Arrowood

William Arrowood is a detective who takes different cases as compared to his nemesis, Sherlock Holmes.  He and his sidekick, Norman Barnett, are in dire financial trouble when a young French woman approaches them to search for her brother who has disappeared.  Initially Arrowood is hesitant to take the case.  After she convinces him to, she tells him who her brother had been working for.  The man is an enemy of Arrowood and Barnett.  Arrowood believes that the woman is telling lies, but he proceeds with the case anyway.

They approach a girl who worked at the same place as the missing man.  She offers to provide information, but just as they were to speak to her again, a man stepped out of the crowd and stabbed her to death.  He managed to get away before Barnett could apprehend him.  The girl was clutching a brass bullet in her handkerchief.  It turns out to be a 303 bullet from the be Enfield rifle, which only a few units of the army have.

An ex-convict tells Barnett that there is an American-Fenian group causing problems, and warns him to stay away as they are very dangerous.  Then CID from Scotland Yard take Barnett and Arrowood in for questioning.  Afterwards Barnett sees one of the CID officers talking with the man who had stabbed the girl in front of their eyes.

As their investigation continues, Arrowood realises that his client has been lying to them all along.  Every time that they try to solve something, they run into trouble, and it seems to be getting more and more serious. Author Mick Finlay’s foray into the underworld of Victorian London shows both the squalor and criminal elements.  Unlike Holmes, Arrowood is not infallible.  He has his trials and tribulations, but he does manage to solve the case.  A good, quick read.