What a great mystery! I had no idea this was book 14 in the Charles Lenox detective series by Charles Finch. It was no problem jumping right in and getting familiar with the characters. The point of this one is who killed Lily Allingham, a beautiful, young socialite. The story takes place both in London and New York, shortly after the civil war. I enjoyed visiting Newport RI as part of the story as well. Charles Lenox, well known London detective, is sent to America right before a trial begins at home which he was involved with but for political reasons the prime minister doesn’t want him around. While he is visiting, he is requested to investigate a murder. The characters are well developed and enjoyable. The murderer wasn’t obvious until near the end. Worth reading!

Who killed Lily Allingham whose body has been found on a beach in Newport, Rhode Island? Charles Lenox, who has been more or less exiled from the UK so that he's not available to give public testimony about corruption, has found himself in Gilded Age splendor in New York and Newport but he's, well, a little bored. Lilly, a wealthy young woman, was being courted by two equally.wealthy young men- one of whom is a Vanderbilt. Lenox's wife- Lady Jane- gives him entree into this world even if he's a bit of a fish out of water both in the social milieu and in the US in general. Teddy Blaine, who is interested in being a detective, is a good foil. Finch makes ample use of his setting and time frame- this is nicely atmospheric. I'd not read but a couple in this long running series - and this was fine as a standalone although I suspect I might have missed a bit of nuance in Lenox, who is keenly observant and sharply in tune with his surroundings. The mystery is twisty and how can you resist the details of Lady Astor's ball? Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Fans of historical mysteries will like this one.

An Extravagant Death is the first book I have read in the Charles Lenox series. Way back in 2019,( which does seem like a lifetime ago)I never read a series out of order. But this year, I am reading whatever intrigues me, so I guess 2020 has changed me in many ways. #2020BreakingAllMyReadingRules
Charles Lenox is a well-known detective. The year is 1878, and Charles has traveled from London to New York City at the request of the Prime Minister. He has his reasons for wanting Charles out of the country, and this allows Charles to fulfill one of his travel dreams. He will travel from NYC to Boston by train, but when the train is unexpectedly stopped, his plans change. An urgent plea finds Charles in Newport, trying to find out who killed a debutante.
There were numerous suspects and plenty of red herrings. I looked twice at a particular character and decided I was wrong. Imagine my surprise when that individual was indeed the killer(Finch-1, Me-0). What really made this mystery stand out to me, was the very detailed descriptions of the lifestyles of the very wealthy, and the differences between the US and England. I was fascinated and not only was I transported from my house through the book pages, but to another time and place.
Sorry, not sorry I read this book first. I believe that there are at least another ten books in this series and I am looking forward to learning more about Charles Lenox, his family, and friends. Congratulations Mr. Finch, you gained a new fan! 4.5 stars.

This was such a pleasant mystery novel, I can see why there are 14 books already in the Charles Lenox series.

My favorite parts of the book were the atmospheric descriptions of locations like New York City and Newport in the late 1870’s. I thoroughly enjoyed the parts about Mrs. Astor’s party and just the society in general during that time period. It made me want to jump on a plane and travel to Newport. There are also some fun historical tidbits and facts, like how the term ‘backlog’ originated. So fun!

The mystery itself was not too tough to figure out. I had my suspicions as soon as the culprit appeared in the story. No spoilers, so that is all I will say about that!

I liked this book more for the historical aspect than the mystery itself, which is fine with me. I enjoyed it and recommend it to historical fiction fans.

An Extravagant Death is the 14th mystery in the series, and this one brings our crime solver, Charles Lenox, to America’s shores. Once he arrives, he is quickly summoned to Newport to help solve the murder of one of Newport’s debutant’s, the season’s “diamond”. Hesitant at first, he is soon persuaded and is swept into the glamorous life of the robber barons of the Guilded Age. Here, Mr. Lenox meets the likes of a Vanderbilt and the Astor’s among others of the Newport crowd, any one of whom could be the murderer.

