''The Fleet Street Murders'', by

Charles Finch Charles Finch (born 1980) is an American author and literary critic. He has written a series of mystery novels set in Victorian era England, as well as literary fiction and numerous essays and book reviews. Life and career Finch was born in N ...

, is the mystery set in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and in northern England in 1867 during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. It is the third novel in the Charles Lenox series.

Plot summary

While gentleman and amateur detective Charles Lenox is celebrating his engagement to his best friend and neighbor Lady Jane Grey, two journalists are murdered simultaneously across London. Lenox starts to involve himself in this strange case despite hostility from Scotland Yard, but soon must leave it behind to travel to Stirrington, in northern England, where he is running for a seat in Parliament. Once at Stirrington, he has to overcome local suspicion of an outsider, and faces a shock when Lady Jane sends him a letter casting doubt on their upcoming marriage. Meanwhile in London, the police have arrested two unlikely suspects. Lenox races back and forth between London and Stirrington to solve the crime, face the results of the election, and save his imperiled engagement. In the process, he discovers that the culprit is an old nemesis.

Awards and recognition

''The Fleet Street Murders'' was nominated for the

Nero Award The Nero Award is a literary award for excellence in the mystery genre presented by The Wolfe Pack, a society founded in 1978 to explore and celebrate the Nero Wolfe stories of Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, ...

in 2010.

Publication history

''The Fleet Street Murders'' was first published in hardcover by St. Martin’s Minotaur and released on November 10, 2009. A large print edition was published by Center Point Publishing on December 1, 2009. The trade paperback was released on July 20, 2010.

Literary criticism

Finch received favorable reviews in several major newspapers. Marilyn Stasio of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called ''The Fleet Street Murders'' "a beguiling Victorian mystery

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

an amiable gentleman sleuth cut from the same fine English broadcloth as Dorothy L. Sayers’s Lord Peter Wimsey." ''

The Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatch'' has the second ...

'' praised the book, saying that "this third entry in Finch’s series shows the author at his confident best, with a well-conceived story ndan honorable and amiable hero."

References

External links

''The Fleet Street Murders''
Official Macmillan Page

by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''
Review
by ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

''
Review
by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleet Street Murders, The 2009 American novels American mystery novels Novels set in Victorian England Novels set in London Fiction set in 1867 Historical mystery novels Novels by Charles Finch Charles Lenox novels