A BEAUTIFUL BLUE DEATH - Charles Finch

Charles Lenox is a Victorian gentleman who enjoys relaxing in his private study with a cup of tea, a nice fire, and a good book. He also fancies himself a bit of a detective and explorer, even if only from the comfort of his favorite chair. When his good friend, Lady Jane, comes seeking his help, Charles is only too happy to oblige.

One of Lady Jane's former servants, Prudence Smith, has died by an apparent suicide, but Charles suspects something much more nefarious. He believes that Prudence was murdered by means of a rare but extremely deadly poison. Being as rare as it is, it shouldn't take long to find out who had access to such a potion, thereby narrowing the possible suspects down, but it's definitely not nearly as easy as one would hope.

A second murder complicates his investigation because his prime suspect for Prudence's murder is now the second victim. Still, Lenox is confident that the key to solving the crime lies with the poison that caused the beautiful blue death.

It strikes me as a little odd to create an amateur detective set in the same time-frame as the famous Sherlock Holmes. I felt the similarity immediately with Lenox's rather confident aloofness.  I also felt a similarity in the slow, methodical pacing of the story.

Nothing riled Lenox, which meant there never seemed to be any sort of danger in his research. And without anything at stake, what holds the story together for the reader?

Mostly I was bored.  I got more about the detective's drinking habits than I did about the how and why of the murder he was supposedly investigating (in truth, he seemed to meddle a crime scene more than preserve and study it).

I tried reading this many years ago (when it was first released), and I just couldn't get into it. As I'll often do, I put it aside to come at it again, but time didn't do it any favors. I still felt as though I had to be dragged into the story - nothing drew or held me here other than my own determination not to have a DNF.

Looking for a good book? A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch relies on one note - a rare poison, to hold together an entire mystery with an armchair detective who should probably stay in the armchair.

 I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

1-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

A Beautiful Blue Death

author: Charles Finch

series:  Charles Lenox Mysteries #1

publisher: Minotaur

ISBN:  9781250161642

paperback, 336 pages 

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