Charles Finch

Chicago!

2009-07-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

I'm blogging from the lobby of my hotel in the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, a city I'm visiting for the first time. (Ways you know you're in the lobby of a hotel: a soft version of Girl From Ipanema is playing.) Last night I went to Giordano's Pizza on an urgent recommendation - absolutely delicious - looked at Robie House, and drove through Wrigleyville. And today I'll make my first visit to the Art Institute of Chicago. I'm an avid museum-goer and any time I can visit a major museum for the first time, I get very excited. I've been to the Met and the Louvre so many times that the idea of a new place is thrilling.

More updates as I do more. Any recommendations?

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

2009-07-01T04:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo gallery of the new Alice in Wonderland, with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red King, and Matt Lucas of Little Britain (one of my favorite shows when I lived in England) as Tweedledee and Tweedledum. I have to say the makeup and visual effects are pretty astonishing, but I found Sweeney Todd hard to sit through. Until some reviews reassure me I'll be a skeptic. Still, interesting to see.

Winchester Mystery House

2009-06-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

A house that was under continuous construction for 38 years to appease the ghosts of a rifle manufacturer's victims. Pretty eerie.

WWF Ads

2009-06-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

A great collection of ads from the World Wildlife Fund - both clever and thought provoking.

On My Nightstand

2009-06-29T22:18:00.001-07:00

I usually rotate through a few books at a time. Right now:

Heat - Bill Buford
The Janissary Tree - Jason Goodwin
Before She Met Me - Julian Barnes

One memoir about an American cook, one mystery novel about an Ottoman eunuch, and a post-modern novel about jealousy in 1980's Britain. More varied than my usual haul!

Curious to hear what anyone out there is reading - I'm always looking for a new book to read.

A New Charles Lenox Mystery

2009-06-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

I receive frequent e-mails from people who have read one or both of my first two books and want to know if there will be a third, and if so when it will come out. The answer is that there will be a third book, and it will be in bookstores by early November of this year.

I'm really excited about this one. It's called The Fleet Street Murders. As many aficionados of Victorian England know, Fleet Street was the center of the newspaper business, where there were both editorial offices and actual printing presses, which one could hear screeching throughout the night. The printing presses moved to the suburbs in the mid-20th century, and the last editorial staff left the pricey offices there less than a decade ago. But the 19th century was the golden age of Fleet Street, when wonderful pubs full of drunken journalists lined the streets, and scribes hustled back from Parliament and Scotland Yard to submit their articles by deadline.

That's the world my new Charles Lenox mystery is set in. On Christmas day, 1867, two journalists in entirely different parts of town are murdered moments apart. Suspicion instantly links the two events, and Lenox, with the help of his butler, Graham, his apprentice, Lord John Dallington, and his old friend Thomas McConnell, has to get to the bottom of a puzzle which reaches back into the past for its solution.

In the meanwhile Lenox is also engaged in a heavily competitive race for Parliament, and the book has a close-up look at a Victorian political race. There are also new permutations in the ongoing half-romance between Lenox and his closest friend, Lady Jane.

The book is available for pre-order now, at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Books-A-Million.

Whether you order it now, buy it in November, borrow it from a library or a friend, or pick it up in a second-hand shop two years from now, I hope you'll love reading it as much as I loved writing it. What a great job I have!

Walkman Nostalgia

2009-06-29T12:50:00.001-07:00

When I was 12 I got a blue Sony Walkman for my birthday. A 13 year old tries switching from his iPod to what I had back then, with very funny results.

Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes

2009-01-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

Not sure what to make of the latest screen version of my favorite character.

Roald Dahl's Writing Room

2009-01-15T07:32:00.000-08:00

The British newspaper The Guardian runs a terrific series of short articles, with pictures, of the rooms where writers work. In general these rooms conform to the idea of what a writer's room should be - book-lined aeries, unblemished by real life. Pretentious places, humorless. More than once, the more modern and uncluttered a writer's room was, the less vital and interesting I had found their work in the past. I doubt the rule holds in general, but there's something there.

Which was why it was such a relief to come across the peculiar shack in which one of my favorite authors, Roald Dahl, worked. For one thing he made himself completely comfortable, working in a dowdy, soft old armchair, with a slightly battered lap desk perched on its arms. For another his collection of oddments - a sliver of his own hip bone, yellowed newspaper clippings - seems wonderfully in concord with the writer who was fascinated all his life by little boys' things: toy engines, BB guns, locking boxes.

My favorite book for years and years was Danny The Champion of the World, and when I saw the picture of his work room I thought of the small, tidy, filling station in that book, filled with mechanical wonders and strange toys for the hero to play with; now I see that in effect Roald Dahl wrote in that filling station. It's very satisfying when somebody conforms to your imagination of them. It makes the world seem smaller, and all of us more closely linked.

