A Beautiful Blue Death: The First Charles Lenox Mystery (Charles Lenox Mysteries Book 1)

The first book in the series is the weakest. They improve as the series goes on. What I don’t care for is the use of anachronistic expressions in the characters’ speech. For example, the term “scam” for a fraudulent scheme is first attested in the 1950s, not the mid-Victorian era. Another example is “transparency” as we use it now to mean absolute candor and forthrightness. Also not a Victorian term. Every book has at least one of these clangers. They distract me from the story. Nobody would have said his wife was pregnant. He would have used a euphemism. You couldn’t even say that word in American TV shows as late as the 1950s, let alone in Victorian England. As another reviewer mentioned, the plot element about the Lenoxes choosing when to have a baby is very anachronistic, unless they intended to have a celibate marriage. Plots and characters are interesting but the historical context is flawed enough to be unfortunate.

As all readers know, it’s no fun when you come to the end of a good series and feel adrift in your lifeboat of literature, searching for the next thing to read. So I’m throwing out a lifeline with A Beautiful Blue Death, the first in the Charles Lenox mystery series by Charles Finch.Set in Victorian England, Charles is a gentleman of the upper class with Parliamentary aspirations who has discovered he has a real talent as a detective. With time and means to pursue this talent he’s already earned a reputation among his peers-and Scotland Yard-for both good and bad outcomes. But he knows his way is the way of the future so, invited or not, he doesn’t stop until the crime is solved.In this case, the crime is the mysterious poisoning of a housemaid in the home of one of London’s most powerful political players. The suspects are many, as are potential motives. But Lenox persists, with the help of his friend, Dr. Thomas McConnell, and in spite of personal danger and a second murder. His neighbor and lifelong friend, Lady Jane, is a frequent companion with a great interest in Charles’ activities and well-being. Readers will wonder if something deeper is developing between these two and it very well may be.Along the way readers are treated to a fun education in Victorian England. If you are a history buff as well as a lover of a good mystery, this one’s a page turner. And the good news is, once you turn the last page, there are nine more books to go.

I'm a fan of detective fiction set in the 19th century, and having burned through the series of other authors in the genre, was recommended Finch by Amazon. The first in his series, _A Beautiful Blue Death_ has second-son of a minor house, Charles Lennox out of boredom and lacking any "gentlemanly" vocation, acting as an independent detective - in this case, solving the murder of a housemaid.The mystery was solid - while there are many possible suspects, close readers can quickly winnow it down to three characters most likely to have done the deed. The writing is good, although not as strong or as compelling as other writers I am a fan of ( Some Danger Involved: A Novel , The Yard (Scotland Yard's Murder Squad) , A Death in Vienna , The Sultan's Seal: A Novel (Kamil Pasha Novels (Paperback)) .. The interrelationships between characters is well written, reminiscent of  Death and the Jubilee (The Lord Francis Powerscourt)  but not quite as good in my opinion. The resolution and conclusion was particularly a little trite.For a debut novel, Finch is off to a solid start - although I recommend these other writers ahead of him. I will certainly read more by him on the strength and promise that he will mature in the complexity of his writing and provide some depth and dimension to his characters.

The story itself is pretty interesting as it focuses on a variety of different suspects and motives–none seem more likely than the other until we get more into the story. I liked the use of nightshade as the murder weapon….a very different very dark way to die but yet very romantic in some ways, it was unique. Listening to Lenox consider each suspect was interesting….it was like rearranging pieces in a puzzle….or board game perhaps….Clue maybe…..’Mrs Peacock in the Library with the rope’.The motive and final conclusion were appropriate I think in some ways, a little rushed and disorganized at times but rather fitting. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next installment, he kind of left a little loose end with the final chapter but still….gotta leave ’em with something to come back to right?I will have to admit, I was excited to see it had been nominated for the Agatha Award but some of the reviews I read about the series indicated it was not bad but not good either….just bland I guess. But it had all the things which I love most….Old foggy Victorian London setting, fun setting characteristics such as gas lit streets, eccentric characters, and Gothic/darkish/Victorian-ish like elements such as murder by poisoning.To be sure it was entertaining and I really like a lot of the elements and overall structure…I will also probably read the other three books in the series because this was simply that….entertaining. It wasn’t ground breaking or horribly suspenseful…..just a nice easy read.

