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Will Thomas is an American novelist that writes the Barker and Llewelyn series. A native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the author spent his teenage and adult years in Oklahoma. He has Drama and English degrees.
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Order of Barker & Llewelyn Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Some Danger Involved | 2004 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | To Kingdom Come | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | The Limehouse Text | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | The Hellfire Conspiracy | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | The Black Hand | 2008 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | Fatal Enquiry | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | Anatomy of Evil | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | Hell Bay | 2016 | Description / Buy | |
| 9 | An Awkward Way to Die (Short Story) | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 10 | Old Scores | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 11 | Blood Is Blood | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
| 12 | Lethal Pursuit | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
| 13 | Dance with Death | 2021 | Description / Buy | |
| 14 | Fierce Poison | 2022 | Description / Buy | |
| 15 | Heart of the Nile | 2023 | Description / Buy | |
| 16 | Death and Glory | 2024 | Description / Buy |
Will Thomas Anthologies
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part I: 1881 to 1889 | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XIII: 2019 Annual 1881-1890 | 2019 | Description / Buy |
Thomas has been obsessed with Sherlock Holmes for most of his life. ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ was the first book he remembers, and it sparked his interest in storytelling. It did not take the author long to realize that he wanted to write novels similar to those Conan Doyle had penned.
‘Great Expectations’ was another influential book that inspired Thomas’ love for Victorian literature. Although, once he discovered Sherlock Holmes, he never looked back.
Mystery novels were not Thomas’ first pursuit. He contributed poems to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. After reviewing Holmes for many years, the author accumulated such an impressive database of knowledge about a variety of subjects, including English history and the Victorian Underworld, that it was only a matter of time before he decided to put his mark on the literary arena.
But before writing fiction, Thomas explored the theater. It was his first interest. He only wandered away from the field because novels gave him more control over his characters.
Thomas realized that the notion of acting in plays other people had written no longer appealed to him. Once he set his sights on writing fiction, the author decided to prioritize books over plays because he knew that any play he wrote would eventually disappear.
On the other hand, his books will remain on a shelf somewhere for centuries. The Barker and Llewelyn series manifested organically. Thomas knew that he wanted to write mysteries because that was the genre he liked.
But he had created two different protagonists, and the author couldn’t choose between them. It took him a while to realize that Llewelyn and Barker could exist in the same world.
Llewelyn was young and cheeky, and he could work for Barker, who was older, intelligent, and intractable. The characters had such an entertaining dynamic with one another that Thomas could not wait to write about them.
Victorian England was an obvious choice for a setting because it had the sort of sophistication and elegance that had always fascinated Thomas. He knew enough about the era to bring Victorian England to life in vivid detail.
The Barker and Llewelyn series has evolved over the years. Thomas is always looking for new ways to advance Barker and Llewelyn as individual characters. He knows that the characters have a lot more to offer.
Even with all the books he’s written in the series thus far, the characters keep surprising him. They have more to show him, and the author is excited to pass their stories on to the reader.
Will Thomas Awards
Thomas’ accolades include an Oklahoma Book Award, as well as Barry and Shamus Award nominations.
Best Will Thomas Books
The author writes his books in longhand. He has a wife that types and edits his work. Thomas’ best novels include:
Some Danger Involved: Barker had a complex case. Someone had crucified a student. The murder was shocking because the victim looked a lot like Jesus from the paintings. Barker couldn’t catch the killer alone. So, he posted an ad that brought Llewelyn into his life.
The young man had a murky past. But he was enthusiastic. Barker did what he could to teach the fellow the ropes as the detectives wandered through London’s underworld in search of the shocking truth.
To Kingdom Come: Barker and Llewelyn were tasked with upending a plan by the Irish Republican Brotherhood to bring London to its knees. Their adventures began when Irish dissidents destroyed the Special Irish Branch of Scotland Yard.
The authorities couldn’t ignore the bombing, and Barker immediately jumped into the fray, followed closely by his assistant Llewelyn. To find the culprits, they assumed new identities.
To the so-called Invisibles, Barker was a German bomb maker. To anyone that asked, Llewelyn was his apprentice. The Invisibles accepted Barker and Llewelyn.
The pair was the perfect addition to a plan designed to end the monarchy. But Barker had no intention of standing by and watching as his targets executed their plan.
In between training his assistant in the art of self-defense and the science of bomb-making, Barker would find a way to save London from a dark fate.
When Does The Next Will Thomas book come out?
Will Thomas doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Death and Glory and was released on April, 23rd 2024. It is the newest book in the Barker & Llewelyn Series.