Although this was number 14 in the series, I had no problem following the story, and except to references to a previous case that was going to trial, the book could be read as a stand alone. I really enjoyed the story, and the setting, having been to Newport a few times I could easily picture the mansions and the lawns and the ballrooms. The plot was quick passed and didn’t drag. It was a good Victorian story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I enjoyed reading this book and getting acquainted with Charles Lenox, Lady Jane, and the entire cast of characters. This was my first foray into their world. At first it was a little confusing to keep up with everyone, but the author did a good job of getting all of us newbies up to speed quickly. The mystery was intriguing and the look at the United States not long after the Civil War was very interesting. Especially given it was from the point of view of a visiting Englishman. I plan to go back and read the previous books so I can truly be caught up!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I received a free electronic ARC of this historical (1878) British mystery novel from Netgalley, Charles Finch, and St. Martin's Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. This is Book 14 of a series but is completely stand-alone. I am pleased to find another writer of the British Who-dun-it. Interestingly in this one, the "preeminent detective in all of England" finds himself temporarily banished to the U.S. by the British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli. This is a series I want to explore, and this particular book is exceptional.

Charles Lennox is married to Lady Jane and has two young daughters. Charles has recently formed a partnership with several others to handle private investigations. It is still new to have help - after so many years of doing it all on his own he is grateful for the assistance, hopeful for eventually more time with his new family, and missing the simplicity of working alone.

But all that must wait. The trial for his last case, against several top-ranking Scotland Yard and political figures, rest heavily on his testimony. On the advice of the Crown's lawyers, hoping to avoid the deep well of trouble that would surface if he were cross-examined in open court, the Prime Minister feels that Lennox's written testimony would be much preferable in calming political tsunamis but the only way the prosecution can get away with that is if he is out of the country and completely unavailable. His wife reminds him that he has often expressed the wish to see parts of the US, so he maps out a visit of a couple of months of exploration - hopefully, less. The baby is really too young to be carting her across the sea, so he will have to go alone but he will really miss his family.

Lennox is very impressed with NYC. But he is hijacked by a telegram from one of the homeowners in Newport while traveling on the train to Boston. With him on that Boston train is a young man, Teddy Theodore Baine, who is surprisingly very familiar with Lennox's work in England, and also a resident of Newport. Of a mind to turn down the offer of work, Lennox is persuaded by Teddy to side-step his tourist plans and investigate the murder of a young woman on the sands at the newest summer place popular to NYC's elite, Newport, Rhode Island.

America just following the Civil War was an interesting place, and we see it from an Englishman's viewpoint. Very eye-opening in places, and an unusual look at the politics of that time. Altogether an excellent read.

"An Extravagant Death" by Charles Finch
This is a good story. I enjoyed the read. Although I must admit that occasionally I had a wee bit of trouble keeping my interest alive and well. And the ending, well I felt like it just stopped in mid-air. But then most stories do leave you wondering what would have happened tomorrow if the story had just gone on for another chapter or two. Happy Reading ! !
Note: I received an ARC of this story from the publisher via NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion of this read.

Charles Lenox is sent to tour America but not long after arriving in the country he is begged to investigate the murder of a debutante in Newport, the playground of America's wealthy elite. I have read many of the previous Charles Lenox books and I enjoyed this one, I believe that it works well as a standalone. Seeing 1870s America, particularly Newport and its people through the eyes of an Englishman was an interesting experience. I don't want to give away too much, but this definitely left me wanting more. I cannot wait to see what comes next for Lenox after the decisions he makes at the end of this book.

For the first 30%, I planned to give this book 2 stars because I didn't realize at first that it WASN'T the first book in a series. So I felt kind of lost. As the book went on, the character of Charles Lenox intrigued me enough to potentially start back at the beginning and pick up the first book. The mystery was pretty good and I think the author did a nice job of describing late 19th-century America and its comparison to England.

