Equal parts Sherlock Holmes, Gosford Park, and P.G.
Wodehouse, this Victorian debut introduces a wonderfully
appealing detective and his friend, the lovely Lady Jane.
On most days during London's long winter, Charles Lenox, a
Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes to relax
in his private library with a cup of tea, a roaring fire,
and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane
asks for his help, Lenox finds himself in the heart of
another mystery--one more complicated and layered than any
he's ever faced.
One of Jane's former servants, Prudence Smith, is dead, an
apparent suicide. But Lenox immediately suspects something
more sinister: murder by a rare and deadly poison. The
patrician house where the girl worked and lived is full of
suspects, and while Prudence played with more than a few
hearts, even Lenox is baffled by the elusive motive behind
her death.
When another body turns up during the season's most
fashionable ball, Lenox must untangle the web of loyalties
and animosities surrounding the Barnard mansion. He has
friends to help him with the task, not least his faithful
valet, Graham, and his assistant and friend, Dr. Thomas
McConnell. But suddenly their work grinds to a halt:
Lenox's rival at Scotland Yard, Inspector Exeter, has
taken a personal interest in the case.
Did jealously kill Prudence Smith? Was it the mysterious
treasure secretly inhabiting an upstairs room in the
house? Or was it something else entirely--something that
the brilliant Lenox alone can uncover before the killer
strikes again, dangerously close to home?
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