A Burial at Sea
136. Charles Finch, A Burial at Sea
Warning: slight spoilers for previous Charles Lenox books.
It’s been three years since Charles Lenox finally obtained a seat in Parliament; since then, he’s been far too busy with affairs of state, not to mention his marriage with Lady Jane, to pursue any detective work. As a result, he is excited when his brother Edmund asks him to travel to Egypt on a crucial diplomatic mission, especially since that mission also involves some covert intelligence work. Lenox is looking forward to the excitement of his mission, but he gets more excitement than he bargained for when someone is murdered on his voyage out. Now Lenox must dust off his rusty detective skills and discover the murderer before he kills again.
I’m a loyal fan of this series, and this installment was certainly entertaining, but I couldn’t help focusing on its flaws. First of all, most of the action takes place aboard ship as Lenox sails from England to Egypt, which means that none of the usual supporting characters appear for more than a brief mention or two. There’s very little of Lady Jane or Lenox’s brother Edmund, and absolutely no Graham, Dallington, or McDonnell! Also, I was bothered by the author’s treatment of the murderer. Essentially - and I hope this isn’t too much of a spoiler - the culprit is revealed to be a madman, and I just didn’t think that was necessary. The murderer had a very logical motive, so the explanation of the mystery would have made perfect sense even if the murderer were sane - so basically I saw no point in making him insane when he’d given no hints of such a condition before. On the other hand, I really did like the naval setting, and I think fans of Patrick O’Brian or C. S. Forester will really enjoy this book. I definitely plan to continue with the series, at any rate!