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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
I really thought I would love this book. It started off feeling a lot like an older Holmes style mystery. However, as I was reading it I found my mind began to wander. This happened over and over again. I made it through the book, but I'm not really sure of the story. I can't say I hated it. I liked the characters Lennox and Lady Jane. I just wish that there was more in the plot to hold my attention.
Charles Lenox, Victorian Gentleman, the sleuth introduced in this beautifully written mystery, follows in the well-trodden footsteps of Lord Peter Wimsey, Albert Campion and the like as as Aristocratic Private Investigator who solves mysteries as a hobby. While he does come equipped with the regulation Butler/friend who assists him in his endeavours and with the lower class good-hearted assistant (think a grown-up Baker St Irregular), he also has a female friend and neighbour, Lady Jane Grey, who functions as a confidante and companion with whom he can discuss the case in the drawing room while taking tea and cakes.
The mystery in question revolves around the murder of a housemaid employed by one of the wealthiest men in London, and its solution requires visits to grand houses, run-down coffee bars, Gentlemen's clubs, and the Houses of Parliament. It is cleverly plotted with enjoyable characters and snippets of interesting political and financial intrigue.
So for those of you who cut your mystery teeth on the likes of Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and who still relish the well plotted, non-violent, upstairs downstairs mystery novel (and I am most definitely in this category) this is a welcome new edition to your reading list. Enjoy it in front of the fire with a blanket on your lab and a cup of tea (or glass of sherry) in hand.
The mystery in question revolves around the murder of a housemaid employed by one of the wealthiest men in London, and its solution requires visits to grand houses, run-down coffee bars, Gentlemen's clubs, and the Houses of Parliament. It is cleverly plotted with enjoyable characters and snippets of interesting political and financial intrigue.
So for those of you who cut your mystery teeth on the likes of Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and who still relish the well plotted, non-violent, upstairs downstairs mystery novel (and I am most definitely in this category) this is a welcome new edition to your reading list. Enjoy it in front of the fire with a blanket on your lab and a cup of tea (or glass of sherry) in hand.
I listened to an audiobook version and it was over 230 hours. I only listened to it while driving. The author, in trying to describe the everyday life of the times, really carried on. This has put me off from his other titles even though the mystery itself was complex.
I really liked this book. It was very well written and a great read for a trip in Italy. The mystery was nicely intriguing, but it did wrap up kind of quickly. Fun read though
Another dark academia-esque series I will be enjoying quite a bit from now on!
This was an okay first book in what is a continuing series, but I doubt I would read others in the series, because it was *just* okay.
Charles Lenox is the second son of a weathly British family. As an established bachelor, with plenty of money and little to occupy his time other than his books, his travel plans and his next door neighbour and friend, Lady Jane, he has developed an interest in being an amateur detective.
When Lady Jane comes to him in distress, to tell him about the apparent suicide of a former maid in her house, who had been working for another member of their society - although a man neither particularly likes - Charles is happy to provide consolation.
But Lady Jane wants him to investigate, as she's not convinced the death is as it appears. Charles is happy to oblige and immediately sets about annoying the lead detective from Scotland Yard, and generally inserting himself into the business of all involved.
The description of this book suggests it as "parts Sherlock Holmes, Gosford Park and P.G. Wodehouse" and while I would sort of agree, I would also say that this is a very pale and watered-down version of any of those others, and so while it was, as I said earlier, okay, the best word I can think of to describe the story is plodding.
Charles is a busybody, who gets under the skin of others, but he's far nicer and more polite than Sherlock Holmes, although there is a superficial resemblance in the incompetent Yard detective Exeter, with whom Charles alternates between helping and going around. I would say that Charles is more like a male version of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple than Holmes.
The mystery was also okay, but not an earth-shaking or extraordinary story, and the pace at which Charles goes about investigating was a little slow for me.
I did really like most of the characters in the book, especially Charles, Lady Jane and Charles' butler Graham - who helps in the investigations as the "below-stairs" accomplice - going where Charles can't to find things out. But the likeable characters weren't sufficient on their own to entice me to read others in this series. With a murder mystery, I like a little more action and excitement and this just didn't have that.
