I absolutely love this series. Charles Lenox is an aristocrat who loves to solve mysteries as an amateur detective and longs to join Parliament and take up the family duty of serving his country in the House of Commons. He is in love with his best friend from Childhood, Lady Jane Grey who lives next door in their gorgeous Mayfair neighborhood. Lenox's butler is a great help to him and, as he travels around London and Oxford solving mysteries, the reader has the pleasure of learning the history and lore of everything from the House of Commons, to running for Parliament, to Oxford's historic neighborhoods and pubs to the rough streets of the Seven Dials. All in all, I feel like I learn something new about British history every time I read on of these mysteries. Ultimately, it's hard not to fall in love with Charles and Lady Jane! In order, the novels are:
A Beautiful Blue Death, The September Society, The Fleet Street Murders, A Stranger in Mayfair, A Burial at Sea and the upcoming
A Death in the Small Hours.
I like this series too, and I find Sir Charles an engaging detective, a little conflicted between his role as detective and his desire to serve in Parliament. I also like his relationship with his brother, but I find Lady Jane doesn't really feel alive to me. Maybe I haven't read enough of the books -- I've read at least A Beautiful Blue Death and A Stranger in Mayfair.
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