A Beautiful Blue Death (2007)

A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch is the first in his series about Charles Lennox, a Victorian gentleman who enjoys playing the sleuth occasionally when interesting cases are presented to him. This particular case is brought to him by his childhood friend and close neighbour Lady Jane Grey . A former maid of hers has been found dead of an apparent suicide, but it isn’t long before Lennox knows the young woman was a victim of foul play.

I found this book reminded me a great deal of Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey novels, although the time period here is Victorian and Lord Peter’s time is after World War I. Both men are the younger brothers of country-loving Earls, and both men are lucky to have intelligent, faithful valets to assist them in their investigations.

The mystery itself moves along at a quick pace and has Lennox visiting both the grandest places in London and some of it’s lowest as well. Lennox himself is a likeable, slightly eccentric character who is fun to read about. There were a few other characters that I am hoping will reappear in future episodes. The writing is light, with frequent humorous insights and gives the reader many details of the day to day life of the upper class. Overall an enjoyable Victorian puzzle and I look forward to reading more about Charles Lennox in future books. ( )

Fun, quick mysteries. More meaty than most and quite well-written! ( )

Finally! ( )

Very good mystery. The story was good and the characters, especially Charles Lenox, were well developed. I could picture them and the settings througout the book. The ending was a bit contrived, but not so much that it affected the story. ( )

Although this is the reader's first introduction to amateur crime solver Charles Lenox, it's not his first case. He has prior experience as well as an uneasy and unofficial relationship with Scotland Yard's Inspector Exeter. Lenox is asked by his neighbor and dear friend, Lady Jane Grey, to look into the death of a young woman who had formerly been in service with her. Charles is assisted by his butler/valet, Graham, his older brother Edmund (a member of Parliament), Lady Jane's cousin's physician husband, Thomas McConnell, as well as a few minor characters. Although the master of the house is eager to have the death ruled a suicide, it's clear to Charles and McConnell that the girl was murdered. Charles must work carefully since the suspects include men at the heart of government.

I liked a lot about this first series mystery. Charles Lenox is a likeable man. He's a reader whose tastes run to novels like Tom Brown's Schooldays and The Small House at Allington as well as daily newspapers and scholarly journals. He also loves to plan trips to faraway places like Persia, although he usually ends up canceling his travel plans because of a case. He's a good friend to his brother, to his friend the doctor, to his valet/butler, and to Lady Jane. He's not as colorful as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, but he's still a decent sleuth. This series would be a good fit for readers who enjoy Anne Perry's Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series or Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily Ashton series. ( )