This is a fantasy mystery and I loved every minute of it. The Husband and Wife duo was fantastic and I loved how their relationship worked. Each chapter was entertaining with magical creatures and fun and funny at times investigation. I cannot wait to read next in this series I enjoyed soo much.

Once again Josiah Bancroft draws me in with another fantastic book. One of my favorite parts of Bancroft’s writing is the imagery that he portrays within his books. Everything is so well laid out and only adds to the overall book. The depth that is included of all of the characters is another favorite of mine. Bancroft doesn’t just give the reader a baseline back story of characters, whether it be minor or major, they all have extensive back stories that are another layer to the story.

From the beginning this book had my attention and I just kept wanting to read it to see what would happen next. I love the relationship between Iz and War, they compliment each other so well and you can feel the real love they have for one another.

Bancroft has done it again and I am so grateful that I have been given the opportunity to read this ARC. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for giving me a chance to read this ARC. I am leaving this review completely voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

DNF at 25%, an unrelenting onslaught of whimsy

Like many people, I was a big fan of Bancroft's Babel series. In it, he showcased an amazing blend of worldbuilding, weirdness, and epic scope that you rarely find in other fantasy works. When I was offered the chance to read this work as an ARC, I leapt at the chance because I was eager to see what he would do next.

Unfortunately, I was severely put off by this book. The Hexologists is a significant departure from Babel, one that's far heavier on whimsy, comedy, and general silliness. I think I get why it is this way, I'm sure anyone would need a break and to reset their storytelling engine with something less ambitious after writing something on the scale of Babel. However, the humor never connected for me and that really felt like the story's only real draw. While the world has some interesting concepts in it, much of the world seems predicated on the idea of "what can Bancroft make silly puns out of?" which I generally appreciate as an approach to storytelling but not in this case. See, Bancroft seems to not fully trust in his deployment of so many puns and silly ideas because his main character Iz Ann Always Wilby (yes, another pun) is primarily defined by her hatred of puns while being surrounded by an arsenal of punny magics that her father left her including things like the portalmanteau. Even if I liked the silliness of the story I think having the main character hate all the jokes I like would ruin it for me so having a situation where I'm not enjoying them and the main character is constantly reinforcing my existing dislike is rather torturous.

Ultimately, I think this story was a decent idea but that Bancroft needed to tone it down a bit. I find myself thinking "I wish this were on the same level of whimsy as a Catherynne M Valente book" and that's a revealing statement in and of itself. I know a lot of people who can't get into her works because she's too whimsical for them so the fact that I, an avowed Valente fan, read this and went "oooh, just a bit too extra on the whimsy, don't you think?" is kind of like if a Sanderson fan read a book and said "do we need so many hard magic rules?" I still think Bancroft shows a lot of talent here but ultimately this book just wasn't a good fit for me. I'll maybe try out the next one to see if he manages to even out the tone.

I am a huge fan of The Books of Babel and Josiah Bancroft's writing, so I have been anticipating The Hexologists for quite some time. I had a delightful reading experience and I cannot wait for the next installment! The Hexologists is an atmospheric mystery novel with a well-thought-out plot that will keep you on your toes. Each character in the story has a score of quirks and personal lore that makes the story even more enthralling. Isolde and Warren Wilby are ingenious protagonists whose chemistry is undeniable. I am so pleased by this book and I could not recommend it enough!

I love stories about magic. I love stories abut mystery. And I love stories of adventure. So when I came upon The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft, I knew I had to give it a try. (Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the gift copy!)

The Hexologists follows a wife-and-husband duo of adventurers, the Wilbys, who are asked to investigate a supposed royal heir by the Crown. (Echoes of A Scandal in Belgravia?) The Wilbys are unique not just because of their daring and extreme competence with adventures - Iz is a hex-caster, a master of a dying art form. Accompanied by their portalmanteau (think Rincewind’s Luggage), the Wilbys start digging into the potential heir, only to uncover a broader set of conspiracies…

Worldbuilding galore…

The first thing that sticks out in The Hexologists is the depth of Bancroft’s worldbuilding. He’s developed multiple competing magic systems, fantasy creatures (including dragons), and a royal political system in an alternate universe. With these systems, Bancroft starts to develop an alternate steampunk-esque universe - one where older forms of magic evolve out of fashion as alchemy drives an Industrial Revolution. Progress, it would seem, marches on, even in magical settings.