An Extravagant Death by Charles Finch. St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, 2021.

This book, the fourteenth of the Charles Lenox Mystery Series, begins in 1878 London. Fifty-one-year Charles is a partner in a successful detective agency and a happily married father to two daughters, one four months old and one six years. Because he solved a crime so potentially embarrassing to the current government, he is asked to undertake a prestigious out-of-country trip under the Queen’s seal, mainly so that he is unavailable to testify in person.

As the story develops, Charles meets a young man with a hero complex who wants to be a detective. They are travelling together when a nineteen-year-old debutante, the beauty of the season, is murdered, and Charles is called to consult. That his “new assistant” can join him is a great benefit because he knows the victim and everyone associated with her, including all of the suspects while Charles does not.

It has been two years since I last read a Charles Lenox book. I immediately remembered why I loved the characters and the stories, and found myself fully engaged in a story that is both complex and easy to follow. I had other things to do, but happily put them off and devoured it. I read until I finished. I was completely unprepared when the murderer was revealed; I saw the clues but misinterpreted them. And I learned things about the era that I never heard of before in this book.

This is my tenth experience with Charles Finch and the Charles Lenox series. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed them. Readers who enjoy historical British crime fiction, including C.S. Harris, Anne Perry, and Charles Todd, and perhaps also Jacqueline Winspear and Anna Lee Huber will definitely not want to miss this excellent book and series.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of An Extravagant Death free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. #AnExtravagantDeath #NetGalley

An Extravagant Death had me hook , line and sinker from start to finish. I enjoyed this very entertaining , interesting , thrilling and intriguing, well plotted , atmospheric , historical mystery a lot.

An Extravagant Death is the 1st book I read in the established Charles Lenox Mystery series. I am happy to say , I never felt lost or/and that was missing out vital background information , it can be read as a standalone. I liked the world-building , writing style and the hero so much, that I am planning on reading the series in chronological order.

I just reviewed An Extravagant Death by Charles Finch. #AnExtravagantDeath #StMartinPress #NetGalley

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin publishing I received this arc in exchange for an honest review 3.5⭐️ Rounded up

This was my first read of this series and this author and overall it was enjoyable but very slow in the beginning. I think the fact the boom still has typos that haven’t been corrected distracted me.

The book is about the murder of a young lady - the most beautiful young lady of the time who came from a family of some wealth but nothing comparable to the wealth of the summer inhabitants of Newport - it was her beauty that made for a good match - such were the times back then. She is found murdered on the sand after attending a ball. The book revolves around her murder and the life of detective Charles Lenox. ( I enjoyed the fact that is was a who-dunnit )

The first part of the book seem to drag but once it got going I was immersed in the story. I love that it took place in New York and Newport in the late 1800s and how the author touched upon our history and didn’t shy away from addressing the Irish immigration during that time as well as providing a history lesson on the Dutch settlement of New York and the prominent families of the time. Very well researched.

The murder mystery was good and the author was good at deceiving the reader as to who the culprit was. The tidy quick resolve when the murderer was revealed could have been played out more but I did like the ending

Will I read the next book? Will I ready mire by this author - the answer is yes

While this is book #14, don’t let that stop you from picking up this latest outing in the Charles Lenox series. I’ve only read a couple of earlier books in the series, and I had no trouble jumping ahead.

Charles Lenox is a “gentleman detective” who typically solves cases in London, but is sent abroad to America for this book. Soon after arriving, a suspicious death occurs, and of course Lenox agrees to investigate. The case brings Lenox right in the middle of Newport’s high society to try and find answers.

Mr. Finch has a gift of transporting the reader to another time and place with his writing. It was such fun to visit this particular time in history – March 1878 at the height of the Gilded Age and right in the center of possibly the most lavish, extravagant people in opulent society, and see it all through Lenox’s eyes. So much splendor! But Lenox is not blinded by the extravagance and also sees the people outside of high-society as well.

The mystery itself is both straightforward and complex at the same time. There are plenty of suspects, and Newport even feels like a character itself. This is a slow-paced, descriptive novel; it’s a page turner but I wouldn’t say it’s a fast read. It’s a book to savor. Enjoy!

WOW! Talk about a book that was impossible to put down – this was definitely it. We are finally back to Lenox’s current timeline and I’m happy about that. I loved all of the books about his earlier life, but I’m happy to be back in his normal timeline now. It seems that no matter how far Charles travels, he finds himself investigating a murder – this time it is while he is visiting the United States. I believe this might be my favorite book of the series so far and I’m really looking forward to many more because I’m so excited to see where Charles’s future lies. One of the things I love best about the series is that Charles seems so very real – as does the history in the book.

Charles has just wrapped up a very high-profile case that has taken down half of Scotland Yard as well as being rife with political implications. When Lenox is summoned to appear before the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, he is sure things are not going to go well for him. The Prime Minister asks Lenox to leave England – and tells him that the Queen will bestow a knighthood on him. No, Charles isn’t being banished, but it sort of feels like it. He declines the offer because he really wants to assure that the men from Scotland Yard are convicted, and his testimony should assure it. However, Disraeli keeps sweetening the pot until Lenox agrees – but adds a few terms of his own.

Lenox’s tour of America has hardly begun before he is waylaid on his train and is demanded to appear in Newport to solve a murder. Charles is traveling in the name of the Queen of England and he’s incensed that someone would dare demand – for it was a demand and not a request – that he appear before them and solve a murder. He declines but is eventually convinced to at least check it out – out of curiosity if nothing else.

When Lenox arrives, the body of the beautiful young woman is still lying on the beach where she was found. The police are there as is the coroner and a number of onlookers. The scene is totally trampled and the locals don’t seem to know how to investigate a murder – especially a murder among society’s elite.

Charles’s investigation keeps him among the richest and most powerful people in America. One of them murdered that young woman – but there are few clues, no witnesses, and no really good motives. So, what could that lovely young woman have done to cause someone to murder her?

Each lead seems to take him nowhere – and he keeps circling and circling – with no results. Until, finally, he knows the answer, but doesn’t want to believe it. It is really an exciting tale that puts Charles in danger of losing his life. Will he live long enough to see the murderer caught? Oh! My!

I absolutely loved this book and could happily read it again and again. I loved seeing a young America through an Englishman’s eyes. The descriptions of Lenox’s impressions are wonderful – especially the descriptions of the hope that was so clearly on display among the upstart Americans. It just made me long for those hopeful times. I also loved the insights on the aftermath of the Civil War even twenty years later. I think the author did an outstanding job of conveying that rich sense of history and the hope of a young American nation.

I also loved Charles’s career crisis thoughts – maybe it was a mid-life crisis. I will be so excited to read the next books and find out what the future holds for Charles, Lady Jane, and the rest of the recurring characters. The ONLY thing that I didn’t love was the references to how old Lenox was. The story treated him as if he were eighty rather than forty-nine – and he reinforced that. I know that fifty back then was ‘older’ than fifty today, but goodness – I can’t believe it was that different.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for a review.

This was SO GOOD!! I have enjoyed the Charles Lenox mysteries for a while, and this was a special treat, because the London-based detective came to America!

Following the conclusion of a case of corruption at Scotland Yard, Lenox is requested by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli to leave the country and offer only written testimony for the trial. At first, Lenox is not inclined to go, but is finally persuaded that would be best for the country as a whole, so he goes, with plans to visit several places in America. But when he is on his way from New York to Boston, his train is stopped an he is requested to go to Newport, the vacation home of the Highest in society, to solve a rather inconvenient murder. The murder is of a debutante, and has happened just before the beginning of the all-important Newport "season", so it MUST be solved and closed quickly!

