The September Society (Charles Lenox Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Charles Finch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2008

The sitting room looked as familiar as the back of his hand, and immediately Lenox took a liking to the young man who inhabited it. He saw several small artifacts of the missing student’s life---a frayed piece of string about two feet long of the sort you might bind a package with, half of a pulpy fried tomato, which was too far from the breakfast table to have been dropped, a fountain pen, and lastly, a card which said on the front The September Society. . . .

In the small hours of the morning one fall day in 1866, a frantic widow visits detective Charles Lenox. Lady Annabelle’s problem is simple: her beloved son, George, has vanished from his room at Oxford. When Lenox visits his alma mater to investigate, he discovers a series of bizarre clues, including a murdered cat and a card cryptically referring to the September Society.

Then, just as Lenox realizes that the case may be deeper than it appears, a student dies, the victim of foul play.

What could the September Society have to do with it? What specter, returned from the past, is haunting gentle Oxford? Lenox, with the support of his devoted friends in London’s upper crust, must race to discover the truth before it comes searching for him, and dangerously close to home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As in Conan Doyle's The Sign of Four, a crime committed in India has consequences in England years later in Finch's less than successful second Victorian whodunit to feature amateur detective Charles Lenox (after 2007's A Beautiful Blue Death). Since a prologue set in 1847 India makes clear that a double murder there is connected to a murder in London in 1866, there's little mystery about the general nature of the motive behind the later crime. Lady Annabelle Payson consults the Peter Wimsey–like Lenox after the disappearance of her Oxford undergraduate son, George, who left behind in his college room a dead cat and a note referring to the September Society. When George turns up dead as well, Lenox vows to track down the killer, aided by his manservant, the Bunter-like Graham. While neither the prose nor the puzzle are at the level of A Beautiful Blue Death, that volume showed enough promise to suggest that the author is capable of better in the next installment. (Aug.) ""
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—Charles Lenox, Victorian private detective, has an opportunity to revisit his university days when he gets a case involving a missing second-year student at Lincoln College, Oxford. George Payson has vanished, leaving only an odd collection of items in the sitting room of his quarters: a frayed piece of string, half a tomato, a fountain pen, and a card labeled "The September Society." Oh, yes, and a dead cat. Lenox re-explores his old haunts as he pieces together the clues, which eventually lead him back to London and the headquarters of the mysterious society. Period details are present but not oppressive in this carefully plotted story. Lenox is an appealing character, and details of his personal life are scattered throughout, giving a rounded picture of the man while not hampering the detective portion of the story. Good writing, good plotting, an intriguing setting, and agreeable characters make this a solid choice for older teens.—Sarah Flowers, Santa Clara County Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312359780
• ISBN-13: 978-0312359782
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #480,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles Finch is the author of the forthcoming A Beautiful Blue Death, a Victorian mystery novel of which Library Journal has written, "A debut historical in the line of Anne Perry or David Liss...a sparkling achievement, this is recommended for all mystery collections." Check out www.charles-finch.com for more information!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Lenox Mystery!!, August 10, 2008

By 

Reviewer6418 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The September Society (Charles Lenox Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I was a big fan of A Beautiful Blue Death (Finch's first Victorian mystery) so I read this as soon as I could get my hands on a copy. It definitely didn't disappoint. There are echoes of Dorothy Sayers, Elizabeth George, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Agatha Christie in the clean writing, finely wrought characters, and sense of humor, but the writer has a style of his own.

The book begins with a prologue about a murder in India, then flashes twenty years forward. A young man, George Payson, is missing from his rooms at Oxford University, and his mother comes to detective Charles Lenox for help. Lenox uncovers a conspiracy and a strange group of army veterans called The September Society, and quickly finds the link between them and George Payson's disappearance.

The mystery is great but what I love about Finch's work is the characters - the quiet, reliable Lenox, his gentle and intelligent friend Lady Jane, and even a new character - a protege to the detective in the shape of Lord John Dallington, a young and dissipated aristocrat.

