Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard is a Dickensian mystery thriller with a familiar narrator in a Victorian setting. The novel follows from previous stories in a way that makes sense and has an engaging mystery. Louis Bayard has created an interesting novel that takes it’s time getting going, but finishes with a bang of action and several twists and unexpected turns.

The title character of Mr. Timothy was previously known as Tiny Tim from Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. The setting is several years later when Timothy Cratchit is now a twenty-three year old who pays his boarding at a whorehouse by teaching the madam to read and makes his money by pulling up dead bodies from the Thames and pulling money out of their pockets. He desperately wants to stop being beholden to his Uncle N (Ebeneezer Scrooge), but is finding it difficult. His parents have died and his siblings are spread out. The only one still nearby is his brother Peter. He also frequently sees the ghost of his father wandering around the city.

Scrooge: I was wondering, Tim, if you still see your father.
Tim: Yes. Here and There
Scrooge: I used to see spirits, too, Tim. Terrible things. How I miss them.

When Tim sees two dead young girls with a G branded on their hands, he finds himself deep in a mystery that involves two young children and every favor that he can call in to solve. When he sees a mysterious young girl wandering around the city, he gets a young boy to lead him to the girl and the three of them wander the city trying to find an honest policeman to help them solve the mystery and protect the young girl. The finale involves our heroes against more villains and a bigger problem than they originally thought. But our heroes are heroes to the end and are willing to take all necessary steps to protect the innocent.

The book is the first of Bayard’s historical novels.The next one, The Pale Blue Eye, features Edgar Allen Poe as a detective during his stint in West Point. The writing is wonderful as a pastiche of Victorian horror and a mystery novel. Highly Recommended