The Irregular: A Different Class of Spy
On sale
18th May 2017
Price: £17.99
‘A thrilling story of espionage, murder and the creation of the Secret Service’ Charles Cumming, author of A Colder War
‘[A] twist-filled adventure that proves far from elementary.’ Wall Street Journal
As a boy, he spied for Sherlock Holmes. As a man, he must save the Empire.
London 1909: The British Empire seems invulnerable. But Captain Vernon Kell, head of counter-intelligence at the War Office, knows better. In Russia, revolution; in Germany, an arms race; in London, the streets are alive with foreign terrorists. Kell wants to set up a Secret Service, but to convince his political masters he needs proof of a threat – and to find that, he needs an agent he can trust. The playing fields of Eton may produce good officers, but not men who can work undercover in a munitions factory that appears to be leaking secrets to the Germans.
Kell needs Wiggins. Trained as a child by Kell’s old friend Sherlock Holmes – he led a gang of urchin investigators known as the Baker Street Irregulars – Wiggins is an ex-soldier with an expert line in deduction and the cunning of a born street fighter. ‘The best’, says Holmes.
Wiggins turns down the job – he ‘don’t do official’. But when his best friend is killed by Russian anarchists, Wiggins sees that the role of secret agent could take him towards his sworn revenge.
Tracking the Russian gang, Wiggins meets a mysterious beauty called Bela, who saves his life. Working for Kell, he begins to unravel a conspiracy that reaches far beyond the munitions factory.
Fast-paced, action-packed, full of twists and violent, sometimes poignant shocks, The Irregular: A Different Class of Spy marks the arrival of a brilliant new writer.
‘[A] twist-filled adventure that proves far from elementary.’ Wall Street Journal
As a boy, he spied for Sherlock Holmes. As a man, he must save the Empire.
London 1909: The British Empire seems invulnerable. But Captain Vernon Kell, head of counter-intelligence at the War Office, knows better. In Russia, revolution; in Germany, an arms race; in London, the streets are alive with foreign terrorists. Kell wants to set up a Secret Service, but to convince his political masters he needs proof of a threat – and to find that, he needs an agent he can trust. The playing fields of Eton may produce good officers, but not men who can work undercover in a munitions factory that appears to be leaking secrets to the Germans.
Kell needs Wiggins. Trained as a child by Kell’s old friend Sherlock Holmes – he led a gang of urchin investigators known as the Baker Street Irregulars – Wiggins is an ex-soldier with an expert line in deduction and the cunning of a born street fighter. ‘The best’, says Holmes.
Wiggins turns down the job – he ‘don’t do official’. But when his best friend is killed by Russian anarchists, Wiggins sees that the role of secret agent could take him towards his sworn revenge.
Tracking the Russian gang, Wiggins meets a mysterious beauty called Bela, who saves his life. Working for Kell, he begins to unravel a conspiracy that reaches far beyond the munitions factory.
Fast-paced, action-packed, full of twists and violent, sometimes poignant shocks, The Irregular: A Different Class of Spy marks the arrival of a brilliant new writer.
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Reviews
H.B. Lyle has found the golden thread between Bond and Holmes in a thriller which engages on every page
A thrilling story of espionage, murder and the creation of the Secret Service
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.
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
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
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
The pacing in The Irregular is near perfect... a rip-roaring page-turner of a book and a rollicking good read
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
A flavoursome smorgasbord that features not only Holmes but also Winston Churchill, this is irresistible stuff
Impressive period detail and sharp dialogue add charm to the strong plot
[A] twist-filled adventure that proves far from elementary
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
