It's a warm June in 1885 when a distraught major in Her Majesty's Life Guards bursts into the London office of Cyrus Barker. His 12 year-old daughter has been kidnapped. Scotland Yard is doing nothing. He wants to hire Barker who prefers to call himself a private enquiry agent rather than a detective, which implies a certain moral flexibility that Barker finds distasteful.

Barker asks why the major chose him, and the poor man chokes out that the door of Barker's office has "the shiniest plaque." So much for Barker's reputation as one of the best investigators around!

Always proper and stoic, Barker accepts the case. He offers the major a mirror and comb with which to freshen up before returning to his barracks to accept punishment for deserting his post. The major leaves their office with Barker and the servant Jenkins brushing at his uniform as though (page 8) "seeing him off to a dance instead of a reprimand. His face was still red, but his mustache was combed."

So starts a vivid Victorian mystery narrated first-person by Barker's young assistant Thomas Llewelyn. Has there ever been a more intriguingly mismatched pair?

Barker is a huge, dour Scotsman from a rigid Calvinist background. He is religious, self-educated, and deeply moral. He's also something of a mystery himself with his tattooed torso, his years in the Far East, and his prior experience as a ship's captain. An obsessed workaholic, he is a man of few (but eloquent) words. He eschews sentiment, but has provided second chances to many unfortunates such as Llewelyn who would have otherwise fallen between the cracks in their rigid Victorian world.

Llewelyn is a tiny, excitable Welshman who attended Oxford University and then got sentenced to Oxford Prison when framed for a crime by a rich classmate. Still mourning the death of his wife, Llewelyn has scores to settle. However, he loves his new job as a "private enquiry agent" and he especially enjoys the luxuries that have crept, by accident, into his and Barker's world. For example, Barker gives a French chef a job as a favor, which means that Llewelyn gets to enjoy exquisite food.

Much of the humor in The Hellfire Conspiracy springs from Llewelyn's dismay as the oblivious Barker decides that they can do without this or that luxury while relentlessly pursuing their case.

And it's a weird case! At first it seems that the girl was stolen by "white slavers" intent on forcing young ladies into prostitution. Then Barker and Thomas turn up evidence that several young girls have been murdered under similar circumstances. Why has nothing been done? Because the girls were from poor backgrounds. Also, the rivalries between the different police districts of London are intense.

Then Barker begins to receive taunting limericks from the killer. The madman is watching them, amused at their efforts. Further clues suggests that the villain may be a member of the Hellfire Club!

This notorious club from the previous century supposedly numbered "American diplomat" Ben Franklin among its members. It functioned as a quasi-Satanic social club for the decadent upper classes who enjoyed orgies, rituals, and weird costumes. Could the Hellfire Club be active once again?

Llewelyn has no time to speculate. Along with working nonstop with Barker, he must train to meet his old nemesis from Oxford in a boxing match, and escort a lovely gentlewoman to socialist meetings!

The Hellfire Conspiracy is an excellent historical mystery! Its fast-paced story immerses you in an exquisitely detailed depiction of Victorian society.

This is an exciting time period: a photographer mentions that he studied at Christ Church under Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll of Alice in Wonderland fame). Llwelyn's boxing match is refereed by none other than the Marquis of Queensbury who invented the rules of modern boxing. At a lecture, Llewelyn catches a glimpse of Oscar Wilde (who, of course, had his own problems with the Marquis – though not in this novel!)

My only disappointment with The Hellfire Conspiracy is that it never tells us much about the Hellfire Club itself – but that's a small gripe in light of the immense enjoyment that this story provided! The Hellfire Conspiracy is the fourth book in the Barker-and-Llewelyn series that began with Some Danger Involved but it can be read as a stand-alone. It can be found on Amazon through this link: The Hellfire Conspiracy: A Novel