The Pinkerton and the Wizard

January 1, 2021
In Hetrick's genre-crossing tale, history's most famous wizard, Merlin, runs into detective Adam Blake after transporting himself and his wife, Gwen, from the fatal clutches of a sorceress in medieval England to the bustling streets of late 1800s Philadelphia. Soon, the wizard and detective find themselves paired on a series of challenging cases. For example, the unlikely duo tracks robbers working to boost ancient treasures from museums. They also work to solve the mystery of Blake's father, who was murdered in cold blood. As Merlin and Blake pursue these cases, Merlin aims to pass as a normal, nineteenth-century man, but comes under suspicion from Edward Frost, a detective with the insurance firm Lloyd's of London who joins Blake in his work. With his slim, spare style, Hetrick summons the spirit of the most engaging of detective serials. Although incorporating elements of magic and fantasy, the story feels more like a paean to Agatha Christie's short stories or Arthur Conan Doyle's shorter Sherlock Holmes outings. The result is a fun story that combines a beloved character from Arthurian legend with touches of nineteenth-century Americana.

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