I think I'm being generous with this rating as I'm spoiled with the wonderful Regency mysteries of C.S. Harris and Anne Perry's Victorian William Monk series. This story was somewhat convoluted while not really adding to the murder mystery. As other reviewers noted, there is a lot of anachronisms and inaccuracies that a little research would have fixed.Charles Lenox is likable enough though Lady Jane is a bit of a cipher, more of a cardboard cutout for a female role. I did find the relationship between Lenox and his butler odd. Sometimes they're friendly and other times strictly employer/employee for no particular reason (no one else is there). All the men in love and having sex with the murdered maid was also strange to me; why aren't they all suspects right away? Lenox's reasoning just didn't work for me.

Be warned British readers! The best reviews of this book come from abroad. Canada, Australia etc. Whereas I loved the plot and would certainly read more of this writer the constant Americanisms got on my nerves. I ignored most of them but gotten is beyond the pale. English people have never ever said gotten. It's a trap too many potentially good American writers fall into. In fact I avoid historical novels if I see they are written by an American. Please Mr. Finch have a small dictionary when you write or spend some time in the U.K. It's noted lots of other British reviewers have taken the same view. Sad as I enjoyed the book.

I am very sorry to say that this book suffers from three major faults which I found impossible to ignore.First, it's full of Americanisms. By halfway through I was so annoyed by them being used in the context of a London-based tale set in the mid-Victorian period, that I began to list them with their British 'translations':-Sidewalk (pavement)Sure you are (of course you are)Gotten (got)He took a left (he turned left)Clubhouse (Club)How do you figure? (how do you work that out?)Workingman (worker, labourer)Pants (trousers)Closet (cupboard)Trash (rubbish)Too bad (what a pity)Woodpile (coal scuttle - in London they would be burning coal not wood)Wastebasket (waste-paper basket)At the end of his rope (at the end of his tether)Figure out (work out)Fixing coffee (making coffee - except a man of his class would not know how. That's what servants are for)I really wasn't much count (I really wasn't very good at it)I'll go see him (I'll go and see him)Came by the house (called)Say... (I say...)Hickory (not a British tree)Hands-on (far too modern a phrase, he'd have said something like "involved with the day-to-day running of the business")Cuffs of his pants (his trouser turn-ups)All of this is very distracting and irritating to the British reader. Why set a book in Victorian England if you're not going to write in the idiom of the country and period you've chosen?Second, the social setting is inauthentically portrayed. Our hero and his aristocratic lady friend are far too chummy with their servants. A maid would most certainly not be taken on in a house where her fiancé worked. A gentleman would not keep spare clothes in his library and change into them himself: he would go to his bedchamber where his valet would assist him. His handmade leather boots would not have let in the wet. And if he replaced them, they would be leather-soled, not cork (Trollope wrote a whole comedy episode about Lady Glencora buying cork-soled shoes - just not good enough quality for the aristocracy!) So much just didn't ring true.And finally, the book was just too tedious to finish. It dragged on and on and never seemed to get anywhere. I gave up three-quarters of the way through from sheer apathy.So all in all, a very disappointing read. It really rates a 1.5 star. I don't hate it, but it's not ok either.

As he walks along the 'sidewalk' to visit Lady Jane , he finds his deplorable boots letting him down again .Well if he is that well off , he really would not have such poor footwear and no need for the protracted story line about the efficacy of galoshes . This story is actually quite interesting but , as in the typical cosy genre , the various friends are always just so amazingly wonderful and just too too willing to put themselves out and help at the drop of a hat .Another annoyance is the deplorable interview lack of technique that Charles employs , it really does not fit with the idea that this is an intelligent , socially adept gentleman who is made out to be so superior to the duffer Inspector Exeter .It qualifies for 3 stars only because the mystery is well handled but this is not a series or writer that I will be following in the future .

Charles Finch is an accomplished mystery writer. This title is his first in the Charles Lennox series and he depicts believable, solid characters. I have read the next books in the series and have enjoyed them immensely.

Alright. Quite entertaining, but l recognise ideas from other writers. However l can see that this could be a good series.