I always love a little walk around the world of Sherlock Holmes. Two f his Baker Street Irregulars Benjamin Watson and Tim Badger are on the case this one security for a mummy unwrapping party because getting cursed via an Ancient Egyptian spell on a mummy was fun I guess. The "mummy" in the sarcophagus turns out to be a bit more fresh than it should be. This was an engaging fun mystery with lots of twists and turns around London. We encounter Mr. Sherlock Holmes himself as well. This was very interesting and there's so much going on I was never bored.

The Mummy of Mayfair - An Irregular Detective Mystery by Jeri Westerson is a light-hearted Victorian mystery conducted by messers Timothy Badger and Benjamin Watson, two detectives who are mentored by the infamous Sherlock Holmes

Authentic in the fascination of Egyptian artfacts at the time, the investigation delves into why the renowned Dr Sawyer would be found unalived in the sarcophagus he was about to unveil!

Unique, well written and perfect for lovers of a Victorian Cozy Mystery

Thank you to Severn House and Jeri Westerson for this awesome ARC . My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

The description drew to this book & I was not disappointed. It had a very Holmesian feel to it. It is the second book in the series (Irregular Detectives), and a new author for me. Badger & Watson are private investigators (Holmes is their mentor) called upon to provide security at a a mummy unwrapping during the height of the Egyptology craze in London.. Everyone is shocked with the unwrapping reveals not only the mummy but also the body of the host of the event. Badger & Watson are on the case! It's a wonderfully complex mystery with twists & turns.

I like these characters and their friendship. The other characters are well developed and engaging. Excellent job creating the atmosphere of the time period & the fascination with Egyptology that reigned during that time. The mystery was fun. Badger & Watson are rough around the edges, young, still honing their craft & this is well done. The pacing is great! I'll definitely be checking out more of this series.

Thanks for NetGalley & the publisher (Severn House) for the opportunity to read & review this title. All opinions are mine & freely given.

The Mummy of Mayfair (An Irregular Detective mystery Book 2) by Jeri Westerson
Review by Sarah Erwin

“The Mummy of Mayfair” is book two in Jeri Westerson’s “Irregular Detective” mystery series, and fans of historical mysteries should be delighted with this latest entry.

It’s 1895 in London and Tim Badger and Ben Watson are private investigators working together and with financial assistance and mentorship from the great Sherlock Holmes. In their youth the two were members of Sherlock’s Baker Street Irregulars (street urchins Holmes used to gather information across London). This is such a clever and creative premise for a series, and I was immediately curious to learn all about the pair.

Doctor Enock Sawyer of St Bart’s Hospital has hired Badger and Watson to provide security for a mummy unwrapping party he is hosting in his home. (These kinds of parties actually happened!) Badger and Watson assume this will be an easy job, watching the upper class express their obsession with all things Egypt.

As assumptions often go in mysteries, an easy job quickly turns into a murder investigation. Doctor Sawyer is a no show to his unwrapping party so his colleague, Doctor Cornelius Archer, proceeds without Sawyer. Archer begins unraveling the bandages only to discover that the “mummy” is in fact Dr Sawyer, murdered. What a bizarre and intriguing mystery to open the book with–I was hooked right away. Dr Archer hires Badger and Watson to find who killed Sawyer. There are mumblings through high society that the killing was the result of the mummy’s curse, but Badger and Watson know this can’t be the case.

What follows is such a complex mystery with a plethora of suspects and other misdeeds coming to surface. Badger and Watson are joined by reporter Miss Ellsie Moria Littleton who is such a strong side-character! While this story features two male investigators, the Victorian London setting and mystery gave me “Veronica Speedwell” by Deanna Rayborun vibes.

I loved investigating alongside Badger and Watson as they used Sherlock’s “method,” but also their own intuition. They grew more assured of themselves as the story went along. Humor is also sprinkled throughout which makes this creative mystery even more entertaining. I do hope a book three is in the works.

