It is January, 1877 in London. Charles Lenox, watching the snow pile up outside his Hampden Lane home, is awaiting a visit from his old Harrow classmate, Gerald Leigh. He has neither seen or heard from him in many years, but a plea for his help arrived via a letter written on stationary from the elite Collingwood Hotel, just blocks away. Leigh was expected to call that afternoon. As the hours ticked by and no appearance from his friend, Lenox, an investigator with his own business, begins to explore his friend's disappearance and becomes involved in a mess, a BIG mess.

In that era, two of the most prestigious public schools in London in are Harrow and Eton. Harrow, the most sophisticated, while Eton, the most hallowed. Harrow was a Lenox family tradition as his father and his older brother, Edmund attended the famous school. He befriended Leigh who was an outcast who did not come from wealth or social standing. As they became closer, Leigh confided that he had a secret and mysterious benefactor who funded his tuition at Harrow and his expenses. When he confided that he had no idea who the MB (mysterious benefactor) was, Lenox immediately knew he wanted to investigate and find out who was responsible. Then and there he knew he wanted to become an investigator.

When Leigh disappears, Lenox becomes involved in murder, London gangs, and the Royal Society. Along with his partners in the Lenox Agency, he follows the clues in several mysteries that run simultaneously and will keep you guessing. Lord Dallington and Polly Buchanan, the first female sleuth, are partners in Lenox's Detective Agency and find romance along with solving why the windows at Parliament were smashed and who smashed them. THE INHERITANCE by Charles Finch is a clever period plot filled mystery with interesting twists and an assortment of trivia. Why do the British drive on the left side of the road? Where did fish and chips evolve? The characters are colorful and Leigh will steal your heart as he did to Lenox, his wife, Lady Jane, and his daughter, Sophia. An "electric" ending that will have you smiling and looking for the next Charles Lenox Mystery. Well done, Mr. Finch.

Book Summary

A mysterious bequest of money leads to a murder in the tenth entry in Charles Finch's critically acclaimed and bestselling Charles Lenox series, whose last installment The New York Times called “a sterling addition to this well-polished series.”

Charles Lenox has received a cryptic plea for help from an old Harrow schoolmate, Gerald Leigh, but when he looks into the matter he finds that his friend has suddenly disappeared. As boys they had shared a secret: a bequest from a mysterious benefactor had smoothed Leigh’s way into the world after the death of his father. Lenox, already with a passionate interest in detective work, made discovering the benefactor's identity his first case – but was never able to solve it.

Now, years later, Leigh has been the recipient of a second, even more generous bequest. Is it from the same anonymous sponsor? Or is the money poisoned by ulterior motives? Leigh’s disappearance suggests the latter, and as Lenox tries, desperately, to save his friend’s life, he’s forced into confrontations with both the most dangerous of east end gangs and the far more genteel denizens of the illustrious Royal Society. When someone close to the bequest dies, Lenox must finally delve deep into the past to uncover at last the identity of the person who is either his friend’s savior – or his lethal enemy.