Bancroft develops some of these systems more than others - we spend a lot of time with the inner working of alchemy and hexology, and less with sorcery (for example). While it’s not always clear how the systems work, they do seem to play by a set of rules, and it’s easy to believe there’s real thought underneath them. This is less true of, say, the political systems, where we’re dealing with the bones of a monarchy that we assume operates similarly to those we know. It would be interesting to ponder whether these competing forms of magic significantly alter power dynamics, but this isn’t the book for that type of exploration.

Instead, the worldbuilding gives a sense of expansiveness to the Wilbys’ experiences as Hexologists. The Wilbys consistently reference prior escapades as they figure out how to handle this one. As they do so, you get a sense of exactly how big this world is - and how impressive their success truly is.

Adventures over mystery

If you like your adventure stories with a more flesh-out cast, however you may be a bit disappointed. The Wilbys are well-explored - particularly their relationship and their sense of adventure. The other characters in the story are… less so. In fact, Iz and Warren are not huge royalists, so we don’t get to meet the royal characters until late in the story. And the other major players in the plot play more cameo roles than fully fleshed-out ones. It’s a bit like reading a second or third book in a series instead of the first.

This makes for an interesting contrast, as the stakes are both technically high but feel kind of mid-impact. Bancroft’s writing implicitly relies on an understanding of characters that are almost stock - the mad king, the supportive sister, the beautiful nurse. And as you can imagine, for an avid reader, this can somewhat sap the mystery of its power.

Now, if this were sold me as a pure fantasy adventure, that would have been fine! Fun book, some neat worldbuilding. But if you’re telling me it’s a mystery - it should not only be solvable, but the solution should rely on an interesting puzzle. The Hexologists takes more of the cozy mystery / adventure story route, with a big action sequence and a bit of an exposition-dump at the end, for those who haven’t pieced together the tropes. The mystery element may have been a bit better served with richer character exploration and less expansive worldbuilding - or, because I love both, a longer book.

Reader's notes & rating (⭐⭐⭐✨)

I had a great time reading this, I just wish I’d known more accurately what it was going in. Come for the worldbuilding and fun, quippy adventure - not for the mystery element. Still, I’d be happy to read the next entry in the Warrens’ logbook. Three and a half stars.

Read this if...

You enjoy rich worldbuilding, particularly magical systems

You have a soft spot for partnered adventure duos, especially one with a husband who loves to bake and keep house

You enjoy a good city fantasy adventure

Skip this if...

You’re really excited about the mystery / puzzle angle

You get most engaged with characters instead of the world

You’re a little squeamish - on either injuries or mentions of marital relations

The Hexologists will be published on September 26, 2023.

If you thought Josiah Bancroft was going to be a one-hit series wonder, then you are in for an incredible surprise with the start of his new series, THE HEXOLOGISTS.

Having read and loved Josiah Bancroft's series, The Books of Babel, I hungrily cracked this one open expecting another dark, whimsical fantasy mystery. That wasn't at all what I got - instead it was an exciting mystery fantasy full of magical creatures, monsters, a unique magic system, a vast array of intriguing magical relics, characters I fell in love with instantly and a new adventure in every chapter!

"The Hexologists--hunters of wraiths, slayers of bugbears, champions of the common pleb, determined sleuths in search of the truth--at least when the truth pays the fare."

Couple Iz and Warren Wilby have built quite the reputation solving challenging cases involving troubled ghosts, wraiths, demons and many other such bugbears found in their city. It was known that if your troubles fell on the weirder side, it was the Wilbys you wanted to hire.

"People who tell you not to be afraid of things are usually the first to get eaten by tigers. Fear helps us prepare. I say, gather your supplies, arm yourself, and make the dark afraid of you."

When the royal secretary knocks on the door with a case, Iz and Warren's initial response is to refuse the case. The last thing they want is to work for the Crown. But the little fellow mentions the King was very ill, wanting to bake himself inside a cake - which piques their curiosity. It got my attention as well - I just had to know why - and maybe I also wanted to know if they guy ever succeeded during the course of the book.

The real mystery the couple is hired to investigate is a letter received claiming the author was the illegitimate son of the King...which could mean a disaster should the King perish in one of his attempts to crawl into an oven. The last thing needed was contention for the Crown.