A long absence

2009-01-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted here in a long, long while - in a way I never quite found the blogging rhythm, which is as finely tuned a thing in its way as the pacing of a novel. I think I'll try to write shorter, punchier posts. If anyone is still reading, hello again.

October is Mystery Month

2008-10-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

At Barnes and Noble, my first book, A Beautiful Blue Death, is part of a promotion - buy one great mystery novel and get the second half off.

Book Party!

2008-09-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night, Wednesday, September 10th, is the New York party for my second Charles Lenox novel, The September Society.

Where: The Mysterious Bookshop, 58 Warren Street, NY NY
When: 6:30-8:00
What: A reading and signing

I hope to see you there!

A Visual Tour of Oxford

2008-08-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

Much of my new book, The September Society, takes place at my alma mater, Oxford University. It's one of the most beautiful towns in the world, but as one reader, Noel, e-mailed me, not everyone has an idea of what it looks like. In particular she drew my attention to this wonderful slide show of Christ Church Meadow, where the first body in the book is found.

Here's a collection of virtual tours of Oxford, too. There's one of Lincoln, where much of the book takes place, and also of beautiful colleges such as Christ Church and Merton. I hope you enjoy looking at this wonderful city!

A starred review for The September Society

2008-08-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

My new book The September Society has been receiving good reviews prior to its publication, but today it received (just as A Beautiful Blue Death did) the highest pre-pub accolade there is - a starred review from Library Journal. Needless to say I'm delighted! They call the book "another triumph" and compare it to the work of two wonderful writers, Will Thomas and Caleb Carr.

****

One quick announcement - for those of you with an Amazon Kindle, A Beautiful Blue Death has appeared in that format now. It's the cheapest way to buy the book.

Signed Copies of The September Society

2008-08-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

I often receive inquiries about signed copies of my second Charles Lenox mystery novel, The September Society. As someone who relishes finding a signed copy of a book by one of my favorite authors, I certainly understand.

At the moment they're available at nearly every Barnes and Noble in Manhattan, and also at The Mysterious Bookshop on Warren Street and The Poisoned Pen in Arizona. Alternatively, I am always happy to sign books through the mail. Just e-mail me at charles@charles-finch.com to arrange shipping and I will inscribe and return your book. The same is true of either hardcover or paperback copies of my first book, A Beautiful Blue Death, or its large print counterpart.

The September Society Comes Out Today!

2008-08-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

My new Charles Lenox historical mystery novel, The September Society, is in bookstores today. It's the tale of a student who vanishes from Oxford University, leaving behind a trail of perplexing clues which Lenox must decipher. There are new characters, plus the return of my favorite old ones - McConnell, Lady Jane, and Graham among them.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch made the day doubly happy by giving the book a rave:

'Charles Finch, the author of last year’s “A Beautiful Blue Death,” now returns with “The September Society” (320 pages, St. Martin’s Minotaur, $24.95), another period piece that combines the sensibilities of Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy L. Sayers with the creative talents of its young author.
“A Beautiful Blue Death” was a remarkable debut mystery, set in England in 1865 and featuring Charles Lenox, a wealthy, aristocratic, amateur detective. He returns in “The September Society,” an equally fascinating puzzler with even more surprising twists. And in addition to the finely tuned plot, Finch invests his work with wonderful characters — Lenox and his close friend Lady Jane Grey top the list — and a detailed evocation of mid-Victorian London.
Finch’s second novel begins with a visit to Lenox from a frightened Lady Annabelle Payson, whose only child, George, has gone missing from Oxford. As Lenox investigates (and as Finch writes in an intriguing prologue), it becomes clear that George’s fate is tied to deaths that took place nearly 20 years ago in British-ruled India.
A creative storyline with some genuine surprises, well-drawn characters, a keen sense of place and time and refined prose combine to make “The September Society” an all-around winner.'

- Jay Strafford

I hope you like it too!

Moments in Crime

2008-07-12T11:46:00.001-07:00

My publisher, St. Martin's, has a great rotating guest blog called Moments in Crime, and this week I'll be writing long-form blog posts there. Head over to check it out!

A Recommendation

2008-06-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

For fans of traditional mysteries, including those who liked A Beautiful Blue Death, I heartily recommend GM Malliet's first novel. Great historical fun.

The Progressive Book Club, plus Kirkus Reviews

2008-06-24T18:58:00.001-07:00

I've mentioned in this space how much I admire George Orwell, not as much for his fiction (though Coming up for Air is a good book and 1984 did what falls to very few books and invented a language) as for his essays and memoirs. The best of these, his masterpiece Homage to Catalonia, is a moving long meditation on his role in the Spanish Civil War.

