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    A Burial at Sea
    A Burial at Sea
    A Burial at Sea
    Audiobook9 hours

    A Burial at Sea

    Written by Charles Finch

    Narrated by James Langton

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Eighteen seventy-three is a perilous time in the relationship between France and England. When a string of English spies is found dead on French soil, the threat of all-out war prompts government officials to ask Charles Lenox to visit the newly-dug Suez Canal on a secret mission.

    Once he is on board the Lucy, however, Lenox finds himself using not his new skills of diplomacy but his old ones: the ship's second lieutenant is found dead on the voyage's first night, his body cruelly abused. The ship's captain begs the temporarily retired detective to join in the hunt for a criminal. Lenox finds the trail, but in the claustrophobic atmosphere on board, where nobody can come or go and everyone is a suspect, he has to race against the next crime-and also hope he won't be the victim.

    At once a compulsive murder mystery, a spy story, and an intimate and joyful journey with the Victorian navy, this book shows that no matter how far Lenox strays from his old life, it will always come back to find him.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateNov 28, 2011
    ISBN9781452674582
    A Burial at Sea
    Author

    Charles Finch

    Charles Finch is the USA Today bestselling author of the Charles Lenox mysteries, including The Vanishing Man. His first contemporary novel, The Last Enchantments, is also available from St. Martin's Press. Finch received the 2017 Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing from the National Book Critics Circle. His essays and criticism have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Washington Post, and elsewhere. He lives in Los Angeles.

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    Reviews for A Burial at Sea

    4/5

    175 ratings21 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I enjoy Charles Finch. His Charles Lenox mysteries remind me of Agatha Christie in their drawing-room refinement and complex plots. A Burial at Sea is not my favorite. Although I love locked-door mysteries (and what better way to restrict the suspect pool than to send them off to sea?), a side-plot made the novel meander at the end, and the solution wasn't entirely satisfying. Charles Lenox is sent to the Suez Canal on an espionage mission, which in itself is odd, as Lenox seems an unlikely spy. I suppose that's the point - that he wouldn't be suspected, but it still feels off. Once the murder on the ship occurs, the story picks up. Lenox goes into detective mode to help the captain identify the culprit. Hints of mutiny add suspense, and this, the main part of the book, is quite satisfying. Once the ship reaches land, however, Lenox goes off on his espionage mission, and this is both disconnected to the earlier action and not terribly interesting. The killer's motives were a bit eye-rolling for me, but the solution was at least logical. Worth reading, I think, and enjoyable as a locked-room classic mystery, but ultimately flawed. Don't let this one stop you from picking up one of the others in the series - this is not representative.
    • 4/5
      It’s 1873. Charles Lenox, Member of Parliament, detective, newlywed and father-to-be, sets sail on the Lucy, a ship of the Royal Navy, embarking on a long voyage to Egypt. He’s on a secret intelligence-gathering mission for Queen Victoria. Soon, his rusty detective skills are in demand – when the captain asks Lenox to solve the murder of one of the ship’s officers, who was well-liked by all, or at least all save one. Our hero hopes to speak with everybody aboard ship: the captain, the officers, the young midshipmen (including his nephew Teddy), the ship’s doctor, and even the grizzled old salts. Lenox hopes the information he gathers will help him figure out what happened. The officer’s murder is quite grizzly and both Lenox and the captain believe time is of the essence. If they don’t nab the culprit, he may kill again. Then, of course, he does – and it’s a race to find the killer before the ship lands in Port Said.Charles Finch’s writing is rich with period detail, with descriptions of life aboard ship so vivid that readers are able to almost smell the salty sea air. For the first 250 pages or so, the story is set on the Lucy. And by the time Lucy arrives in Egypt, the resolution of Lenox’s murder investigation is 99.9% complete. In my mind, the story was over. But, of course, there’s still Lenox’s mission in Egypt, and about 50 more pages to go. To call that sub-plot anti-climactic would be understatement. Although I truly enjoyed the sea-going story, the Egyptian sub-plot seemed like an afterthought, just tacked on to the end to reach a page-count. I usually don’t speed-read when I’m reading for pleasure. But, I must confess, I blasted through the last 50 pages.Although I was disappointed a tad, that won’t put me off the Charles Lenox mysteries. They are splendid historical mysteries that, even if slightly flawed, are still better than most in that sub-genre. I’m still a big fan! Review based on publisher-provided copy of the book.
    • 4/5
      Ah Mr. Finch, you do spin a good yarn and this one never disappointed. Author Charles Finch infuses some fresh air into his Charles Lenox Mystery series by shipping his protagonist and Parliamentarian off on the high seas heading off to Egypt to survey the recently dug Suez Canal. Lenox is on a diplomatic errand to meet with khedive Ismail the Magnificent for some glad-handing and to survey the newest wonder of the world. This is a mere smokescreen for the clandestine meeting with Frenchman Sournois in an attempt to avert war between France and England. Oh, but riding the open ocean on Her Majesty's 1858 built corvette, "Lucy", is a thrill made more so with a sordid murder aboard ship. The ship's Captain Martin, well aware of Lenox's former detective career, asks Lenox to investigate the crime. So many suspects within such tight quarters. Does Lenox still have what it takes to identify the culprit before someone else succumbs to the murderer's evil ways?The story was captivating with all its red herrings. The scene painting was exquisite as one could nearly hear the creaking boards of a ship in full sail. Be forewarned, there's a tremendous amount of nautical jargon around which to wrap one's mind. Yet all of Finch's vast descriptions of well-researched life aboard a British Navy ship are well worth the effort. Synopsis (from publisher's website):Charles Lenox, Member of Parliament, sets sail on a clandestine mission for the government. When an officer is savagely murdered, however, Lenox is drawn toward his old profession, determined to capture another killer.1873 is a perilous time in the relationship between France and England. When a string of English spies is found dead on French soil, the threat of all-out war prompts government officials to ask Charles Lenox to visit the newly-dug Suez Canal on a secret mission.Once he is on board the Lucy, however, Lenox finds himself using not his new skills of diplomacy but his old ones: the ship's second lieutenant is found dead on the voyage's first night, his body cruelly abused. The ship's captain begs the temporarily retired detective to join in the hunt for a criminal. Lenox finds the trail, but in the claustrophobic atmosphere on board, where nobody can come or go and everyone is a suspect, he has to race against the next crime—and also hope he won't be the victim.At once a compulsive murder mystery, a spy story, and an intimate and joyful journey with the Victorian navy, this book shows that no matter how far Lenox strays from his old life, it will always come back to find him.
    • 3/5
      In Finch's newest historical mystery, Charles Lenox opens a potentially exciting new chapter of his life. Not only is his wonderful Lady Jane expecting, but he finds out his older brother Edward is involved with British Intelligence. Edward approaches Charles to ask him to take on a special mission. British spies are being assassinated, and Charles must meet with a French intelligence operative in Egypt, all the while on a seemingly diplomatic mission to discuss the recently finished Suez Canal. Charles accepts and finds himself bound for Egypt aboard the Lucy. When one of the ship's Lieutenants is murdered, the Captain of the vessel charges Lenox to investigate and find the murderer.

