort of follow up with a “he's crazy!” sort of thing (and not even to these subjects' faces) so us readers will know we can support our protagonists. I don't know, it just felt a bit too repetitive to me in the end. I stopped at about the 50% mark of the book and even at this point, I couldn't find myself invested in the central conflict in the book: the anti-Semitic movement that B&L are trying to combat. It's not that I don't care, but it just wasn't written in a way that I felt very invested in or that I found productive.

So, eh.

I really enjoyed this. It's exciting and fast-paced, and the main characters are all easy to like. Actually, the point-of-view character doesn't have any flaws, aside from naivete, but I didn't mind that too much, because it isn't really a character-driven story.

I do like Llewelyn's journey in this story, from a man with nothing to live for to one proud of himself and surrounded by friends. Still, most of the plot focuses on the mystery, which has to do with anti-Semitism. The book gives an interesting picture of Jewish life at that time in London.

My only other criticism is that there aren't any female characters with depth. Llewelyn does have a love interest, but I have no idea why he's attracted to her, other than her looks.

The ending was very good, with everything wrapped up, although I'm definitely eager to continue reading the series. I was shocked at how much I liked this; I got the audiobook from the library as kind of a lark and didn't expect to blaze through it in a few days.

The atmosphere of Victorian London is probably the strongest suit for this book, although I fear it is often anachronistic. Barker is not hugely compelling. The ending is too protracted.