Tim Badger and Benjamin Watson are protegees of Sherlock Holmes. Tim aged out of being a Baker Street Irregular and now he and Watson are private enquiry agents. They are hired to provide security at a fancy Mayfair gala for the opening of a sarcophagus from Egypt. Much to everyone's horror, the host of the event is found dead inside, wrapped in the casings of a mummy. Now, in order to save their business, Tim and Ben have to find who benefited from the death of Dr. Sawyer. There are lots of suspects, beginning with the entire board of the London Hospital where Dr. Sawyer worked. Another well-researched book from Westerson, an enjoyable read.

This is a fast paced story with two good hearted, unassuming, down to earth main characters, Badger and Watson. With help from their journalist friend, Miss Littleton. Also featuring Sherlock Holmes and his brother Mycroft. Badger and Watson are very likable and just regular folks, compared to high and mighty Sherlock. People underestimate them in the story to their own detriment. It also shows how racism was very much a problem in 1895.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

If, like me, you haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading the first book in the series, don’t be put off reaching for this entertaining historical whodunit. Westerson gives us all the background we need to appreciate where our two plucky private detectives are in their careers – and how Sherlock Holmes fits into the scheme of things.

For those of you who may not be aware – the ‘Irregular’ of the series title alludes to the scruffy gang of street children that Holmes employed to spy on various suspects during his cases, which he named the Baker Street Irregulars. One of our detectives, Tim Badger, used to be part of Holmes’ gang until he grew too old. As Holmes used to say – children loitering on street corners were mostly ignored by adults, so were ideal for following people. And breaking into houses to hold of vital clues, or incriminating objects.

I like the fact that Tim had a really tough time establishing himself. Victorian England was very class-conscious and though a number of celebrated men – and it was mostly men – managed to break out of their humble origins to go on and have successful, remunerative careers, that number is vanishingly small. Many boasted of being ‘self-made men’, but when you drill down into their backgrounds, they often came from reasonably well-off families who gave them plenty of support in those vital early years. Tim Badger doesn’t have that advantage. His partner, Ben Watson, at least has a loving family. I really like that Westerson has included a black protagonist. If you read historical records, by this time there are a significant number of people from different ethnic origins living in Victorian England, particularly in and around London, though the only time they appear in contemporary fiction is as a villain.

Westerson evokes the period well, even going to the trouble of providing a glossary of terms for those not acquainted with the slang of the times. We get a strong sense of the class divide, as well as the world in which our detectives are working. The craze for all things Egyptian at this time certainly is historically accurate – and mummy-unwrapping parties actually took place. This is a wonderful backdrop for a murder. As Tim and Ben are on the spot as hired security to prevent the expensive Egyptian artefacts being stolen, they end up being right in the middle of this shocking case.

I liked the appearance of Holmes, particularly as his famous ‘method’ proves to have severe limitations. I’ve seen this story described as a cosy mystery – I’m not so sure. While it certainly doesn’t go into lots of gritty, or gratuitous gore, neither does it give a particularly rosy glow to Victorian society. I certainly came away feeling very relieved that I hadn’t been born in this period.

All in all, this is a joy and the only reason why it isn’t a five-star read, is because the actual whodunit isn’t particularly difficult to unravel – I’d decided on the culprit quite early on in the story. And I was right. That said, it isn’t the dealbreaker it might be in a tale peopled with less entertaining characters inhabiting a flatter, less vividly depicted world. Recommended for fans of historical murder mysteries, particularly if you’ve enjoyed Sherlock Holmes and John Watson’s adventures. While I obtained an arc of The Mummy of Mayfair from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

This is a very entertaining historical cozy series and I loved this new instalment which feature Badger and Watson that must solve a mystery related to mummies, murders, and a complex mystery
Well plotted, gripping, highly entertaining.
Can't wait to read the next one
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Jeri Westerson gives us the second Irregular Detective mystery in the Mummy of Mayfair. In London, 1895 Badger and Watson, students of Sherlock Holmes, are now detectives who are hired to watch Egyptian antiquities during a mummy unwrapping party. Then the Doctor Sayer who hired them is found inside the mummy wrappings in place of the mummy. Whodunit? Is there a curse? They find a lot of corruption at the hospital where the doctor worked. They are hired by a colleague of the victim to find the perpetrators. Inside look at :Late Victorian society. Enjoy.

