The Irregular: A Different Class of Spy: A captivating, addictive spy thriller based on the classic Sherlock Holmes stories

The book was better than expected and my only quarrel was the over emphasis on sex. Still a ripping good story with Sherlock Holmes’s Wiggins of the original gang of street kids becoming one of England’s First secret agents. Very strong writing with a lot of twists. Brief appearances by Holmes and Watson with both seeing their prophesied fulfilled. Wiggins proved to be in the words of the great detective “The Best.” At Times I felt like I was reading a book by Ian Fleming rather than Conan Doyle. I may buy the hardback of this book as I prefer my best books on a shelf to share.

Enjoyable. A pretty quick read. While the characters are fictional, I like that the events forming the background of the plot were largely drawn from some actual happenings.

Instead of burying the lede, let's say up front that Sherlock Holmes does indeed appear in the pages of this marvelous new book from H.B. Lyle, but only briefly. But THE IRREGULAR is not really Holmes's story; instead, it is the story of Wiggins, the fierce, bright street urchin fans will remember was a leader of the Baker Street Irregulars (the group of scruffy streetwise children who served as Holmes's undercover eyes and ears in a handful of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic stories).Well, Wiggins is all grown up now, and struggling to make ends meet on the streets of Edwardian London. He's still streetwise, but now he's got bills to pay and a living to earn--which when we meet him he does by shaking down petty debtors for a loan shark (a job for which Wiggins is not all that well-suited, given that his sympathies lie firmly with the poor saps foolish enough to try swimming with the above-mentioned sharks). Still, he's a gifted observer (who was, after all, trained by the best) and a strong and able-bodied army veteran, so on paper anyway he seems qualified for this line of "enforcement." And most importantly, now as then, he "don't do official."Unknown to Wiggins, the British government was at this time beginning to form the first stirrings of the secret service. At the helm of the effort is a man named Vernon Kell, a historical individual who at the time was working with a young and ambitious Winston Churchill to form an intelligence network as a bulwark against foreign operatives (that's spies to you, innit). Their need for operatives was far greater than the number of suitable candidates in the officer corps, however, since most of those were pampered sons of the aristocracy.On Holmes's advice, Kell tries to recruit Wiggins, thinking the tough street thug might be just the sort of person he needs for his new effort, but Wiggins is having none of it--he's tasted life with the British army and wants nothing more to do with His Majesty's government in any way, shape or form. When Wiggins's best friend is killed in a bloody shoutout on the streets of London, however, the shrewd Wiggins realizes that playing Kell's silly game of spies (if only temporarily) might give him access to the resources he needs to find his friend's killers.This is the set-up for a brilliant new addition to the Holmes universe, starring the unforgettable Wiggins as the Irregular himself, a man ready-made to play a role in an international plot of huge consequence--and in the formation of one of the greatest spy networks of the modern age. It would be spoiling it to share any more details about the plot, but suffice to say that one of the many joys of this book is the seamless integration of fictional and actual characters and events into the narrative--it's so well done that the book never loses the feel of the thriller, even as the action limns the edges of history.This book is a must-read debut from a gifted author--don't miss it!

Just finished reading this. It was one of those books that I was excited to receive and read (as it scratched two of my never-satisfied itches as both a lifelong S Holmes fan as well as an espionage fiction aficionado.) But it was also one of those books that, rather than feeling sad that I was coming to its end, I was more than ready to be done with. Overwritten, slow in many parts, many characters not believable to me. Overall, I'd recommend it to a Canon-crazy (like me) with the warning not to expect too much. For those who don't long for anything about The Master, I'd say give this one a pass. Perhaps as this is the author's first published work, he will improve? High hopes....

This is an honest homage to Sherlock and his companion and chronochler. There are some modern sensibilities incorporated, some vulgarisms in speech (albeit not inappropriate) which would not appear in stories published for the general public a century ago, but the story itself is a reasonable projection of an easily palatable future and treats well with both historical and historically notable characters. Situations are interesting and not offensive to the critical reader. I enjoyed it far more than I have enjoyed many "modern" Sherlock stories. ... An "Irregular", all grown up, and schooled by the best ....Kindle version free of notable problems.

'The Irregular' is a spy thriller with a difference, and it's hugely enjoyable. Set in 1909, Britain has recently formed a defensive alliance with France and Russia against Germany and Austro-Hungary, a move which most of its politicians believe makes a European war unlikely. However, Captain Kell, head of counter-intelligence at the War Office, is convinced that German spies are stealing Britain's military secrets. Kell is endeavouring to build up the nation's fledgling spy service with little support from his superiors. Unfortunately he has no hard evidence to support his suspicions, other than the murder of two agents who he tasked with investigating the matter. However, in desperation he hires working class ex-soldier Wiggins, who as a child led a gang of urchin investigators known as the Baker Street Irregulars.'The Irregular' is fast moving and has a good plot, with plenty of twists and turns. It's also fun - there can't be many stories where both Sherlock Holmes and Winston Churchill make an appearance! The author's feel for the period is generally good, although he occasionally includes a word or phase from a more recent time (for example, Wiggins talks of 'going on a recce', a word not coined until several years' later).I understand that a sequel will be available shortly and I look forward to it.

A good read, interesting historical setting. A bit predictable but good fun. I enjoyed it and will look out for its sequel.

An evocative, and engaging grime & crime novelWith 2 murders in the first 20 pages, this book starts fast and continues at a pace equivalent to some of the street chases described within its covers. The reader is thrown into the bustle, steam, smoke, and dirt of 1909 as we follow our 2 main characters, Wiggins, a talented former urchin from the street with sleuthing powers instilled by Sherlock Holmes, and Kells, an upper-class wannabe spy master, fighting an invisible, unknown, and ever-present enemy.The timesWith social commentary reminiscent of Charles Dickens, and real historical events spliced into the narrative, in the style of Canadian author, Robertson Davies, this novel has a political landscape curated by the author wittily integrating a present-day perspective – “Never believe what you read in the Daily Mail.”The book stimulates thought - we are invited to ponder on where our modern cultures came from.The newAnd readers are drawn into the consciousness of Londoner’s at that time – where new technologies that we take for granted were shocking, new and hard to grasp at the time.London is portrayed in detail with street names and tubular railway stations both old and current mentioned to give the reader a sense of place but also to jolt us with some of the tougher realities of the time – Everyone does a lot of walking. The telephone was new, so people could not fully rely on it and send telegraphs, belt and braces style, when the message was important. All the tube stations had lifts not escalators, flight was novel, rare and the prospect of a plane making it across the channel seemed unlikely and was the biggest of deals. And all of this takes place before the 2 defining moments of the last century – both World Wars.ParallelsEchoing our world today with the introduction of AI and ever more connecting technology, the message is the same in this book – change is coming, people are unprepared, and the future has not yet been decided. There are benefits and dangers to development, and there exists the potential for evil too.ConclusionA cracking read for the murder mystery, Sherlock Holmes or historical novel enthusiast and a useful book for anyone wondering how and why our world is going off the rails – Answer - it has always been so.

Enjoyable story but tried too hard. The final paragraphs almost destroy the better parts of the book; they stretch credibility too far.The whole concept had great potential but at times I thought that the author was being too clever. I will still read the next instalment

Good interest in and and s nice set of characters xx