A Death in the Small Hours

Set in 1874, Finch’s superb sixth mystery (after 2011’s A Burial at Sea) finds former private investigator Charles Lenox now an influential member of Parliament. Lenox accepts the honor of giving the opening speech for the new parliamentary session, which could be the prologue to further government advancement. To prepare, he accepts his uncle’s invitation to visit the uncle’s estate in the village of Plumbley, which has been afflicted by bizarre acts of vandalism: someone drew a picture of a man hanging from a noose on the doors of two local merchants, and the Roman numeral for 22 was painted on the church door. The stabbing murder of a 19-year-old young man raises the ante. Lenox welcomes the chance to resume detecting, “his truest vocation.” Boasting one of Finch’s tightest and trickiest plots, this installment further establishes Lenox as a worthy heir to the aristocratic mantle of Lord Peter Wimsey. Agents: Kari Stuart and Jennifer Joel, ICM. (Nov.)