The Mummy of Mayfair is a murder mystery with a humorous element. It follows Badger and Watson as they solve the murder of a doctor who is found inside an Egyptian mummy. He is found as part of a popular form of Victorian entertainment - unwrapping mummies. This duo, working for Sherlock Holmes, try to find the murderer.
I feel as though I was not the intended audience for this book as, for me, the humour fell flat, the writing felt stilted, and I was not the most entertained. It is an interesting concept but it was not the right style for me.

I haven't read the first book in this series however I would say you don't need to, I didn't feel as if I was missing out on anything (however you may be tempted to return to the first after reading this). This is a Victorian mystery inspired by Sherlock Holmes Irregulars, Tim Badger was an irregular and Holmes spotted something in the boy to encourage him to set up a detective agency using 'the method', Tim finds a partner in Ben Watson who supplies the scientific knowledge in the partnership and finally there's newspaper reporter Ellsie Littleton who reports on the pairs' exploits.

The Mummy of Mayfair deals with the Victorian's obsession with Egyptology and the mummy unwrapping parties the wealthy attended. At one such party a Dr is found dead in a sarcophagus and our intrepid pair are hired to hunt for the murderer. An entertaining read packed full of detail.

I'm normally pretty heavily a fantasy girlie, but I challenged myself to read only non fantasy books this month. With that in mind I stumbled upon The Mummy of Mayfair by Jeri Westerson! This book was a fun ride through Sherlock Holmes era London when Egyptology was at its height. One of my favorite things about this mystery was once I knew the end game I could go back in the story and track all the clues. Wonderful mystery, solid 🌟🌟🌟

TheMummyofMayfair #NetGalley #MurderMystery #bookstagram #booklove #booklover

An entertaining, fun and well-written historical mystery with some interesting main characters who are based on the irregulars of Sherlock Holmes fame and in fact, he helps them set up their private detective agency.. I would described this as a cosy mystery as most of the violence happens out of view but the plot is complex as Badger and Watson uncover a lot of dodgy goings on. .There are stolen Egyptian artefacts, embezzlement. and the misuse of corpses for dissection. All in all a very enjoyable and engaging story and I look forward to more. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Mummy of Mayfair is a cozy historical mystery and the second to feature the irregular detectives by Jeri Westerson. Released 2nd July 2024 by Severn House, it's 224 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is a pastiche novel set in 1895 featuring a pair of private investigators, one of whom was a former "Baker St. Irregular" street urchin in service to Sherlock Holmes. He's a young adult at this point, and doing fairly well as a private enquiry agent. His partner (coincidentally named Watson) is a brilliant young black man with a keen scientific mind. Much of the character driven plot is provided in the banter and interactions between the two young men.

It's a cozy, so the violence occurs off-page. There are some inevitable instances of open racism, given Watson's ethnicity, but they're not totally overpowering, and they're handled sensitively. There's quite a lot of plot which turns on Victorian England's obsession with (and looting of) Egyptian artifacts at the time, but specific details are easily gleaned from context.

The author does a pretty good job with the dialogue and vernacular of the time period, and has included a helpful glossary for modern readers who might not be familiar with the street slang. It's unquestionably a modern cozy for modern readers, but it's diverting, light, and fun.

There's even a forbidden undeniable attraction between the daughter of an upper class scion and a former street urchin with lots of winsome glances and heavy sighs. The romance aspect doesn't overpower the story, but it is present.

Four stars. It's not canonical, and real Conan Doyle afficionados won't be fooled for a minute, but for everyone else, it's fun and engaging.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

#CampNetGalley #BookishScavengerHunt #BookishPhotoChallenge #NetGalley #SummerPhotoChallenge

The “irregularity” of the Irregular Detective series is in the person of one of its protagonists, Timothy Badger of the Badger and Watson Detecting Agency. Once upon a time, Badger was one of the “invisible” children who operated as Sherlock Holmes’ eyes and ears on the streets of Victorian London. In other words, Tim Badger was one of Holmes’ Baker Street Irregulars.

