A Victorian London detective story with a touch of Egyptian mythology. I say a touch because other than the names, and some settings there really isn’t a lot of Egyptian content in the story. The story definitely has a distinctly mystery and case solving feel like those of Sherlock Holmes.

This was a different pace for me, but an enjoyable one. What I liked the most was the vocabulary and sentence structure with which the two main characters spoke and the majority of the book was written in. It has the feel of the older English writing with touches of modern writing intermingled. I definitely loved seeing words like vociferously, unconscionable, deferentially, and similarly less commonly used words used so abundantly throughout the text. It made my little logophile heart so happy.

There were a couple of things that dinged this book for me. The first being the extent to which the “silliness” of our main characters went. For the first three fourths of the book I had a hard time believing the two were capable of being able to do much of anything, let alone solve a mystery/case.The second thing I had a hard time with was deciphering who the intended audience for this book is. It has the air and feel of a children’s book (the silliness and downplaying of normally serious events to a point of being more comical) but not only is some of the content not entirely great for children (crocodiles eating people from a village that got flooded, for example) but the vocabulary makes this a higher reading level than is normal for a children’s book. So I am confused about who this book is for. I’m not saying an adult cannot entertain the silliness, and carefree feel of this book, I am merely saying it was unusual and therefore slightly off putting for me. While I am a lover for farfetched and fantastical stories, I do prefer that there be some believability to the world or realm that the story takes place in. This one was just shy of that for me.

All that being said, I did enjoy this quick read. I think keeping the main characters more perceptive with their wits about them can make all the difference in how the next book in the series will be perceived. If your looking for a lighthearted, quick detective story read then this is definitely one to consider.

Full review: wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2017/11/13/review-barnabas-tew-and-the-case-of-the-missing-scarab-by-columbkill-noonan/ ( )

I love Egyptian history so I was really excited to read Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Missing Scarab. This unique and unusual book completely exceeded my expectations and, although it won’t be to everyone’s taste, I have already recommended it to one of my colleagues who enjoys reading about mythology.

I found Barnabas both exasperating and hilarious; I certainly wouldn’t have had the patience that his sidekick Wilfred has. I couldn't help but imagine Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer playing Barnabas and Wilfred; if Reeves & Mortimer did Sherlock Holmes it would probably look something like this. Barnabas is a completely incompetent private detective and it is just his luck that the one case he did solve gets him recommended to Anubis, the jackal headed Egyptian God of the Dead. Anubis wants Barnabas and Wilfred to solve the mystery of the missing scarab beetle, Khepre, who is responsible for rolling the sun across the sky each day. With Khepre missing, the sun is stuck in the sky and the unbearable heat threatens to bring drought and starvation to the people of the underworld.

What follows is a veritable who’s who of the Egyptian underworld as we meet several gods and goddesses, some I had heard of and some I hadn’t. I don’t know a great deal about Egyptian mythology, but I certainly know a little more now. I loved how the characteristics of each deity were described; it brought the whole book to life as I visualised the snapping snout of crocodile headed Sobek and the cow headed goddess Hathor, who reminded me of Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts, with Barnabas trying to be careful not to ignite her wrath.

The whole book actually does have a feel of Alice in Wonderland about it; rather than Alice falling down the rabbit hole, Barnabas and Wilfred fall into the underworld. Although the Egyptian gods are based on real myth, Columbkill Noonan has given them a cartoon like quirkiness that had me half expecting the Mad Hatter to appear and announce that it was time for tea. I think this book will definitely appeal to fans of Alice in Wonderland because of the almost dreamlike quality of the writing; like Alice did, I expected Barnabas to wake up at any moment and realise it was all a dream...or was it? It’s certainly a book that readers off all ages will enjoy as I didn’t spot any naughty bits or swearing.

Quirky, original and completely enthralling; my only disappointment was that I reached the end too quickly. I enjoyed Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Missing Scarab so much that I am already looking forward to the next book.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. ( )

In Victorian England, Barnabas Tew read the stories of Sherlock Holmes, and decided he would be a great detective, too. He attends university, completes his education, and then takes his small inheritance and sets up an office and home in London. He even acquires an assistant, Wilfred--who is perhaps more observant of detail and a more promising detective than Barnabas.

They don't have many successes, but they do find an Egyptian man's stolen ankh necklace. That man is happy and grateful, and might seem to be a great source of word of mouth advertising. However, he dies not long after.

His word of mouth advertising goes to Anubis, who, as it happens, does need a good detective. The scarab beetle in charge of rolling the sun around the sky has been stolen. Or kidnapped. And the Egyptian afterlife doesn't have any detectives.

So Barnabas and Wilfred are getting a crash course in the Egyptian afterlife and divine pantheon, something they both actually studied a bit--but clearly not enough--in the course of their educations.

They have some wild adventures, and it's a lot of fun. Sadly, a lot of the humor here is cringe humor--making the hero act stupid so we can laugh at him. When the object of this kind of "humor" is so clearly a good guy trying to do the right thing, I do laugh. I do, in fact, cringe. Yes, I know these are fictional characters--but if we don't care about them, why are we reading? So that we can laugh at nice guys trying to do the right thing, being made to look foolish?

Nevertheless, I persisted, and Barnabas, despite continuing to make errors due to lack of information, in some cases information deliberately withheld from him, begins to get his footing and make some progress with his investigation.

He also meets a very nice mouse lady....

I really like Barnabas, Wilfred, and some of the friends they make along the way. (Thoth, for instance, is an Egyptian god after my own heart, and Bast is, well, Bast, and really, Barnabas should have expected that...)

Once we get past the early indulgence in cringe humor, I enjoyed the book, and look forward to the next one.

I received a free electronic galley from the publisher, and am reviewing it voluntarily. ( )

This was such an interesting and unique read! I remember reading similar storylines, when I was younger, and absolutely adoring the clever blend of detective work and history. However, as I grew, I started to notice there weren’t really any or many of these for adults. This book shows that there definitely are and they are so much better than even I remember!

I loved the blend of history and PI work. As the, somewhat failing, private investigator tries his hand at helping Anubis, fix an untimely issue for the Egyptians. I loved that it was such a brilliant blend of the two, with a little hint of humour, to really make the story both fun and very interesting.

The level of detail the author put into the story, from the main character’s personalities down to the smallest historical details, really made this read for me. It kept me completely hooked and I really enjoyed diving in and trying to solve the mystery.

I do hope to read many more books by this author, should they be of this same style. I think a lot of the historical sleuth readers, both young adult and adult will grow to love this book.

**I received and arc and chose to provide my honest review. ( )