Title: Murder at the World’s Fair
Series: Clockwork Quigley Chronicles: Book One
Author: M.J. Lyons
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 287 Pages
Category: Teen Fiction, Murder Mystery, Action/Adventure Fantasy, Steampunk
At a Glance: After a bit of a slow start, Murder at the World’s Fair picks up steam and earns full marks for imagination, creativity, and the suspense of two teenagers on the run from unknown and sinister forces.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: The year is 1893, and airships cloud the skies over the bustling metropolis of Toronto. The city is set to host the world’s fair, thanks in no small part to the work of two fantastical inventors. The New World Exhibition is to be a celebration of cultural and technological marvels; roving automatons, clockwork contraptions, the world’s biggest steam-powered paddle boat, all to be fully lit by the wonder of electricity!
On the day of the grand opening, young Norwood Quigley, aspiring journalist, photographer and scion of a world-famous airship magnate, stumbles onto the scene of a murder; the victim: a Prussian Ambassador; the perpetrator: a Chinese assassin, or so the powers-that-be say. In truth, the suspect is Jing, a roguish but amiable youthful delinquent.
Concerned by Jing’s claim of innocence and his assumed guilt by higher powers, including the British Empire’s military, Norwood is thrown into a grand intrigue that hinges on Toronto’s world fair. As chaos consumes the celebrations, he fears that his influential family is being manipulated in a plot to create an international incident that will lead to a war that spans the world.
Review: In reality, there was not a World’s Fair in Toronto in 1893, but that’s the beauty of fiction. The World’s Fair did in fact happen in Chicago, so author M.J. Lyons took creative license to its fullest potential, pulled the event from Chicago and set it in Toronto, and made it a place filled with awesome, and one particularly misguided (read: out of control deadly as heck), mechanical wonders. It’s also a place filled with murder, intrigue, international criminal activities, and kidnappings. And, young reporter Norwood Quigley—scion of the Quigley Airship empire—is caught dead center in all of it, thanks to his being in the wrong place at the right time.
Murder at the World’s Fair is a steampunk lover’s playground—skies filled with flying ships, earthbound wonders such as clockwork cats and steam-powered streetcars—and Lyons does a superb job of presenting the wonderment of this incredible time alongside the balance of concern that humanity could lose its sense of whimsy if “children grow up in a cold, automaton world.” I felt that observation in clear and present ways. The story begins with making these things evident, along with the world-building and character intros, which I felt gave it a bit of a slow start, but when the pace picks up with Norwood very nearly playing direct witness to the murder of a visiting Prussian diplomat, things shift into higher gear. It would appear the murderer has been caught dead to rights, so to speak, an open and shut case. But, appearances can also be deceiving. Jing, like Norwood, was himself in the wrong place at the right time, and it’s not long before they’re both on the run and seeking evidence to prove Jing’s innocence.
Through plenty of scrapes and close calls, the boys form a bond forged in proximity and alliance which develops into romantic feelings for each other, though this is not a romance novel. It is planted firmly in the alt history/reality/fantasy/action/adventure realms even while there is still a sweetness to Norwood and Jing’s budding relationship that endeared them to me, and despite their individual backstories being more sketched than fully fleshed out. Even so, there was enough in place to invest in them and their adventures—or, misadventures as it were. The friends and family who are made their allies, not through coercion but through conviction, play more than a passing role in supporting the pursuit of truth and justice as well. Especially when that truth unveils the unexpected culprit of a murder which instigated a near disastrous international incident and included the kidnapping of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, who was herself a bit of a delight in her cameo role.
Murder at the World’s Fair earns full marks for imagination, creativity, and the suspense of two teenagers on the run from unknown and sinister forces—as well as one automaton that is programmed to Hulk-smash first and ask questions later. If there’s anything left to question once Mr. Shackles is done, that is. My one and only tick in the oops column was the use of the word ‘peaked’ when the narrative required ‘peeked’, not once but multiple times, but even still, this story is a fun romp and thrilling caper through a fantastical world, and I look forward to what is yet to come in the series.
You can buy Murder at the World’s Fair here:
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