      I had only two problems with this book, one small and the other pretty big. For one, there was a lot of information about sailing, ships, and navy rank thrown at the reader in the beginning. This plus the fact that there were a lot of new characters to memorize made for slow reading. But Finch does put together an interesting set of characters, Charles' assigned steward McEwan being my favorite.

      The other problem I had was more serious, and that lay in the plot of the murder mystery. (Spoilers for the killer are ahead, so if you haven't finished the book don't read further.) As it came out, Halifax was murdered the very night Martin told Billings that he'd recommended Halifax as new Captain of the Lucy over Billings. And Martin wouldn't think to bring this up to Lenox as a possible motive? More, the Captain insisted there was no one who bore any kind of grudge against Halifax. This all coming to light later once Billings was unmasked just annoyed me and spoiled the entire plot of the mystery. It was ridiculous.

      But I did end up enjoying most of the book. The voyage to Egypt took up so much of the book that I was beginning to fear it would end in a cliffhanger, but without seeming too rushed the plot managed to draw to a close with all plot lines neatly tied up.
    • 3/5

      Charles Lennox is asked by the Prime Minister (via his brother) to go on a secret mission to Egypt, there he is to meet w/ a French Agent and find out how it is that the French have come to kill 5 out of 8 British Agents & how many more they know about. Charles is also to meet w/ the Khedive and discuss the business of the Suez Canal.

      Charles sets sail on The Lucy along with his nephew (a newly ranked Midshipman) to Egypt to become embroiled in the murder of the First Lieutenant and later the Captain..... There is explanation of life on a sailing vessel, the foods, accommodations, the running of the ship, the difference in the decks, and jobs of the crew.

      What I always find odd is that although the murderer is announced by the beginning of the last 1/4, the story always continues with other side plots and sometimes backtracks......