Sounds simple, right? The Wilbys think so too - until the first attempt on their lives. Following these two as they search for answers was an exciting adventure, start to finish! I admit, there were some very lengthy descriptions as our characters were introduced in the first chapter that seemed a bit clunky, but the rest of the book flowed just fine. Bancroft is such a clever wordsmith - it's just as much fun experiencing his prose as it is seeing all of his creative genius on the pages as he builds and fleshes out this incredible world. I kept thinking, okay, he can't possibly come up with a better character than Warren Wilby...then I met Felivox. Or I'd think, the portalmanteau is the coolest thing ever....and then Iz started pulling out and using all of the magical charms and relics stored in the portalmanteau.

This was a delightful romp that I think would make a wonderful adaptation to a tv series. Each chapter could be an episode because each one had its own adventure, which all connected into a bigger story with an awesome payoff. I admit, I did think I predicted the outcome...but as per usual, I was wrong. When I re-evaluated and came up with a new conspiracy theory, that was wrong too.

Bring on more fantasy mysteries! I hope this trend continues because I have read several of these lately and I just can't seem to get enough.

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Isolde and War (Warren) Wilby are on the case. Hired by Royal Secretary because the king is under a curse they are on the case trying to find out what exactly happened, there may be an illegitimate heir, there's a dragon and a whole lot going on. Intriguing mystery, engaging cast and it was so much fun trying to find out who done it.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!

I really struggled to finish this book. That's not necessarily a reflection of the book itself- it's very well-written, and Iz and War are really great characters. I just didn't connect with the book for some reason. It was much more of a whodunit mystery novel than I was expecting. I've never loved Sherlock Holmes-type stories and that's what this read as to me, with Iz and War being a fantastic and brilliant crime-solving duo. If that's the type of story and dynamic you enjoy, I do think you'll love The Hexologists. I was hoping for more fantasy and more magic than was actually in the book though. I would've loved a deeper dive into the different branches of magic, particularly the extinct branches. Maybe that will be explored in future books, although I get the sense this series is set up in a way where each book features the same characters but is its own self-contained mystery/story.

Ultimately, while The Hexologists is not the type of book or genre that I typically read and enjoy, it was well-written with an intriguing plot. And Iz and War's relationship is just very excellent. There's no unnecessary drama; they're just a married couple who absolutely love and support each other. There's not enough of that in fiction so that was very refreshing to read.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this novel since I’ve never read a book by Josiah Bancroft before but overall I was pleasantly surprised! I had seen that one of the author quotes was from Genevieve Cogman who’s series the Invisible Library I absolutely adore and I think readers of a Cogman’s stories would definitely enjoy this fantasy mystery!

TLDR: 3.75/5 stars

From the get go I found it very hard to follow the very dense prose that Bancroft writes (very expertly) with, and found that my saving grace was the Kindle’s Text-to-Speech function. While I do think the prose cultivates a truly impressive world, I often found myself skimming lines wanting to get to the actual importance of the scene. However, even once you adjust to this stylistic choice I did find myself wondering why at all I cared about the mystery or the characters at play. It was only about 50% of the way through that I really felt connected to the story line and I could feel the pacing pick up. The mystery itself is very well crafted and there wasn’t really any point that I thought I could predict what was going to happen next! I still would recommend this novel to those looking for a fantastical mystery with the warning that it’s a bit slower and complex than other adult series and I myself will most likely continue to read the series — just probably via audiobook!

This book has been pretty highly anticipated on /r/Fantasy, both because the Books of Babel are well regarded and because Josiah is our Local Boy Made Good. Happy to report that this book was delightful.

This book stars a husband-and-wife team of investigators, Warren and Isolde Wilby. Isolde is a Hexologist, able to cast minor magics, but their success has more to do with their skill as researchers & investigators than anything else.

Tonally, there’s a lot in this that reminded me of the Books of Babel. No matter how dark they got, there was always a lot of whimsy in Babel, and that comes through even more strongly here. But there are two things that make this book very different. The first, and in my opinion more important one, is the protagonists are very different from Thomas Senlin. They’re not on any kind of journey of self-discovery; they’re both mature professionals, confident in their abilities. And they are very, very much in love. War and Iz are a perfect team, and play off each other perfectly.

The other difference: this is essentially standalone. It’s kicking off a new series, but if there’s never a sequel, we won’t be left with half a story.

