Wed 17 Jan 2018
Stories I’m Reading by LJ Roberts: CHARLES FINCH “Gone Before Christmas.”
Posted by Steve under Stories I'm Reading[3] Comments
Reviews by L. J. Roberts
CHARLES FINCH “Gone Before Christmas.” Charles Lenox #10.5. eBook novelette. Minotaur Books, December 2017. Setting: London-1887.
First Sentence: The two brothers stood motionless upon the top step of a fine London townhouse, each with arms crossed, assessing a correspondingly motionless pair of trees propped against a railing.
Lt. Ernest Austen of the Grenadier Guards has disappeared. Charles Lenox is trying to establish his detective agency, the first of its kind, but having little luck. Even Scotland Yard is so baffled, they’ve agreed to having Lenox consult. Solving this case would give him credibility and recognition. But can he solve it?
One of the many things to love about Finch’s writing is his use of humor, whether it’s about life, death— “Death is the great spiritual adventure toward which all living things mush lean forward in hope and humility, in neither fear or anger.†–and Christmas trees.
It is always interesting learning about the customs of a period, and that they relate to Christmas makes them even more so. The tradition of Lenox’s father is quite progressive for the time. Yet one of the best things about a prequel, is to learn more about the protagonists and their history.
Finch creates wonderful analogies— “France and England were rather like an unhappy couple out to supper at friends’: not presently at war, except in the sense that they were continually at war.†His descriptions are evocative— “There was evidence all over it of wealth, and ancient lineage—tapestries on the walls, enormous hunting scenes in oils, tables of marble….â€
His use of language is a treat— “…he discovered that the next train was in ninety minutes. He set out to see the wonders of Ipswich for himself. When that was finished, he had eighty-seven minutes left….†It is elements such as these, along with learning bits of information such as how the term “butler†came to be, that makes reading Finch such a pleasure.
“Gone Before Christmas†is a lovely story for the holidays with just the right balance of seriousness and sentimentality.
January 17th, 2018 at 8:18 pm
Sorry this review has gotten posted here so late. But you can look at it this way. It’s either three weeks late or 49 weeks early.
January 19th, 2018 at 7:50 pm
You are a man ahead of his time, or a man for the ages — take your choice.
Sounds like a good series, I may dip in — 49 weeks from now.
January 19th, 2018 at 8:22 pm
I’ll settle for either one, happily so.
With apologies to LJ, I could not finish the book covering Lenox’s first case who I tried it when it first came out. I found it dull, indifferently written and not very interesting. People on Goodreads have complained about the bad geography and the use of too many Americanisms.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1044816.A_Beautiful_Blue_Death
On the other hand, there are now ten novels in the series, not counting this ebook short story, so it seems as though Finch has gotten a better handle on what he’s doing with them.