An Extravagant Death: A Charles Lenox Mystery (Charles Lenox Mysteries, 14)

An Extravagant Death: Charles Finch
Corruption happens at times in many law enforcement agencies and when the integrity and honesty in Scotland Yard are questioned and no longer credible, after the corruption investigation, Charles Lenox’s detective agency seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. He has numerous cases to handle, two young children and soon to be employed to handle a new murder. But first he receives an invitation of travel to America and gets the VIP treatment and tour of the old Knickerbocker society and its robber baron splendor. The murder he is asked to solve is over a young debutante of great beauty claiming the locals that it was a suicide but was it. Friends and family have their own views, Lenox remains there and travels to Newport to meet the family in their new mansion pretending to me an English gentleman. Leaving for America aw at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. He would rather remain with his wife who has just given him a precious new daughter then leave home. travel has always been his forte, but the Prime Minister convinces him to go.
Traveling in wealthy circles and on a train to Boston he receives a note from a man named Schermerhorn who wants him to solve this murder. Money is no object and he only must name his price. The meeting and prearranged stop on the train was created and formed by Schermerhorn and Lennox at first declines. Teddy Blaine a young man who wants to become a detective and has followed many of his cases wants him to ignore the way he was asked and Schermerhorn’s demeanor and manner of action and investigate this case.

Social class and status are at the heart of this novel as Lily Allingham who was a beautiful 19-year-old, debutante was fatally hit in the head. Many men pursued her but the two in most considered were the son of Schermerhorn and Vanderbilt. Charles was sent to learn the time of death, observe and comment on the position of her body and determine which one if either might have been the killer.
The setting is Newport, and the wealth is apparent and the residents judge others by their social class, money and position. Imagine a cottage with thirty bedrooms really to us a mansion. English treasures sold by dukes. Greed and social power. The opulence the glitter and the demonstration of wealth takes center stage along with the huge number of staff: gardeners, kitchen staff and servants.
There are questions asked of Willie and Vanderbilt who both claimed that they had the heart of Lily and she accepted their offers of marriage. But someone else was lurking in the dark and hiding in plain sight. This is a novel filled with history, filled with understanding the upper class and how they operated and one person who had the plan devised, killed the young girl and attempted to take the life of Lennox.
Sent to America at the behest of Disraeli and meeting Caroline Astor who when Charles was fatally stabbed by the killer when he pieced it together, changes would be made in his life, the fear of not being safe would not leave him. Old friendships would be rekindled when Graham came to his rescue. A simple calling card with one corner that is folded down signified wonder and uncertainty at times. Mores, rules and the way they felt things should be handled and how the social gatherings need to be addressed.
Sometimes families try to bring up their children in a proper manner and at times one strays from the fold and winds up at Lennox was stabbed by the killer, taken to the hospital and back then the type of transportation was not by ambulance but by horses, carriages and the type of communication was not modern like today. A life was at stake but with the hope of the best medical staff Lennox might just pull through. Sometimes doing a favor can prove deadly. The family of Lily appreciated him; the family of Willie had their own take on his help.
The object of their affection and the scrutiny that each person goes through shows their conversations, actions and simple gestures. One night where Caroline Astor invited the socially elite to at ball, money and power reigned and murder took the place of the opulence, but no one seemed to really notice.
The ending is tense and the outcome and reasons why the killer took her life are not so far from the present when the exact did and has happened. When Lennox confronts the killer, his actions were quick and swift and the injuries fatal unless Charles is saved. But where is the killer and how did he escape? When Lady Jane learns about his attack and comes to America we learn from one of her daughters the differences in upbringing and how she quickly took to the culture of the city. Lives change and at the end Charles makes a decision that will affect his future, the lives of many others and perhaps will he give up sleuthing. Some endings are new starts and others require to be rethought as author Charles Finch created surprises, twists and an unusual ending to a well-documented and well-crafted novel. As this death and the location definitely fits the bill for an EXTRAVAGANT DEATH!