The Laws of Murder

September 29, 2014
At the end of 2013’s An Old Betrayal, former private investigator Charles Lenox abandoned a promising career in politics to set up a detective agency with three partners. Now, in Finch’s solid eighth Victorian era whodunit, the new agency is hampered by a series of hostile newspaper articles, which include negative quotes from a Scotland Yarder Lenox considered a friend, Insp. Thomas Jenkins. Lenox lags behind his colleagues in bringing in business, a deficiency that raises tensions. When someone fatally shoots Jenkins and leaves his body in front of the London home of the marquess of Wakefield—a suspected criminal Lenox has long sought to bring to book—the detective gets a chance to redeem himself. The Yard hires Lenox to help solve the shocking crime, and the investigation takes some surprising turns. Finch succeeds again in combining an intriguing story line with a lead that both newcomers and series regulars will find engaging. Agents: Kari Stuart and Jennifer Joel, ICM.

December 22, 2014
Book eight in Finch’s series featuring Charles Lennox (after An Old Betrayal) finds the Victorian gentleman-turned-detective and his associates—Lord John Dallington, Polly Strickland Buchanan, and the French detective LeMaire—the target of slanderous attack by a powerful rival detective agency taking scurrilous steps to wipe them out, including publishing false criticisms of Lennox by Scotland Yard detective Jenkins, a man thought to be his friend. Still, when Jenkins is murdered, Lennox is quick to investigate, ignoring the deadly threats against him. Reader Langton’s crisp, well-born delivery matches the charm and pervading upper-class Victorian gentility of Finch’s text perfectly. His skillful verbal portrait of Lennox presents an open-minded gent whose self-confidence begins to falter when his new business gets off to a rocky start, though he reasserts himself once he is on the hunt for a vicious murderer. His pal and protégé, John Dallington, speaks with a voice that’s a bit dithery but good-natured. Polly is as precise and clear-spoken as she is dedicated. LeMaire sounds more French than François Hollande. And there is a long list of vocally well-developed characters, from Lennox’s frozen-tongued manservant to a curiously antagonistic mother superior at a convent of cloistered nuns. A Minotaur hardcover.

James Langton's cultured but perfectly comprehensible English accent suits the latest Charles Lenox mystery to a tee. In 1876, after six years in Parliament, Lenox has returned to his first love--tracking down London's criminals. Hansom cabs move through gas-lit streets, bobbies blow their whistles, lords act dishonorably, and the criminal class concocts devilish schemes. There are clues, mystery, romance, violence, and villains. Langton's dialogue is lively, his characters easily distinguishable. His pace is good, and his nineteenth-century-English pronunciation almost perfect. Finch's story lacks the moral ambiguity and soul-wrenching horror so often found in crime fiction. He'll keep you awake listening without giving you nightmares. F.C. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine