A case with enough momentum to recharge this series and grab new readers with its pull.
The prequel to the career of astute Victorian private detective Charles Lenox.
Our detective has just turned 23 at the start of Finch’s (The Inheritance, 2016, etc.) 11th mystery. Lenox is determined to begin his career as a private detective, hoping to find his first big case from the multitude of crime stories in London’s newspapers. When a letter shows up in the Challenger boasting of the perfect crime, Lenox and his school friend–turned-valet, Graham, at first believe it a hoax until they connect the dots to an unsolved murder from a few weeks prior. A woman, strangled, washed up in a wooden box on Walnut Island, and no one has reported her missing. Even though Lenox’s gentleman-detective vibe is a source of mockery at Scotland Yard, he takes his findings to the chief right away. He can’t risk a second “perfect” murder, which, if the Challenger letter is to be believed, will happen at any moment. Lenox’s Sherlock-ian methods of deduction keep the narrative charged, and his soberness surrounding murder is a welcome touch: “this woman had lived; she had breathed as they all breathed here upon Bankside now; now she was gone. That must count for something.” We’re reminded of Lenox’s youth as he enjoys society parties and stumbles over his feelings for his close friend Elizabeth, but as Lenox develops a portrait of his murderer, the clouds over London grow darker. Clues point to multiple layers of deception meant—and able—to lead even the most seasoned detective off the trail. Lenox must try to find a hidden weakness behind the illusion of perfection, knowing full well that a mixture of pretension and anger in a person can be a very dangerous one. Lenox has officially reached the big leagues—the conclusion waiting for him is nothing short of chilling.
A case with enough momentum to recharge this series and grab new readers with its pull.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-13946-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
A murder is committed in a stalled transcontinental train in the Balkans, and every passenger has a watertight alibi. But Hercule Poirot finds a way.
**Note: This classic Agatha Christie mystery was originally published in England as Murder on the Orient Express, but in the United States as Murder in the Calais Coach. Kirkus reviewed the book in 1934 under the original US title, but we changed the title in our database to the now recognizable title Murder on the Orient Express. This is the only name now known for the book. The reason the US publisher, Dodd Mead, did not use the UK title in 1934 was to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel, Orient Express.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1934
ISBN: 978-0062073495
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1934
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
