This story is based on real events, in which fighters for Home Rule in Ireland set off bombs around London. Scotland Yard suspects a police informer in their ranks, so Sgt Cribb is sent on a training course to learn about bomb-making (at the Arsenal, no less), all the better to infiltrate the gang and bring them to earth. Like all the Sgt Cribb adventures I’ve read, this is well paced and the language feels Victorian without descending into parody. ( )

London music hall culture circa 1886, good stuff. A serviceable entry in the period police procedural. I enjoyed reading it but am not sure it stands up to the light of day very well. ( )

One of my favorite in the series so far. Cribb always solves a mystery in the nick of time. He doesn't fail. ( )

'The Tick Of Death' or 'Invitation To A Dynamite Party' as the much more accurate English title describes the plot. Sergeant Cribb of Scotland Yard is sent on an undercover mission to infiltrate a group of Irish bomb-makers. There has been a series of explosions in London which up to yet have caused little damage,however it has been discovered that a more accurate bomb is being developed. Cribb is sent to the Woolwich Arsenal on a crash course on explosives and then infiltrates himself into the group of anarchists in an attempt to discover and prevent the plot. It transpires that the' Prince of Wales' is the target and Cribb has to use all of his ingenuity to foil the attempt.
This is an easy and amusing read with some excellent characters which include several sinister villains. ( )

Comic detective novel on an attempt to blow up Queen Victoria ( )