Review: The Laws of Murder by Charles Finch

‘It’s 1876, and Charles Lenox, once London’s leading private investigator, has just given up his seat in Parliament after six years, primed to return to his first love, detection. With high hopes he and three colleagues start a new detective agency, the first of its kind. But as the months pass, and he is the only detective who cannot find work, Lenox begins to question whether he can still play the game as he once did.

Then comes a chance to redeem himself, through at a terrible price: a friend, a member of Scotland Yard, is shot near Regent’s Park. As Lenox begins to parse the peculiar details of the death–an unlaced boot, a days-old wound, an untraceable luggage ticket–he realizes that the incident may lead him into grave personal danger, beyond which lays a terrible truth.

With all the humanity, glamor, and mystery that readers have come to love, the latest Lenox novel is a shining new confirmation of the enduring popularity of Charles Finch’s Victorian series.’

So after reading all of the books in this series and keeping up with the new releases, I have decided that I like this series, but I don’t at the same time. Mainly the thing that keeps me returning is the fact that I have a connection with the characters. I genuinely have come to enjoy reading about them and want to see how things turn out for them. However, the author seems to have taken this series to another level than what was presented at the beginning. I am glad that Charles has left Parliament behind and returned to good old-fashioned sleuthing, but it still lacks the brilliance that the first couple of books in this series had at the beginning. I feel like something is missing, but I can’t quite pinpoint what it is that makes me feel this way.

Charles’ character has taken a drastic development since the first book, and part of me thinks that I prefer the old Charles better. Now that he is married and has been in Parliament, he seems to have lost his original charisma that drew me into his character at first. I still enjoy reading these books to see what happens with the characters, it just has lost its appeal somewhat for me. I hate to be saying that, because when I first starting reading this series, I really felt that this one that would always excite me and have me wanting more. 

While, this wasn’t the best book in the series and I am a little disappointed in where the series is going, the writing is good and the characters are strong. I just wish that I could enjoy this series more, like I did in the beginning and I really hate that I feel this way, but optimist that I am, I am hoping that the series returns to the way it was before. I have my fingers crossed and will hope that the next book will not disappoint.