John R. Kelly’s magnificent debut novel, THE INKLINGS DETECTIVE AGENCY, features a myriad of famous British writers in the midst of a murderous conspiracy.

At first glance, it appears that the driving forces in this novel are J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, who were best friends during their time at Oxford. Their relationship helped to further ignite the creation of the immortal Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia series. Throw in other iconic authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dame Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, and you have the makings of a dynamic and enormously intriguing historical mystery.

"THE INKLINGS DETECTIVE AGENCY is a diabolically clever and deeply researched work by Kelly, who breathes life into these long-departed authors whose encounters with one another are the dream of any classic mystery fan or aficionado of great literary works."

The action begins on December 10, 1936, in Oxfordshire, England, where a wiry-framed fellow named John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is racing through the streets toward The Eagle and Child, a pub where members of the group calling themselves The Inklings are meeting. They include writers such as Charles Williams, Lord David Cecil, Adam Fox, Nevill Coghill, Hugo Dyson, and his absent best mate, C. S. “Jack” Lewis. Others come in and out of the group, but they have never accomplished anything quite as important as the mission about to be presented to them. 

Arthur Conan Doyle has a mystery to lay at the feet of the Inklings, so now they officially can call themselves a detective agency. Gruesome murders committed in ritual fashion with the previous full moons haunt the area, and Doyle tasks them with looking into it. Specifically, he points them in the direction of an infamous cult known as The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The first step would be to learn everything they can about the group and talk to some of its secretive members before the next full moon claims another life.

Two of these members agree to meet with Tolkien and Lewis at an exclusive club. Some information is given, but mostly the men stay tight-lipped about the purpose of their group, as well as the size of their membership. However, they are given a lead about one member, the occult writer Aleister Crowley, who might be considered a serious suspect. They meet with Crowley, who gives intricate details about the two bodies that already have been found and behaves in a manner that raises eyebrows.

As the list of suspects grows, the Inklings splinter off to pursue different leads. During this time, they reach out to two authors outside of their group who could aid them in their pursuit: Dorothy Sayers, who later would become a great friend to Lewis, and Agatha Christie. In a terrific bit of historical reimagining, Christie confides to Lewis that during the 11-day period when she famously went missing, she actually was in pursuit of a murder case. How ironic that her return to the public eye is in Doyle’s company. Christie provides some keen advice to Lewis: “Never let the threat of death keep you from being a good detective. There are far more important things to lose than your life. Like your self-respect.”

THE INKLINGS DETECTIVE AGENCY is a diabolically clever and deeply researched work by Kelly, who breathes life into these long-departed authors whose encounters with one another are the dream of any classic mystery fan or aficionado of great literary works. I am eager to see where these characters, and the possibility of others, take this series in future installments.