As one would expect for a book where the lead characters are a husband-and-wife team of investigators, this is a mystery story. The ailing king (the world has a distinct Victorian England feel to it) has received a letter purporting to be from an illegitimate and previously unknown offspring; the Wilby’s have been tasked by the Crown to investigate this claim, with the utmost discretion. Naturally things get more complicated, and quickly.

Probably my favorite part of this, besides the relationship between Warren and Isolde, is the fact that they are lightweights. Iz’s Hexology is the least regarded of the magical disciplines, and the least powerful. Against a wizard or a necromancer or an alchemist, she is nigh helpless. Or would be, if not for cleverness and stubbornness.

One last point that tells you a great deal about this book: Iz’s full name is Isolde Ann Always Wilby. (Say it out loud using the “Iz” nickname if you don’t get it.) And another thing she received from her father: a tattered old carpet bag that leads to a vast storeroom of all the assorted magical artifacts he collected over the course of his career. This item is known as the Portalmanteau. And it is worth knowing that Iz is one of those people who claims to hate puns (no one actually does).

Anyway, this book is delightful, and I’m looking forward to the next volume of their adventures.

The Hexologists
Read. This. Book.

Our story begins immediately with utter chaos, and as someone who’s never read Bancroft before, I must say the first few chapters had me a little overwhelmed. Between the immediate mayhem that ensues, the fantastical elements, and the unique prose, I must say the first 50 pages delivered constant whiplash.

HOWEVER. As soon as I settled into this story, it felt like someone covered me in a warm blanket and handed me a steaming mug of tea.

The Hexologists is a fun and chaotic whodunnit, where the stakes are low and the shenanigans are rampant. The story follows our protagonist, Isolde Wilby, and her doting husband Warren as they try to unravel a mystery while living their best domestic life. The story has everything from plot twists, royal intrigue, delightful wit, sex positivity, and a literate dragon who lives in a purse and occasionally chomps off people’s arms. It’s bonkers in all the best ways.
Warren is the greatest husband of all time and a true epitome of Kenergy, who describes himself like this:

“My wife has a talent for hexes and mysteries. I mostly just carry her bag.”

There are some incredible moments among Bancroft’s prose, and once I got past my initial shock and adjusted to his writing style, I found lots of writing that I absolutely adored:

“Revolution may chasten the rich, but uncertainty torments the poor.”

“We call them ‘ascendent class’ because it makes their suffering feel less shameful for those of us who refuse to address the role we play in perpetuating poverty to the enrichment of ourselves. I say, let’s call them the poor, and help them.”

“Do you ever feel as if we’re just straightening the picture frames on the walls of a burning house?”

And as an added bonus, because I live for Isolde and Warren’s relationship and their refusal to keep it down when houseguests are around:

“No one has any compunction about shouting their heads off at the racetrack, and they’re not even the ones in the saddle.”

This was a really intriguing read! I liked the setting and the magic that takes place. Iz and Warren were my favorite characters! I will say while reading I was confused about things that are happening and who some of the characters were. Really looking forward to the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and orbit books for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Hexologists is the start of a brand new fantasy series of the same name from beloved author Josiah Bancroft. Bancroft is well known for the unique worldbuilding in his Books of Babel series and I was excited to see what new and creative tale he wove this time. Much to my delight, I loved The Hexologists!
Iz and Warren Wilby are hexologists, which is one of the four magic types that can be found in this Victorianesque world. Hexologists draw wards or symbols to cause various magical effects - defensive or offensive - and it requires a great deal of precision and art skill. Iz and Warren might practice this magic, but they’re much more well known for taking on difficult cases and that is how they come to investigate whether or not the king has an illegitimate son. The king is also quite ill and seems to be trying to bake himself like a cake, which is a whole other problem. This seems like a straightforward case, mostly requiring our investigative couple to chase down a few leads, but as in all good stories, it’s anything but that.
This was a delightful rollick of a story featuring everything from creepy talking bird flocks, ghouls, dragons, and even a particularly destructive mandrake golem. Every new page was a treat, made even more enjoyable by the duo of Iz Ann Always Wilby and her tweed garbed husband, Warren (or War for short). It's so rare to find a happily married couple as the main characters in any genre of book and I reveled in their obvious love for one another and how they worked seamlessly as the best partners in both life and work. Iz isn’t a people person, but she’s tremendously intelligent and War has never met a stranger and can chatter amicably with almost anyone. He’s a brilliant cook as well, which is important when one must feed a dragon!
I really couldn’t be more delighted with this book and can’t wait to see what is in store for the Wilby’s in the next installment. I must admit, I didn’t love the Books of Babel series the way so many people did and didn’t finish it, so I’m really pleased to find that I loved the start of Bancroft’s new series. This will be making my list of Best Books of 2023 for sure!

