The Fleet Street Murders

The Fleet Street Murders by Charles Finch

While this is the third book in the Charles Lenox series, you do not need to read these novels sequentially. I was not aware of this 19th century London sleuth, until I came upon this book at B&N. Being a Sherlock Holmes fan, this book naturally caught my attention.

There are several parallels to Conan Doyle's iconic character, including a couple of sidekicks, a friendly member of Scotland Yard. But Charles Lenox is more of an amateur detective and a gentleman. Here is a quick summary of the story:
It’s Christmas, 1866, and amateur sleuth Charles Lenox, recently engaged to his best friend, Lady Jane Grey, is happily celebrating the holiday in his Mayfair townhouse. Across London, however, two journalists have just met with violent deaths--one shot, one throttled. Lenox soon involves himself in the strange case, which proves only more complicated as he digs deeper. However, he must leave it behind to go north to Stirrington, where he is fulfilling a lifelong dream: running for a Parliamentary seat. Racing back and forth between London and Stirrington, Lenox must negotiate the complexities of crime and politics, not to mention his imperiled engagement. As the case mounts, Lenox learns that the person behind the murders might be closer to him--and his beloved--than he knows (think Moriarty type character).

While the novel bounces back and forth between Lenox's interest in the two murders, and his commitment to running for a seat in Parliament in northern England, it is still a fun read and another interesting mystery series. Fleet Street did pique my interest in picking up Charles Finch's two previous Lenox novels: A Beautiful Blue Death, which was nominated for an Agatha Award and named one of Library Journal's Best Books of 2007 and The September Society.