Books : A Beautiful Blue Death (Charles Lenox Mysteries)

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Author name: Charles Finch

: A Beautiful Blue Death (Charles Lenox Mysteries)
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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780312359775
ISBN number: 0312359772
Label: St. Martin's Minotaur
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: June 26, 2007
Publishing house: St. Martin's Minotaur
Release Date: June 26, 2007
Sale Popularity Level: 186084
Studio: St. Martin's Minotaur



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Product Description:
On any given day in London, all Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, wants to do is relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist another chance to unravel a mystery, even if it means trudging through the snow to her townhouse subsequent door.

One of Jane’s former servants, Prudence Smith, is dead – an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison. The house where the girl worked is full of suspects, and though Prudence dabbled with the hearts of more than a few men, Lenox is baffled by an elusive lack of motive in the girl’s death.
 
When another body turns up during the London season’s most fashionable ball, Lenox must untangle a web of loyalties and animosities. Was it jealousy that killed Prudence? Or was it something else entirely, something that Lenox alone can uncover before the killer strikes again – disturbingly close to home?




Customer Reviews
User popularity level: out of 5 stars

Rated by buyers 4 out of 5 stars - A delightful debut
If Charles Lenox were to have his way, all he'd wish for is warm boots, a blazing fireplace, some tea and sandwiches, and an hour or two spent with his maps. But the aristocratic amateur sleuth is always in demand in Victorian London. His childhood friend, Lady Jane, appeals to his innate curiosity and investigative skills. Her upstairs maid, Prudence Smith, who'd moved to the household of Royal Mint director, George Barnard, died under suspicious circumstances. Believed by Barnard and Scotland Yard to be a suicide, Lenox isn't much convinced, and neither is Lady Jane. With the help of his friend, Dr. Tom McConnell, they conclude that she'd been poisoned by the rare and expensive potion called bella indigo, the titular "beautiful blue."

Suspects abound, from Prue's lovers to Barnard's houseguests to Barnard himself, but motives are scarce and flimsy. What to make of this motley crew and their secrets? Soon, Lenox discovers that there's more to this poisoning than meets the eye, and when a second murder is committed, he realizes he'd been looking at this puzzle quite the wrong way.

"A Beautiful Blue Death" is the very first of the new Charles Lenox Mysteries. Much of its appeal is Lenox himself, an affable, debonair intellectual very much like Dorothy L. Sayers' creation, Lord Peter Wimsey. He even has his own Bunt--Graham, his butler-cum-spy--who's every bit as smart.

Mr. Finch's pleasure in bringing 1865 London to life is evident, and it really does come to life, from the fashionable abodes of his upper crust sleuth and associates to the shady apothecaries, sinister alleys, and stuffy anterooms of posh clubs. There's even a tease that Lenox and Lady Jane, both proper in their platonic dealings, may find in each other more than the cordiality of friendship, much like Wimsey and Vane.

His characters may seem like a rehash of Golden Age mysteries, but I found it refreshing to start a new series. I daresay many mystery buffs such as myself have long ago exhausted books by Christie, Sayers, Stout, Marsh, Carr, etc. For now, Finch can be forgiven the occasional rudimentary writing and a timeline error here and there; after all it's his debut mystery and if the clever mystery here is any indication of what's to come, it'll be a delightful series. In all likelihood, many of the affable characters we are introduced to here will reprise their roles in future installments and maybe Lenox's deductive prowess will be honed to Holmes perfection. For now, the bottom-line for me, really, is how good was the mystery? And here, it's pretty darn good.


Rated by buyers 4 out of 5 stars - A very good beginning to a new series
Picking up this book turned out to be a good day! The novel is engaging and I find myself liking Charles Lennox, our eristwhile detective, very much. As one would expect, he is intelligent but he is quirky in a fun loving way and kind hearted at the core. This was a very good beginning to a new series as I eagerly wait for the subsequent installment.

There were a few things that prevented me from giving this novel 5 stars: it took me a few chapters (don't worry, they are small) to get used to the stilted conversations between some of the characters. This is meant to indicate a sign of the times and not poor writing on part of the author. Also, the author talks about prior cases (more specifically, Charles' very first case) as if we read about the case before reading this installment. I had to read the back of the book to realize I didn't start in the middle of a series and that "A Beautiful Blue Death" is a debut novel.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommended it outright. I am looking forward to reading the newest book and find out what Charles and Lady Jane are up to. I believe this author is someone to watch out for in the future.


Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - A Great Victorian Yarn
I loved this book! The mystery was tricky and interesting, but what separated it from the usual run of mystery novels I read was the great, individualistic characters and the beautifully evoked setting of winter in London. I hope it's a series.


Rated by buyers 1 out of 5 stars - Poorly written & disappointing
I was looking forward to receiving this book, based on other reviews. What a disappointment. The writing is awkward and the main characters are poorly drawn and described in a ham-handed and repetitive way (yes, by page 20 I was well aware of how well-born and elegant they were) rather than simply allowed to be portrayed by their actions. As a result, they come across as a self-satisfied and arrogant lot for which I had little sympathy and was pretty tired of by time I finally slogged through to the end of the book. It's as if the author was a little too eager for us to know how wonderful and aristocratic they are, for some reason that I couldn't figure out. A little editing would have helped too - there are some repetitive words and errors in the timeline of the character's life that are a little sloppy. The same descriptions for people and places are repeated throughout the book, adding to the sense of impatience that grows with each page. Just get on with the story, one wants to say - stop telling me how noble, accomplished and wonderful everyone is.

Small things irritate throughout - for example, the noble main character is continually concerned about getting his feet wet in the course of his detective work - was this meant to drum up sympathy for his hard-charging efforts? If so, it fails. Many ordinary people get their feet wet every day without complaining and serves as a prompt for them to get waterproof boots much, much sooner than it occurs to our protagonist, which makes one question both his fortitude and smarts.

I believe the writer compares himself to Wodehouse and Sayres, but I see little to echo the subtlety and skill of these linguistic masters. Instead of buying this book, just re-read the real thing - you'll have a much better time.


Rated by buyers 3 out of 5 stars - The Writing Gets in the Way
I was enthusiastic about this mystery by first-time novelist Charles Finch: set in the Victorian period, interesting lead character and secondary characters, good puzzle... but the writing was so awkward that I literally had to force myself to finish it even though I was interested in the mystery and the characters. It was all I could do to overcome clunkers like these: "The brothers occupied themselves with problems such as these, which only brothers who are lucky enough to be close may discuss" "That is, to put it more briefly, some combination of money, birth, and power were united in him that was impossible to classify and was neither enough to disbar him from the very first tier of society nor to include him fully in it--for whatever one takes that very first tier to be worth" "Lenox's mind had that quality that many great minds have--the ability to consider several opposing ideas at once--and, though he felt stifled in the case thus far, he had begun to consider...")

At one point, the amateur sleuth has to look up some government financial paperwork and the author spends three whole paragraphs describing the South Sea Bubble, which has nothing to do with the story, and then the subsequent paragraph starts "Lenox thought of all this in passing..." He even has the lead character do some Sherlock Holmes "tricks" like determining that someone came from a friend's house because of a slight scent of lemon and the fact that the friend commonly includes lemon with his tea service.

Reading a book like this makes you really appreciate how hard it is for fledgling writers to write smooth prose and believable dialogue.

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