But when Badger aged out – or grew up – out of the Irregulars, he still needed to make his living. Which is where his partner, jack-of-all-trades Benjamin Watson comes into the picture. Both from the “wrong side of the tracks” in the East End, without a shilling between them, they set up as private detectives in the mode of Badger’s former ‘Guv’, the Great Detective himself.

As seen in the first entry in this series, The Isolated Séance, after five years of struggle to keep body and soul together, Sherlock Holmes himself gave these ‘apprentices’ a bit of a leg up. Their perseverance was rewarded with rooms in Soho – several steps up the economic ladder from their previous lodgings and office – and a seemingly magical refilling box of money for expenses.

They’re doing well for themselves. It’s a lot of hard work and shoe leather – but their successes seem to outnumber their failures. They have as much work as they can handle – and even their own chronicler in the person of newspaper reporter Ellsie Littleton.

Which leads to this second sensational case, The Mummy of Mayfair. A moniker that seems ripped, not from the headlines, but from the titles of the penny dreadful fiction that Badger loves to read. Watson prefers the newspapers and scientific journals.

After all, someone in this partnership needs to keep their feet on the ground, especially with a case that has so much potential to ascend – or perhaps that’s descend – into flights of fantasy and mythology.

It begins with a mummy unwrapping party. An all too common event among the upper crust in the 1890s. It was the heyday of ‘Egyptomania’, with all of the implications of madness the word mania implies.

Badger and Watson were hired by Dr. Enoch Sawyer to provide security for his mummy unwrapping party. A party that takes an even more macabre turn when the mummy is finally unwrapped to reveal that it’s not the mummy of Runihura Saa. It’s the much more recent mummy of Dr. Enoch Sawyer – their client – who is clearly not going to be able to pay them for the job they are about to do on his behalf.

And the game is afoot!

Escape Rating A-: First, I loved this every bit as much as the first book in this series, The Isolated Séance. Second, I need to kick myself for not figuring out that the series title is a pun until now. I sorta/kinda thought the cases were “irregular” and they are that – from a séance in the first book to a mummy in the second. But it’s the DETECTIVES – or at least one of them – that are irregular. As in, the Baker Street Irregulars. 🤦🏻

Now that I’ve got that out of my system, what makes this case so much fun is the way that it blends the real with the fictional.

Mummy unwrapping parties were a very real thing in the 1890s – as shown in the painting below by artist Paul Dominique Philippoteaux circa 1890. The scene may seem macabre to 21st century readers, but such parties were all the rage in 1895, when The Mummy of Mayfair takes place.



Rage also being an important factor – at least in this particular case – as the ‘mania’ led people to strange rivalries and illegal behaviors – as humans are wont to do in the throes of a craze, fad, or mania. It still happens now, and humans haven’t changed all that much in just a bit over a century.

As much as the insanity of this particular mania turns out to be the impetus for the actions of the characters, what is making the series work are the characters and the way they manage to fit into – and take off from – the canon of Sherlock Holmes and ITS well-known and loved protagonists.

The best detectives, whether amateur or professional, are outsiders. It’s nearly impossible for humans to set aside their preconceived notions and biases in regards to people they know. A fact which very nearly sends the entire case on a wild goose chase, as one of the possible suspects is one of Badger’s former colleagues in the Irregulars.

But the triumvirate necessary to fill all of the roles that in the original canon were filled by just two changes the structure of the investigation even as it challenges the reader to see Holmes’ Victorian age from a considerably less lofty perspective.

Timothy Badger grew up in the East End, living by his wits and the nimbleness of his fingers. His accent clearly marks him as being of a “lower class” to the toffs among whom he now finds himself – and he has to grow into his role without giving up who he essentially is.

Benjamin Watson is a black man in a white world. The first thing that anyone sees when they meet him is the color of his skin. He has the intelligence and the drive to have been anything within his reach, but his reach in the late Victorian era is circumscribed by his race.

Miss Ellsie Moira Littleton is a woman in a man’s world. Much like Charlotte Sloane in the Regency-set Wrexford and Sloane series, Ellsie has been forced by circumstances to be self-supporting, and is on the outside of the society to which she was born. As an intelligent, educated, woman who needs to make her own way, she is also an outsider but with an entirely different perspective on the society of which she was once a member.

