Karen H. (kbhallman) reviewed on 11/10/2009

Helpful Score: 8

Charles Lenox is very similar to two of my favorite gentlemen detectives--Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. Thankfully, he is not as arrogant as Holmes. Rather than a Watson or a Hastings, Lenox has a slew of sluething partners. Several of whom are sure to reappear in future books--Lady Jane Grey, his butler and friend Graham, his brother and MP Edmund, and his friend and nonpracticing physician Thomas McConnell. My favorite characters are McConnell and his high-society wife Toto. They remind me of Nick and Nora of Thin Man fame.

Finch provides nearly all the clues to solving this mystery on your own. I got it wrong. I confess that the person I thought was guilty was, but not of the crime I suspected him of. But unlike some authors who deliberately lead you away from the solution, Finch simply provided no more and no less emphasis to the real clues as to the red herrings. I like an author who isn't sneaky.

I happily stumbled on a copy of this book while browsing at our local B&N. Five chapters in, I raced back to get his second book, The September Society, only to discover that there is also a third book, The Fleet Street Murders, available. This fan of Victorian-era mysteries shall be happily immersed in the world of Charles Lenox for a couple of weeks.

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