“Prequels are fun.Lenox is a mere whippersnapper in The Woman in the Water.a cunning mystery.” -Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

His essays and criticism have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Washington Post, and elsewhere. Finch received the 2017 Nona Balakian Citation Award, for excellence in reviewing, from the National Book Critics Circle. His first contemporary novel, The Last Enchantments, is also available from St. About the AuthorĬharles Finch is the USA Today bestselling author of the Charles Lenox mysteries, including The Woman in the Water (February 2018). In this intricately plotted prequel to the Charles Lenox mysteries, the young detective risks both his potential career-and his reputation in high society-as he hunts for a criminal mastermind. As the Dorset family closes ranks to protect its reputation, Lenox uncovers a dark secret that could expose them to unimaginable scandal-and reveals the existence of an artifact, priceless beyond measure, that the family is willing to risk anything to keep hidden. But the Duke’s concern is not for his ancestor’s portrait hiding in plain sight nearby is another painting of infinitely more value, one that holds the key to one of the country’s most famous and best-kept secrets.ĭorset believes the thieves took the wrong painting and may return when they realize their error-and when his fears result in murder, Lenox must act quickly unravel the mystery behind both paintings before tragedy can strike again. A painting of the Duke’s great-grandfather has been stolen from his private study. London, 1853: Having earned some renown by solving a case that baffled Scotland Yard, young Charles Lenox is called upon by the Duke of Dorset, one of England’s most revered noblemen, for help. Descriptionįrom the critically acclaimed and USA Today bestselling author Charles Finch comes The Vanishing Man, the second in a prequel trilogy to his Charles Lenox Victorian series, in which the theft of an antique painting sends Detective Lenox on a hunt for a criminal mastermind.

Watermark Books & Café will host Charles Finch for an author talk and signing of his novel The Vanishing Man: A Prequal to the Charles Lenox Series on Friday, February 22 at 6:00 p.m.

The woman in the water by charles finch