From its sensational beginning, the case is a deeply puzzling mess. Badger and Watson’s preconceived notions about their clients and their former associates, as well as their lack of knowledge of the precise ways the rich spend their time and money and protect their positions frequently send them haring off in the wrong directions – and we follow them eagerly even as they frequently caution each other.

As I’ve said frequently within these pages, I’m a sucker for Sherlock Holmes pastiches, and that’s why I initially started this series. Now I’m hooked! I’m really looking forward to the next book in this series, The Misplaced Physician, where we’ll finally get to meet Sherlock Holmes’ Watson, as Badger and his Watson will be on the case of rescuing him! It’s a good thing that investigative reporter Ellsie Littleton will be on hand to record the adventure, as the original Watson may be too embarrassed – or too injured – to write it up himself.

We’ll certainly see, hopefully this time next year!

A fun airplane or beach book…

I tend to think of Jeri Westerson as an author of historical mysteries set in medieval England, since I’ve read and enjoyed many books in her Crispin Guest and Will Somers series. But I’m aware that she writes in other genres too, and was interested to learn that she has recently started a Sherlock Holmes pastiche-ish series. So I was happy to receive a review copy of the second and most recent book in that series, The Mummy of Mayfair. (I’m also a fan of ancient Egyptian history, having taken an Ancient Egyptian Civilization class at UCLA Extension many (!!!) years ago, so the mummy connection was a nice bonus.)

The Mummy of Mayfair turned out to be more of a mystery with Sherlock Holmes, Mrs Hudson, and even Jimmy Wiggins making appearances, than a true pastiche. But it was still a quick and enjoyable read. The two protagonists, Tim Badger, who had been a member of the Baker Street Irregulars, and Ben Watson, have recently opened a Detecting Agency together. But funds are still tight, so when they are offered the chance to provide security for a “mummy unwrapping” party, they take the job. Unfortunately, Dr Enoch Sawyer, who was going to do the unwrapping, instead turns up dead in the mummy’s cartonnage himself. Luckily, our detectives are hired by one of Sawyer’s colleagues to investigate, and things proceed from there.

Westerson provides lots of fun details about Egyptian antiquities, curses, dangerous poisons and other things along the way, and there’s a hint of romance in the air as well. The only thing I wish were different about the book would be for Ben Watson’s last name to be anything but “Watson”. That would eliminate my confusion – especially in the early chapters - between Ben himself and Holmes’ own Dr Watson. But all-in-all, The Mummy of Mayfair was a fun book that would make a good airplane or beach read. And finally, my thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for the review copy!

"Mummy" is Sherlock Holmes adjacent. Although it is set in the period of the master, and features brief cameo appearances by Holmes and Mrs Hudson, this is really a new direction. It stars Tim Badger, a former Baker Street Irregular and now protegé of Holmes, and his partner Ben Watson. Watson is no relational to the more famous doctor, and he plays a much more central role in the Badger and Watson partnership.

Egyptology, unknown poisons, and newly established scientific methods all play roles in this charming second novel in a new series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In 1895 London, private detectives Badger and Watson are guarding a mummy unwrapping party. When an antiquities collector is found dead inside the sarcophagus, Badger and Watson are thrust into a bizarre and dangerous investigation that takes them deeper into the world of ancient Egyptian mysteries.

I enjoyed the characters and diversity in this mystery. The plot doesn’t make logical sense, but it might be enjoyable if your suspend your disbelief. It’s a low-angst story that reads like a police procedural.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

When I saw the title and synopsis of this story, I could not resist because I am a diehard Sherlock Homes fan. I have enjoyed some of the many spinoffs written by different authors and hoped this would be the same.

Needless to say it was, with the twist of bringing some of Holmes irregulars, street urchins he utilized, to star in their own adventures!

When a mummy reveals, the body is a new one and not an old one, the story begins. Sit back and enjoy!

1895. Timothy Badger and Benjamin Watson are hired as guards by Dr Sawyer as he intends to open the sarcophagus of Runibura Saa to invited guests, but the reveal exposes the body of Sawyer. They are employed by colleague Dr Archer to investigate.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its interesting main characters.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.