The reactions of the upper class Lenox to the Gilded Age in America are not to be missed!! The mystery is satisfying and I have to admit I didn't solve it, which always makes a book better for me personally!!

This is a continuation in a series that I have greatly enjoyed. This book is actually the 14th in the series. The main character Charles Lenox is a man that I have adored in each book. He is such a gentleman and greatly in love with his wife Lady Jane (who I also adore). In each book I have been very fond of their relationship and the process of growing old with them.
In this book Charles is asked by the British Prime Minister to go to America. So the location of the book is mostly there. I really fascinated by the historical description of America right after the Civil War and the history of some of the most elite of society.
The main story is about the murder of a young woman who has been courted by some of the most rich and famous in Rhode Island. Charles is asked to go to New Port, RI to investigate her murder. In New Port he meets all kinds of people from all parts of society while attempted to solved the murder. (I really did enjoy meeting them all as well.)
This was a fun book to read and fit very well into the series. Since the book ends with a question about what is next for Charles Lenox, I am already looking forward to the next book.
Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my opinion of the book.

I love Charles Lenox, this is another great story, told as he ages. I held my breath, thinking, please don't let him die, he is a true gentleman, true genuine human being, someone you feel close to, and comfortable with. The writing as usual is first date, the story compelling, what's not to love?
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!

carolintallahassee. com

This is the first book I have read by this author and I was very impressed. His use of words and the pacing of the plot allowed me to sink into the story and enjoy reading the story.

Charles Lenox is a private detective by choice. He is the second son in a wealthy English family and didn't accept any of the normal jobs for second sons. Charles has just finished a case where he was responsible for arresting three high ranking Scotland yard officials. Their trial is coming soon and PM Disraeli wants Charles out of the country after being knighted. Charles refused knighthood but does go to America.

I enjoyed this book so much I plan to read the entire series.

Upon checking out other reviews, I discovered that An Extravagant Death is the 14th in Charles Lenox mystery series; however, it was the first novel of Charles Finch's that I've ever read. I think it speaks volumes about the quality of the book and the plot that it didn't matter in the slightest that this was my first foray into the series.

Charles Lenox is considered to be one of the greatest detectives in the world. It's 1878, and Disraeli is the PM of the UK. Lenox has just wrapped up an investigation into corruption within the highest ranks of Scotland Yard, but for political reasons, Disraeli wants Lenox to be out of the country when the trial starts. To accomplish this, Disraeli commissions Lenox to take a trip to the US and sweetens the offer by telling him the trip will be under the imprimatur of the Queen, which will allow Lenox to meet with anyone he wants in the US, including the President if he so desires. Lenox and his wife, Lady Jane realize this is an offer and an honor that cannot be refused, so off he sails.

Once in the US, NYC especially, Lenox is wined and dined by the highest echelons of society. The US is fresh off the trauma of the Civil War, and old money and new money are in full bloom in NYC and places like Newport, RI. It is on a train ride from NYC to Boston that Lenox is stopped by the representative of one of the wealthiest families in Newport because a beautiful young woman has been found murdered on their summer property. As he is sharing his train ride with the son of another wealthy family named Teddy Blaine, who has latched on to Lenox because he too wishes to be a detective, Lenox agrees to detour to Newport along with Blaine. The murder victim is Lily Allingham, who had been pursued by virtually every single man in high society. There is no shortage of suspects for Lenox to investigate.

An Extravagant Death is an outstanding murder mystery, much like an Agatha Christie novel. The plot was well crafted and moved along quickly. The ending (aka whodunnit) was a surprise to me, which I loved! I would highly recommend this novel to mystery lovers everywhere. I will definitely go back now and reach Finch's earlier entries in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an e-ARC and introducing me to a new (to me) author in exchange for an honest review.. An Extravagant Death is scheduled for release on February 16, 2021.