The Hexologist is an immersive and charming frolic through a land of common magic and whispered arts. This all takes place after the Meridian War, waged from 4012 to 4033 which ended in an armistice that prevented the use of magic on the battlefield, though many still practice the arts. Though the whole thing has a feel of ‘ye olde’ meets current-day almost Steampunk type feel.

Isolde and Warren Wilby are like the ‘Holmes & Watson’ power couple whose talents in the arts render them a valuable candidate for certain investigative tasks, using their knowledge and experience in ways that others could not. Their husband and wife dynamic is the glue that holds this book together. It is that of a strong-bonded couple who can communicate through a glance, keeps things organized, and rarely engage in frivolity. The pragmatic approach allowed me to connect to them on a deeper level than characters who may act irrationally to build suspense or fear. Whatever they were faced with, they would face it together and without fear.

Through the novel you’ll get to learn about the Portalmanteau, Felivox (favorite of mine), Henry, Jess, Victor, as well as a surrounding cast of trolls, talking starlings, and sorcerers.

The pacing of this story was well organized and really kept the plot moving. There were plenty of leads to chase and obstacles along the way. Answers to questions only led to more questions and the suspense kept a steady clip as the mystery started to unfold the stakes get higher. The methods of the investigation is where the excitement and imagination ramp up. The hexes used and methods practiced really portray Bancroft’s level of detail in this world. (There’s even a Glossary in the back for those fun extra details)

Josiah Bancroft’s writing is truly a remarkable thing. His poetic and verbose prose always give such a rewarding and fulfilling experience. The Hexologists is a perfect recipe of magic, fantasy, action, wonder, and charm. I can’t wait to see where this series goes!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book! I enjoyed this book so much. It was the type of book that you savor and enjoy with each scene. I mainly loved the character interactions and the every-day scenes. I read the Babel series and while I did not rate it the highest I still enjoyed that series and especially loved the way the author wrote characters. He has a talent for writing humanistic characters with prominent personalities and flaws. You can easily distinguish all his characters with their personalities and this book appears to be no different. The characters are just as well written and flawed in this book and I really enjoyed it. I will say I enjoyed this book a lot more than I did Babel. Babel had a unique world but I connected to the characters so much more in the Hexologists.

The main characters in this book are Isolde and Warren. They are a married couple who are Hexologists (well at least Isolde is a Hexologist). The magic system in this world is comprised of Wizards, Alchemists, Necromancers, Hexologists along with magical creatures/artifacts. Wizards and Necromancers appear to be rare but there are still a few out there. The main plot line of this book is that Isolde was asked by the royal family to help them in a case to solve an issue of blackmail against the king. Isolde and her husband agree to assist the royal family in this case. The book then follows them trying to unravel the story behind the blackmail and track down the people involved in the story.

The problem is that someone does not want them to unravel the mystery and sends various magical creatures against them. There are a few fight scenes with magic and magical creatures that were really engaging to read. There are also some fun magical artifacts that had some really cool abilities—an example is a ring that allows the person to dive into shadows which was really interesting. The plot was more of a mystery/investigative story and there were some good twists and turns at the end of the story which made me excited for the next book.

But I mostly loved Isolde and Warren. They have such a sweet connection to each other and their personalities perfectly offset each other. She is not the greatest around other people, people just seem to dislike her because she is more harsh and to the point. Whereas Warren is loved by everyone and can get anyone to be his friend. He is a big teddy bear personality but if someone/something is threatening Isolde he will fight back. I really loved the dynamic of Isolde and Warren and I seriously cannot wait to read more of their adventures of solving mysteries.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a book with well-written characters, a mystery to solve, magical artifacts and some magical creatures thrown into the mix. I cannot wait for the second book and I am so glad I got to read this book!

The Hexologists follow Iz and Warren, a magical investigative married couple. They’re called in when the king pronounces he’s desperate to be baked into a cake and a letter arrives announcing to be the king’s long lost son.