But, if you like quiet and gentle murder mysteries, you might enjoy this.
Charles Lenox is the second son of a weathly British family. As an established bachelor, with plenty of money and little to occupy his time other than his books, his travel plans and his next door neighbour and friend, Lady Jane, he has developed an interest in being an amateur detective.
When Lady Jane comes to him in distress, to tell him about the apparent suicide of a former maid in her house, who had been working for another member of their society - although a man neither particularly likes - Charles is happy to provide consolation.
But Lady Jane wants him to investigate, as she's not convinced the death is as it appears. Charles is happy to oblige and immediately sets about annoying the lead detective from Scotland Yard, and generally inserting himself into the business of all involved.
The description of this book suggests it as "parts Sherlock Holmes, Gosford Park and P.G. Wodehouse" and while I would sort of agree, I would also say that this is a very pale and watered-down version of any of those others, and so while it was, as I said earlier, okay, the best word I can think of to describe the story is plodding.
Charles is a busybody, who gets under the skin of others, but he's far nicer and more polite than Sherlock Holmes, although there is a superficial resemblance in the incompetent Yard detective Exeter, with whom Charles alternates between helping and going around. I would say that Charles is more like a male version of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple than Holmes.
The mystery was also okay, but not an earth-shaking or extraordinary story, and the pace at which Charles goes about investigating was a little slow for me.
I did really like most of the characters in the book, especially Charles, Lady Jane and Charles' butler Graham - who helps in the investigations as the "below-stairs" accomplice - going where Charles can't to find things out. But the likeable characters weren't sufficient on their own to entice me to read others in this series. With a murder mystery, I like a little more action and excitement and this just didn't have that.
But, if you like quiet and gentle murder mysteries, you might enjoy this.
Super cozy book. Won't set your heart racing or hold you in suspense but will make you long for a fireplace and English tea.
2.5 stars. I liked this well enough that I would read another in the series, but certain things about the plot and the characters certainly jarred. If the next one is no better, I would probably not read any more. If it's a slow beginning to a good series I'll be pleased.
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A charming, cozy mystery, this book features Charles Lenox, a gentleman and amateur detective with lots of free time and theoretical political ambitions. When his best friend and neighbor, Lady Jane Grey enlists his help in uncovering the details of the death of one of her former servants, now employed by the director of the mint, he readily agrees, despite tensions with the official London police detective department and a less than warm welcome from the household. Insistent that Prue died by suicide, George Barnard is entirely uninterested in Lenox's presence in his home, preferring to maintain his privacy and that of his several guests, including members of parliament and his two nephews.
The story unfolds incredibly slowly, with disappointingly little "detective work." Indeed, much of the page count seemed to be filled with descriptive paragraphs about Lenox's wandering the city or, even less interestingly, sitting in his parlor pondering the case. Author Charles Finch was certainly inspired by the tomes of Sherlock Holmes he read as a child--as acknowledged in his sweetly written Author's Note--and the echoes of Arthur Conan Doyle's hero are palpable; however, Charles Lenox is not nearly as interesting or insightful as Mr. Holmes, and most of his "big reveal" moments lacked drama and suspense.
I enjoyed this book enough but wasn't particularly impressed by the writing, the plot, or the characters. A good free library find for a rainy day, but not a series I'll be coming back to.
The story unfolds incredibly slowly, with disappointingly little "detective work." Indeed, much of the page count seemed to be filled with descriptive paragraphs about Lenox's wandering the city or, even less interestingly, sitting in his parlor pondering the case. Author Charles Finch was certainly inspired by the tomes of Sherlock Holmes he read as a child--as acknowledged in his sweetly written Author's Note--and the echoes of Arthur Conan Doyle's hero are palpable; however, Charles Lenox is not nearly as interesting or insightful as Mr. Holmes, and most of his "big reveal" moments lacked drama and suspense.
I enjoyed this book enough but wasn't particularly impressed by the writing, the plot, or the characters. A good free library find for a rainy day, but not a series I'll be coming back to.