A DEATH IN THE SMALL HOURS

A member of Parliament prefers investigating over speechifying.

Even though he’s still called upon for advice by his protégé John Dallington, Charles Lenox has long since given up his practice as an investigator. A newborn daughter and a request from his party to give the opening speech at a Parliamentary session carry him even further away from his former career. So would an invitation from his uncle Frederick Ponsonby to bring his family for a visit to his lovely estate in Plumbley, Somerset—if it weren’t sharpened by a hint of mysterious vandalism. Deciding that it just may be the perfect place for the peace and quiet he needs to write his speech, Charles repairs with his wife, Jane, their infant, Sophie, and her nursemaid, the formidable Miss Taylor, to Plumbley, where Charles looks more closely into several cases of apparently senseless property damage. The case takes on a more serious turn when a young police constable is found stabbed to death. The locals are suspicious of Capt. Musgrave, a retired naval officer who married a local girl and moved to the village. His wife is rarely seen, and most of his neighbors are convinced that he’s mistreating her. Charles has the help of Dallington, who’s staying with them in disgrace after a drunken spree. Then, Freddie is kidnapped, and Charles must do everything possible to solve the crime and rescue his beloved uncle.

The sixth in Finch’s steadily improving series (A Burial at Sea, 2011, etc.) develops the congenial continuing characters further while providing quite a decent mystery.