My Review: “The Inklings Detective Agency" by John R. Kelly is a new favorite mystery of mine and worthy of the literary greats that inhabit its pages! I could tell just from the first few chapters that this book was a winner. The incredible writing pulled me in, along with the awesome characters (many beloved literary legends) and its premise. The author obviously knows his stuff and would make any die-hard Inklings fan proud with this book (I am a huge Tolkien nerd myself and loved the many literary quotes and Easter eggs). The story is rich with history and some great settings, from the Kilns to the Bodleian library, Oxford, London, and Scotland. I love that other literary figures also make cameos—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, and Agatha Christie. I think this book will be loved equally by men and women (I must hide it from my husband). The actual mystery is exciting and kept me on my toes. The author’s notes at the end were fascinating and a lot are based on historical people and events, including a detective club with Agatha Christie, Sayers, and Chesterton. The mystery itself does involve some darker aspects, including the occult (see content notes below), but it never got too dark for me, and it is all told from a Christian perspective. I love that Lewis prays with one of the people he interviews when the person gets emotional. There is a great theme of the light shining through the darkness. Now I feel like the Inklings are lovable friends. Please, please let there be many more mysteries for the Inklings to solve! I am so excited to read about their next case and to see if their “Moriarty” will show up again. All the stars!
Content: I give this a PG-13 rating. Some examples of the
content: characters drink alcohol and mention of people being drunk; mention of
smoking and gambling; prostitutes and a mistress; substance abuse; joke about a
seance; pipe smoking; mention of a ghost; the words “bloody” and “bastard” are
used; mention of divination; mention of the occult; mention of insanity and an
asylum; mention of someone being bisexual.
TW: speculation of su*cide; past depression; talk of beating
a child; past abuse; past addict.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book
which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest
opinion.