Bancroft’s writing is lyrical and whimsical. He’s incredibly verbose in his descriptions which creates a whimsical atmosphere. Despite his verbose writing nature, the novel is only 336 pages (according to Amazon). If you enjoyed Bancroft’s writing in The Books of Babel, you’ll love The Hexologists.

I wanted to love The Hexologists, but I had a hard time enjoying it fully. I found myself only partly engaged with the story while reading and when I put it down I found it difficult to pick it back up again. I enjoyed a lot of aspects of the novel, but disliked just as many.

The reason I rated the novel three stars instead of two was the mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and its conclusion.

Overall, The Hexologists has an interesting magic system, main characters you don’t see often as main characters, and a satisfying mystery. Despite these positive descriptions, it was unable to engage me fully. For fans of The Books of Babel!

This book reminded me of the hectic nature of Sherlock. There was a great mystery to be solved and it couldn’t have been done without the expertise of a sexologist, her adorable chef husband, and a picky dragon.

At first I was torn on whether or not I enjoyed this book, it seemed to go off on these tangents, but then I started to realize no adventure follows a nice linear path. Along the way situations will arise and in itself will be another adventure or even a side quest or two!

I did really enjoy the writing style and the characters were all like-able.

Thanks to Net Galley and Orbit for the ARC

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: September 26, 2023

3.75 rounded up
I loved the Wilby's relationship - two middle aged folks who have been married for over a decade who are still completely infatuated with each other and will absolutely throw themselves into an abyss for each other. There was a lot of great stuff going on with this book and this world but it took me a little bit to get into and sometimes it didn't 100% flow for me. On occasion it felt like he was using big and/or unique words just to see how many he could fit into the book. I'm definitely interested in picking up the next book to see how the story continues though!

The Hexologists is the start of a captivating, compelling, and most importantly fun new series from Josiah Bancroft, who became one of my favorite writers with his stunning Books of Babel quadrilogy.

Where this series differs is that it seems apparent each volume will be its own self-contained story, rather than a sprawling epic like Bancroft's previous series. Regardless, the world Bancroft has created here for him and his characters to play around in is every bit as fleshed-out and intricate as the Tower of Babel. The details sprinkled throughout about this city, its history, its magic, its monsters--all of it feels somehow both unexpected yet grounded. Bancroft throws a lot at you in this book, but none of it ever feels out of place in this world. Instead of jarring, all of it gels together to craft a fascinating setting for the Wilbies to solve their mysteries in.

And speaking of Isolde and Warren Wilby, they perfectly encapsulate what I have always found to be Bancroft's greatest strength, which is creating characters who are both relatable and compelling. It was heartwarming seeing a loving couple as the book's emotional core, but I was also always intrigued by Iz giving in to her darker and more reckless impulses as the central mystery bore on. Despite this, I like that it never became a source of conflict in the couple's relationship, which would've felt trite. Instead, they constantly supported and helped each other, dealing with the ever-unfolding wrinkles of the mystery. Each character also has a pretty interesting past that is somewhat divulged here, but with plenty of room for Bancroft to further explore in future books. While I don't know everything about them, I never once felt like I didn't know them, thanks to Bancroft's pitch-perfect characterization of them.

The book's story chugs along at a relentless pace, which is great for a mystery where you're constantly uncovering new clues and having light shed on previous discoveries. The mystery, boiled down to its most basic premise, is something we've all seen before, but Bancroft is a master at injecting imaginative and thrilling new spins on that tale which had me racing through the book to see where it was all going. There were several moments where I did not understand the relevancy to a digression from the story, so it was great fun seeing how Bancroft tied all the threads together by the end, which I found to be clever and satisfying.

I would also be remiss not mentioning Bancroft's prose, which is as clever and interesting as ever. Bancroft is the type of writer who can make the most mundane observation a delight simply through how he phrases it. Even a scene that merely involves a couple characters sitting in a tea room can become a romp solely through his wonderful writing.

While this is the first case we readers have been able to embark upon with the Wilbies, it is far from the couple's first, and I can't wait to read the subsequent cases they take on.

I received this advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I enjoyed this lark of a tale and the unexpected twists of our plot, the amusing devices and incredible dialogue! What a fun and delightful adventure. Highly recommended!