      This was a fast and entertaining read, but I honestly didn't like it as much as the others...... I found some of the ship time boring and I never got to really know any of the characters.....
    • 4/5
      This book has a slow start and it isn't my favorite Charles Finch book but once I got into it I was glad I had stuck to it.
    • 4/5
      Synopsis: Lenox is on a ship bound for Egypt. His job is to meet with the Egyptian ruler and find out what is needed to get England on board to use the Suez Canal. However, he also has to perform espionage and determine if France means to go to war. While on board, two murders occur and Lenox must find out 'who done it'.Review: The murders were very intriguing as was the information about life at sea.
    • 5/5
      This is a first class murder mystery written against a background of a sea voyage and a spy thriller. An excellent read.
    • 4/5
      I loved this very much, as usual with Charles Finch. I found it quite intriguing that he should step into new territory (a tale of the navy) - I have yet to read Patrick O'Brian's books so this story felt very different to me and extremely interesting. There's a fair amount of detail about both life on ship and the British navy in general which I thought was beautifully handled and never felt like the author was dropping huge chunks of information to show how much research he'd done. The murders were very intriguing and while the identity of the murderer is fairly straightforward, the small, almost claustrophobic setting of a ship where everyone is bound to be very close gives each death huge impact. The characters are very well fleshed-out as usual and there's more than a fair bit of great political commentary about the US and Ireland's situation at the time which is cleverly put in. I really loved this part of the book, so much so that O Brian's books are now at the very top of my reading list.
      The second part of the book, announced at the very beginning, was also very different for Charles as it involves espionnage in Egypt and here the political context gives a really good reason for this particular mission. It's a shame this part wasn't longer as I thought Charles' mission was extremely engrossing. Mrs Edwards is a character we see for only a few pages but she really stands out by what Lennox calls her 'modernity' - sadly, the character reacts pretty much as you would expect for a gentleman in the 19th century and I was disappointed in his opinion of her which verged on sexism. I was so angry at his comments in fact it almost prevented me from enjoying the rest of the book. It also cast a new light on Lady Jane's role in Charles' story for her part seems to be confined to the house while the first couple of books hinted at her growing influence in society, possibly leading to a career. I do hope the author adresses that in the future as I think that's one of the few shortcomings of a book which is overall pretty flawless.
    • 4/5
      When Lennox receives a commission to Egypt on official business, he also receives a secret mission to determine the status of English spies in France. However, the voyage to Egypt proves more dangerous when one of the lieutenants is brutally murdered. As Charles investigates, the captain is also slain. Yet, even when Lennox determines the killer, the danger isn’t over.
    • 4/5
      I liked this novel, but maybe not as much as his previous ones. WEll written as always, solid characters, but I was a bit disappointed by the way the murderer was portrayed. A little over the top and unrealistic for me. Yet, I'll be waiting later this year for the next install,
    • 4/5
      A solid mystery for fans of Victorian detective fiction and Patrick O'Brian - type sailing adventures. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as "A Beautiful Blue Death", which was one of the best mysteries I read last year, but the characters are rich and the writing well-researched.
    • 4/5
      Another in the Charles Lenox Victorian series. I admire the author for leaving London and taking to the sea. He must have done a tremendous amount of research, the life on the Lucy seemed very believable...I learned a lot about being in the Royal Navy and daily life on one of her ships in the 1800s.
    • 3/5
      As a fan of this series I am a little dissapointed in this latest addition. Not sure if its the change of location or the different characters. Charles Lenox solving a murder at sea just didnt work for me. Still looking forward to the next in the series.
    • 4/5
      I enjoy Charles Finch. His Charles Lenox mysteries remind me of Agatha Christie in their drawing-room refinement and complex plots. A Burial at Sea is not my favorite. Although I love locked-door mysteries (and what better way to restrict the suspect pool than to send them off to sea?), a side-plot made the novel meander at the end, and the solution wasn't entirely satisfying. Charles Lenox is sent to the Suez Canal on an espionage mission, which in itself is odd, as Lenox seems an unlikely spy. I suppose that's the point - that he wouldn't be suspected, but it still feels off. Once the murder on the ship occurs, the story picks up. Lenox goes into detective mode to help the captain identify the culprit. Hints of mutiny add suspense, and this, the main part of the book, is quite satisfying. Once the ship reaches land, however, Lenox goes off on his espionage mission, and this is both disconnected to the earlier action and not terribly interesting. The killer's motives were a bit eye-rolling for me, but the solution was at least logical. Worth reading, I think, and enjoyable as a locked-room classic mystery, but ultimately flawed. Don't let this one stop you from picking up one of the others in the series - this is not representative.
    • 3/5
