I had mixed feelings about this novel, starting as it does in the very beginning of Lenox's desire to become a detective. It ultimately won me over, and I've enjoyed the novels that continued, but will not rank as one of my favorites in the series.

Charles Finch is a great storyteller. This is quite a beautiful story about a parent dying. It is a subplot, but I think the one that will stay with me, far beyond the mystery story. Thank you for that, Charles Finch.

I really enjoyed this "prequel" to the Charles Lennox series. I think I need to reread the series!

"London, 1850: A young Charles Lenox struggles to make a name for himself as a detective...without a single case. Scotland Yard refuses to take him seriously and his friends deride him for attempting a profession at all. But when an anonymous writer sends a letter to the paper claiming to have committed the perfect crime--and promising to kill again--Lenox is convinced that this is his chance to prove himself. The writer's first victim is a young woman whose body is found in a naval trunk, caught up in the rushes of a small islets in the middle of the Thames. With few clues to go on, Lenox endeavors to solve the crime before another innocent life is lost. When the killer's sights are turned toward those whom Lenox holds most dear, the stakes are raised and Lenox is trapped in a desperate game of cat and mouse."

I love a good London mystery! I will definitely continue on with the Charles Lennox series.

This was my first of the Charles Lenox mysteries, but it won't be my last. The writing is crisp and moves along nicely; the descriptions are interesting and the dialogue is witty and believable. There are a few elements of the mystery that strain credulity, but not so much that they detract from the overall fun.

4.5 stars

At first I wasn't fond of the narrator, but he really grew on me. This is the story of how Charles Lenox, second son of a parlimentarian in Victorian England, became a consulting detective. Finch draws heavily on Sherlock Holmes with Lenox's insights into human anatomy and psychology, though Lenox is a much nicer person overall. I didn't know who done it, but then I never know.

"The hardest part of losing a person . . . is that grief is only an absence. There is nowhere to go to touch it."

I'm always thrilled to find out that a author new to me has published multiple titles!!! Just got my hold notification that book 1 & 2 in Finch's Lennox mysteries are ready for pick up, I know what I'm doing this weekend!