The Vanishing Man: A Charles Lenox Mystery (Charles Lenox Mysteries, 12)

Fiction readers who crush on blue-blooded British detectives will fall hard for Victorian-era sleuth Charles Lenox." The Washington Post From the critically acclaimed and USA Today bestselling author Charles Finch comes The Vanishing Man, a prequel to his Charles Lenox Victorian series, in which the theft of an antique painting sends Detective Lenox on a hunt for a criminal mastermind. 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 Englands most revered noblemen, for help. A painting of the Dukes great-grandfather has been stolen from his private study. But the Dukes concern is not for his ancestors portrait; hiding in plain sight nearby is another painting of infinitely more value, one that holds the key to one of the countrys most famous and best-kept secrets. Dorset believes the thieves took the wrong painting and may return when they realize their errorand when his fears result in murder, Lenox must act quickly to unravel the mystery behind both paintings before tragedy can strike again. As the Dorset family closes ranks to protect its reputation, Lenox uncovers a dark secret that could expose them to unimaginable scandaland reveals the existence of an artifact, priceless beyond measure, for which the family is willing to risk anything to keep hidden. In this intricately plotted prequel to the Charles Lenox mysteries, the young detective risks his potential careerand his reputation in high societyas he hunts for a criminal mastermind.