And yet anyone who has read Orwell's letters knows that in 1939 Victor Gollancz's well-meaning Left Book Club rejected it, because Orwell was (presciently and bravely) an anti-Stalinist when much of England's left fully embraced Russia's leader. Another of Orwell's greatest books, The Road to Wigan Pier, the Club only accepted after revision that downplayed the book's criticism of certain socialists.

The Left Book Club's checkered history ran through my mind when I read the other day about the new Progressive Book Club, which will apparently serve a similar purpose. In an age of fractured political movements, the people running the club would do well to remember that ideologies can infect and splinter the Left just as easily, perhaps even more easily, than the Right.

***

The good early reviews for The September Society continue to pour in. Kirkus Reviews, notoriously the most astringent of the pre-publication reviewers, devoted most of their review to a summary of the plot, but also called it "exciting and cerebral." I'm really proud of this book and hope it will prove to be a great August read.

School Library Journal Review

2008-06-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school I read exactly three mystery writers: Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Elizabeth George. I expanded my tastes thereafter but I remember how nothing else would do it for me back then. Notwithstanding, I was very pleased that the School Library Journal, which reviews books for children and teens, gave my second book The September Society a positive review, calling it a good choice for older teens with "good writing, good plotting, an intriguing setting, and agreeable characters." I doubt I would have read it in when I was sixteen - but hopefully kids in high school now are more open-minded mystery readers than I was. Or at least their librarians may be!

Tim Russert

2008-06-16T11:21:00.001-07:00

I met Tim Russert once. I was working for Howard Dean's presidential campaign in Des Moines, Iowa, in a building the size of a Home Depot along one of the city's main streets. There were press everywhere, both in our headquarters and especially at the hotel bars and diners where the exhausted staffers from every campaign collected near the day's end. But only in the last few days did the big hitters (Brokaw, Jennings) show up in town. On election day itself I heard Russert was in the building, and I darted down from the upstairs office (where we were mostly speculating about whether there would be jobs for everyone in the White House - those were the days) to tell him I was a fan.

"Obviously I can't speak to any press," I said, "but just wanted to say hi."

"Thanks for coming over," he said as we shook hands. He had a reddish, good-natured face, and didn't seem as groomed or self-pleased as some of the other TV men and women, who never seemed quite as serious as the print journalists. "Good luck tonight."

"Thanks," I said, and started back upstairs.

"Back up to the secret lair," he said, and gave me a big grin. His whole crew laughed.

Doesn't sound like much, but it left me with the impression of those qualities of generosity and boyishness that have dominated the eulogies for him. I disagreed with Russert on his reporting (or lack of it) before the war in Iraq, and I sometimes felt exasperated at what he emphasized in this year's debates, but I loved watching him on Sunday. My friends and I were talking about who would replace him on Meet the Press, and it seems appropriate that nobody sounded right for the job.

***

Working on a new book, I've taken a hiatus from writing on this blog. But I have two books coming out this summer, the paperback of A Beautiful Blue Death and the hardcover of the next Charles Lenox mystery, The September Society, and as I get ready for my second go around in publishing I'll update this space far more regularly. Look here for all the news.

Booklist Reviews 'The September Society'

2008-04-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

The months before a book goes out are always nerve-wracking, in some part because of the pre-publication reviews from the four big review journals: Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Kirkus. With my last book, A Beautiful Blue Death, I was lucky enough to get generally very good reviews (and in particular a coveted starred review from LJ). And now I'm pleased to say The September Society has received a very nice review from Booklist. They call it "reminiscent of Ruth Rendell and Elizabeth George" (two of my favorite mystery novelists, as probably goes without saying), cite the "author's masterfully expressive style" and conclude "One hopes to see more of Lenox and Lady Jane." I thought I'd pass on the good news to you - it's always nice to get positive early word for a book, and just makes me more excited for August, when it will finally come out.

Contest Winner

2008-04-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Rita R. for winning a signed copy of A Beautiful Blue Death! Thanks for all of your entries, and please be sure to look back here for more contests.

One of the best parts of being a writer is hearing from people in all the varied outposts of America. Rita is from Searcy, Arkansas, which I just looked up on Google Maps - a town toward the northeast part of the state, not far from Memphis. I may or may not ever get to Searcy, but I'll always remember the name.

ABBD Contest!

2008-03-31T08:29:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder: the contest to win a signed 1st edition of A Beautiful Blue Death ends this week; I'll be taking entries at charles@charles-finch.com up until Wednesday evening, and I'll send the winner their book on Thursday morning.

Many thanks to all who have entered so far! I appreciate the response.

The Trees

2008-03-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

It was nearly 60 degrees here in New York yesterday, and as I walked through Central Park I thought of Larkin's poem The Trees:

The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.

Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too.
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.

Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.