      I received this book through the Early Reviewers program, although I think it had already been published by the time I got it.I enjoyed the book and learned quite a bit about the Royal Navy of the 1800s. Charles Lenox, former detective and current Member of Parliament, is sent to Egypt via the Lucy as an envoy from Queen Victoria, ostensibly to determine whether or not Great Britain should invest in the newly constructed Suez Canal. Along with this public activity, he has a clandestine operation to conduct: meeting with a mysterious Frenchman to determine why British secret agents are being killed in France. In addition to these activities, he is called on to solve two murders aboard the ship en route to Egypt.There were some twists in the plot which were unexpected, and others which I anticpated. Overall, it was well-written; however, there were some sentences which I puzzled over and still didn't quite understand what the author was trying to say. This was my first encounter with Charles Lenox. For the most part, I enjoyed it and will likely find the earlier books in the series to learn more of his story. While the earlier books don't seem to be crucial to reading this one, there are references to earlier activities which would be clearer if the books were read in order.
    • 3/5
      Charles Lenox, member of Parliament, is asked to go to the Suez Canal on official business. Aboard the naval ship, one of the officers is murdered. The captain asks Lenox to investigate. Before long there is a mutiny attempt, then another murder. Lenox must determine which sailor is behind the murders. This was my first venture into this series. I found Lenox a likeable enough sleuth, but I had some questions that went unanswered because I had not read the previous installments. The author probably did not provide enough background in places for those new to the series. I also felt his reason for going to Egypt was a bit contrived and unrealistic. I was also a little disappointed in the manner in which the fate of the ship criminal was resolved. I have had earlier installments on my wish list, and I do want to go back and read some of those. This book was received through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program with the expectation that a review would be written.
    • 5/5
      Charles Finch does it again.. I have come to love this series and to anticipate new books from this author. I love the main character and the minor characters. This one takes place upon a ship for the most part in Her Majesty's Navy. With murder and clues left behind it will leave you guessing who "did it" until the very end.
    • 4/5
      Once again Charles Lennox finds himself solving a murder, or rather two murders. This time on the ship Lucy, en-route to Egypt. Love these atmospheric understated mysteries and in this one we learn quite a bit about the lives of sailors, the dangers and the camaraderie as well as the political dangers of the time. Mid 1870's and relations were extremely stressful between France and England with both sides spying on the other and it is this time period that is covered in this entertaining mystery.
    • 3/5
      I won this book from a GoodReads first read giveaway. This is the first that I had heard of this series. There were a couple other books in the series before this book and I would have liked to have read them before this book, but it isn't necessary to do so to understand what is going on in the book. I love historical fiction and I love mysteries. That being said sometimes this book fell a little flat to me. It just felt like Charles Lenox's investigation of the murder(s) aboard the Lucy dragged on and on. It's a relatively short book but I felt like some of it could have been cut out. I didn't find the mystery of who had committed the murders to be that difficult to solve, maybe it's just me though. One thing that really irked me about the book though was when Billings was finally acknowledged as the murder and he just goes crazy. I didn't think the whole "I want to put my pocket knife in you! I want to put my pocket knife in you!" was necessary.Don't get me wrong the book did have some really good parts. I loved the relationship between McEwan and Lenox, in fact McEwan was my favorite character. The good definitely outwayed the bad.I would recommend this book to historical fiction and mystery fans. I think my overall experience with it would have been better if I had read the other books in the series before this one.
    • 4/5
      This is the fifth installment of the Charles Lenox series. Just as a warning, there may be some spoilers here for those who have not read earlier books in the series. It would probably be best to read these books in order - although I don't think it would be impossible to follow if you didn't.Charles Finch is reluctantly setting off to Egypt on a dual mission for Parliament. Half the mission is public, relating to the new Panama Canal, and half of it is secret and dangerous. The boat Lucy will be taking him there, and he will also get to keep an eye on his nephew Teddy - since this is Teddy's first voyage as part of a boat crew.Charles is sad to be leaving his pregnant wife behind, but he finds his old detective spirit awakening in him when a man is murdered on his first night aboard ship. The captain asks him to investigate. Who would have thought it would be so difficult to track down a murderer on a (somewhat) small boat? While he is investigating, there are misplaced clues, threats of mutiny, and another murder.And if the dangers of a murderer aboard ship aren't bad enough, Lenox is faced with even more danger in Egypt. In fact, I found it a little hard to believe that Lenox could handle so much peril in such a short time. In spite of that, I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. I had to keep reading to find out whodunnit, and to see if all the threads would be tied up at the end. Very good, cozy, recommended, and I know I will read more in this series.(I received this book through Amazon's Vine Program.)