A definite winner. Highly recommended.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars British India and a priceless sapphire, August 28, 2008

By 

Baking Enthusiast "Liza" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The September Society (Charles Lenox Mysteries) (Hardcover)

"The September Society" is the second installment in the Charles Lenox Mysteries, this time involving crimes that occur in two different eras: the first, when two men are murdered in Punjab shortly after the Anglo-Sikh War; and the second, nineteen years later in 1866, when a young Oxonian, George Payson, vanishes. Lenox is approached by George's worried mother, Lady Annabelle, who prevails upon Lenox to find him. Lenox travels to Oxford where he discovers a collection of bizarre clues in George's room--a dead cat, a red string, a fountain pen, a cryptic note and a card bearing the words `September Society'. Compounding the mystery is the disappearance of George's friend and confidante, Bill Dabney.

Soon after, a corpse is discovered in the fields, assumed to be that of George's. As Lenox investigates, it becomes apparent that this murder is connected to those in Punjab, but how? What happened to Dabney? What is behind the covert September Society and what is its connection to the crimes? It will take Lenox's considerable skills to solve what he regards `a strange and laborious case', and do so before someone else is killed.

Lenox's pack is back--his associate, the skilled Dr. McConnell; his always-circumspect and resourceful valet Graham; and his best friend, the compassionate Lady Jane--with a new kid on the block, the inveterate drinker and layabout Dallington, now his apprentice.

The development of the Lenox character is gaining speed. At forty and still a bachelor, he's now mustering the courage to take his friendship with Lady Jane a step further. There's more introspection, too, as he weighs his continuing desire to pursue his detection against his dream of serving in parliament.

Oxford and its many colleges are depicted with much affection and detail (perhaps a holdover from the author's days there) that one can easily visualize their enduring medieval splendor. Of special interest was the interior of Bodleian Library (which I'd long ago only seen from the outside), considered in Lenox's time as the world's greatest library. Oxford, through his eyes, is a wondrous trip back in time. Of interest, too, is the emergence of forensic ballistics as a major breakthrough in criminology, one of the many informative nuggets interspersed within the story. (For example, do you know the origin of the term `swan song'?) There's always something new to learn in a Lenox mystery.

A confounding and challenging puzzle, vivid descriptions of place and time, lots of interesting information to absorb (though may seem pedantic at times), and entertaining characters all make for a genuinely good read, especially for Golden Age devotees. It's developing into a quite agreeable mystery series and I look forward to future installments.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 Stars - I'm becoming a fan of Finch, October 8, 2008

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The September Society (Charles Lenox Mysteries) (Hardcover)

THE SEPTEMBER SOCIETY (Ama Sleuth/Trad Mys-Charles Lenox-England-Victorian) - G+
Finch, Charles - 2nd in series
St. Martin's Minotaur, 2008, US Hardcover - ISBN: 9780312359782

First sentence: The first murders were committed nineteen years before the second, on a dry and unremarkable day along the Sutlej Frontier in Punjab.

Charles Lenox returns to his alma mater when the wealthy mother of an Oxford student appeals to Lenox to find her missing son, George Payson is missing. Lenox finds one of George's best friends is also missing. The common clue is a card on which is the name "The September Society."

The biggest issue I had this with book was due to the apparent lack of a good editor. There was a lot of repetition. For me, it was distracting.

On the plus side is a cast of wonderful, realistic characters; Lenox, his manservant and friend Goodman in particular. I like that Lenox is taking on Dallington, the third, somewhat wastrel, son of a nobleman, as an apprentice and wonder whether this portends a shift in the series.

I learned a lot reading this book. There is a wonderful blend of creating a sense of the story's time and place-- the book also made me hungry as Finch would describe the menu of most of the meals--with providing historical information as well. I didn't know John Wesley and his followers were named "Methodists," originally a pejorative term, at Lincoln College, Oxford because of their dull, methodical ways as viewed by others. The author also includes information on the beginning of ballistic analysis.

I enjoy Finch's style for interjecting brief parenthetical information or explanations on things the reader may have noted or wondered about; i.e., "On the train once more that evening (the trips were becoming tedious)..."

The climax was a bit abrupt, but the ending had a very good twist. Overall, I certainly enjoyed the book and shall certainly read more by Finch.