Reviews for The vanishing man

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

An aspiring private detective takes a case that could make or break his reputation.London, 1853. Upper-class sleuth Charles Lenox is called to Dorset House by the duke's private secretary, who reminds Lenox that absolute discretion will be required. The 15th Duke of Dorset, one of the most powerful noblemen in Great Britain, wants to know who stole a painting of his ancestor from his study, though he cares little about the actual painting. Lenox notices that one of the paintings still left on the wall is totally unlike all the other portraits: It's much smaller, with a more humble subject. Only three peopleone of them being Queen Victoriaknow it's the only existing oil portrait painted from life of William Shakespeare. The duke says this unbelievably valuable painting was the thief's real target. To help him locate the missing painting, Lenox enlists the services of Thaddeus Bonden, a man who has a reputation for being able to find anything. When the duke is apparently kidnapped, Lenox deduces that Dorset faked the kidnapping to set a trap for the thief. Dorset, whose arrogance knows no bounds, is furious to be found out and insults Lenox in front of their peers at their exclusive club, White's, badly damaging the younger man's reputation. Soon thereafter Lenox forces Dorset, who still needs his services, to call upon him and tell him the truth. Dorset agrees to show Lenox papers about a mysterious treasure that can supposedly be located by following clues hidden in the Shakespeare portrait. Before they can succeed, however, the duke is arrested and taken to the Tower of London for killing his longtime manservant, Craig, who was attempting to steal the Shakespeare portrait. Fortunately, his imprisonment does nothing to slow their plans down, for the duke is treated more as an honored guest than a felon. When Bonden discovers the whereabouts of the missing painting of Dorset's ancestor, its surprising location helps Lenox puzzle out the shocking truth.The second prequel to Finch's Victorian series (The Woman in the Water, 2018, etc.), rich in period minutiae, unveils the frightening power of the uppermost classes. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.


Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* In London in 1853, detective Charles Lenox, 26, is thrilled to be retained by the Duke of Dorset, one of the highest-ranking persons in the country, after a portrait is stolen from his study. When the duke is subsequently kidnapped, in what Lenox finds is a ruse, the two have words, leading to the duke's denouncing Lenox publicly at the city's most prestigious men's club and Lenox's social standing instantly plummeting. But since the duke still needs help, he makes amends, revealing that the portrait has clues to a treasure, and Lenox is back on the case. Before long, he has a related murder to solve, as well as a puzzle about an inmate at Bedlam. This sequel to a prequel (The Woman in the Water, 2018) continues with Lenox's earliest detecting adventures and Lady Jane's efforts to find him a wife, plus a laugh-out-loud passage from Lenox's 12-year-old cousin, Lancelot, conversing with the duke. Fans of the series, which set the earlier Lenox novels in the 1860s, will know what's coming in the detective's personal and professional life, but that in no way decreases the pleasure of this account of his earlier life. Finch's nimble prose, edged with humor, makes this twelfth in the Charles Lenox series a pure delight.--Michele Leber Copyright 2019 Booklist


Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

An intriguing plot redeems in part Finch's otherwise disappointing 12th Charles Lenox mystery (after 2018's The Woman in the Water), the middle of a prequel trilogy. In 1853, Lenox, who has set himself up as a private investigator, is retained by the Duke of Dorset to look into the theft of a painting from his London home. Oddly, the duke, who declares that the artwork is of little consequence to him, wants Lenox just to identify the thief. The detective is even more startled to learn that the burglar made off with a family portrait while leaving behind something much more valuable, what the aristocrat claims to be "the only existing oil painting from life of the writer William Shakespeare." A kidnapping and a murder follow, both of which may be related to a rumored lost Shakespeare play. Some interludes, including the Wodehousian banter between Lenox and his valet, Graham, fall flat, and the characterization isn't up to the standard of earlier entries in the series. Hopefully, Finch will return to form next time. 75,000-copy announced first printing. Agent: Elizabeth Weed, Book Group. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Back