The Inheritance (Charles Lenox Series #10)

by Charles Finch

Overview

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER

A mysterious bequest of money leads to a murder in the tenth entry in Charles Finch's critically acclaimed and bestselling Charles Lenox series, whose last installment The New York Times called “a sterling addition to this well-polished series.”

Charles Lenox has received a cryptic plea for help from an old Harrow schoolmate, Gerald Leigh, but when he looks into the matter he finds that his friend has suddenly disappeared. As boys they had shared a secret: a bequest from a mysterious benefactor had smoothed Leigh’s way into the world after the death of his father. Lenox, already with a passionate interest in detective work, made discovering the benefactor's identity his first case – but was never able to solve it.

Now, years later, Leigh has been the recipient of a second, even more generous bequest. Is it from the same anonymous sponsor? Or is the money poisoned by ulterior motives? Leigh’s disappearance suggests the latter, and as Lenox tries, desperately, to save his friend’s life, he’s forced into confrontations with both the most dangerous of east end gangs and the far more genteel denizens of the illustrious Royal Society. When someone close to the bequest dies, Lenox must finally delve deep into the past to uncover at last the identity of the person who is either his friend’s savior – or his lethal enemy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250130198
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/31/2017
Series:	Charles Lenox Series , #10
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	134,595
Product dimensions:	5.61(w) x 8.31(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Charles Finch is the USA Today bestselling author of the Charles Lenox mysteries, including The Vanishing Man. His first contemporary novel, The Last Enchantments, is also available from St. Martin's Press. Finch received the 2017 Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing from the National Book Critics Circle. His essays and criticism have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Washington Post, and elsewhere. He lives in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

A detailed and engrossing murder plot . . . a skillfully drawn social portrait of the late 1800s . . . Finch conjures the palpable excitement of the day over such groundbreaking developments as the telegraph and electricity, as England—and the rest of the world—stand on the brink of great change.” —BookPage.com

One of The Strand Magazine's Best Mysteries of 2016

“A refined historical mystery that glows with intelligence.. . . So absorbing is Finch’s work that his fans might imagine that they are reading it by gaslight in a fashionable London square as horse-drawn carriages pass by.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch

“A series as polished as British sterling . . . Charles Finch never ceases to amaze readers with wit and mighty good storytelling.” —Bookreporter.com

“The special pleasure of this series, beyond the mysteries Finch concocts, is how nicely he sets his stories against the background of Victorian England. It’s one of the more enjoyable history lessons you’ll come across. . . . As crime series go, the Lenox novels are exceptionally civilized.” —Washington Post

“The Inheritance is a well-thought-out mystery with ever-increasing stakes and bang-on details that bring the time to vivid life. An enjoyable read.” —HistoricalNovel Society

“Finch impressively raises the stakes of this tale between tea settings, and his character development is top-notch.” —Booklist

“Entertaining and evocative. . . . A sense of time and place heightened by Finch’s elegant prose and characters this Dorothy Sayers fan adores.” —Journal Sentinel

“As always, the characters and the Victorian setting are impeccable.” —Library Journal

“The upper-class amateur sleuth, an endangered species even in historical mysteries, is very much alive in Charles Finch's charming Victorian whodunits.” —The New York Times Book Review

"Finch is a clever plotter and assiduous researcher. Like Anthony Trollope, he is an insider’s outsider. If you are a mystery addict seeking an escape hatch from the 21st century, check out this series by an elegant writer at the top of his form." —Seattle Times

"A thick, leisurely, British detective novel, studded with memorable characters like raisins in a fruitcake." —Hallie Ephron, The Boston Globe

“A delight! . . . It's a rare accomplishment to make a murder so charming and a detective so compelling. Bravo Mr Finch . . . more Lenox, please.” —Louise Penny, author of A Great Reckoning

From the Publisher

09/05/2016
Finch fails to deliver on the promise of the intriguing setup of his 10th Charles Lenox mystery (after 2015’s Home by Nightfall). In 1877, Gerald Leigh writes gentleman sleuth Lenox, his only friend at Harrow 30 years earlier, a vague letter stating that he’s in some kind of trouble. Lenox’s fears are heightened when he’s unable to find Leigh at his former classmate’s London hotel. Lenox eventually tracks the man down, only to learn that he recently survived two attempts on his life. Leigh, now a renowned scientist who has been living in France, returned to England after being contacted by a solicitor, who informed him that he’s the heir to a large fortune. The solicitor refused to identify Leigh’s benefactor. This revives for Leigh and Lenox the puzzle of who the mysterious person was who funded the former’s education at Harrow. A subplot involving one of Lenox’s partners in his enquiry agency dilutes the main action, which builds to an unsatisfying resolution. Agents: Kari Stuart and Jennifer Joel, ICM. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

11/01/2016
In his latest case (after Home by Nightfall), gentleman private investigator Charles Lenox helps an old friend identify a mysterious benefactor who has left him a large sum of money. Murder results and Charles needs to consult his partners. As always, the characters and the Victorian setting are impeccable.

Library Journal

2016-08-23
In the 10th installment of this Victorian-era series, a Member of Parliament–turned–private detective gets the chance to solve a 30-year-old mystery that involves his boyhood friend.Charles Lenox hasn’t seen his Harrow school friend Gerald Leigh in many years, ever since Leigh got happily expelled and set off for a life of travel and, eventually, scientific inquiry. But hearing from Leigh generates an extra sense of excitement when his letter reveals that his return to London is related to his “mysterious benefactor.” Lenox and Leigh started an unusual friendship at school when Leigh explained that his tuition was paid by an anonymous “friend,” whose identity he desperately wanted to figure out. It was Lenox’s first mystery, and it still hasn’t been solved. It becomes clear that this is much more than child’s play when Leigh goes missing from the Collingwood Hotel and Lenox must track him down—and once he does, Leigh reports that attempts have been made on his life. The descriptions of the attackers are at once familiar to Lenox, who recognizes the pair as Anderson and Singh, part of the notorious Farthing gang. Who could possibly order this traveling scientist dead? This is when Leigh reveals that the mysterious benefactor has recently left him a rather large sum, enough to make him rich by any standards—and enough to make people risk killing for it. While in London, Leigh is also persuaded to speak at the Royal Society, which has been encouraging his visit for a long time. To Lenox’s surprise, his old friend has become quite the sensation. But when Leigh’s solicitor Ernest Middleton is found murdered, Lenox is reminded that the target is still very much on Leigh’s back. It’s time he consults his agency partners Lord John Dallington and Polly Buchanon, who have been working a break-in case at Parliament, keeping watch there overnight and, to Lenox’s extreme interest, becoming closer with each passing day. The tension continues to rise as an element of deceit clouds the entire investigation and events take surprisingly sinister and twisting turns. Finch impressively raises the stakes of this tale between tea settings, and his character development is top-notch.

Kirkus Reviews