Tuesday, February 14, 2012

A Charming Historical Mystery Series

I've been immersed  in three centuries in the past couple of days. With all the coverage of singer Whitney Houston's death and then the exciting six Grammy wins for the new sensational young singer Adele, I'd say that about covers the 20th and 21st century.  So, it's time to step into the 19th century and applaud author Charles Finch's charming mystery series.

30 year old Charles Finch is a graduate of Yale and Oxford. He is the author of the Charles Lenox mysteries.  His first novel, A Beautiful Blue Death, was nominated for an Agatha Award and was named one of Library Journal's Best Books of 2007, one of only five mystery novels on the list.  He was born in New York and currently lives in Oxford, England. 

"The best sort of historical mystery - clever, charming, full of period detail, and a delight to read" says David Liss, historical novelist and author of the New York times bestselling The Whiskey Rebels.

The series in order is:

     A Beautiful Blue Death
     The September Society
     The Fleet Street Murders
     A Stranger in Mayfair
     A Burial at Sea
 
There is also a Kindle short story entitled An East End Murder which I haven't read.

The protagonist, Charles Lenox, is of the upper-crust in Victorian England when gentlemen of his standing are not supposed to work.  He becomes an amateur detective and is quite good at it.  He's intelligent, determined and decent.  The series is fresh and rich in historical information.  You will feel yourself walking the gas lit streets of Victorian London right along side Charles.

If you love the TV PBS series Downton Abbey, the Queen's corgis, Sherlock Holmes and all things English check out this series!















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