The September Society

The September Society, by Charles Finch, is a mystery set in Oxford and London, England in the autumn of 1866, during the Victorian era. It is the second novel in a series featuring gentleman and amateur detective Charles Lenox, and the first of two books Finch has written about Oxford, along with The Last Enchantments. Plot summary A student at Lincoln College at the University of Oxford goes missing. His mother engages Charles Lenox to solve the mystery of his disappearance. Lenox, himself a graduate of Oxford, revisits his alma mater to piece together the clues in this kidnapping case which, upon the discovery of a body, becomes a murder investigation. Eventually the trail leads Lenox back to London and the headquarters of a mysterious society. Lenox’s evolving friendship and potential romance with his childhood friend and next-door neighbor Lady Jane is a central subplot. Additionally, the book introduces Lord John Dallington, a young wastrel aristocrat, as Lenox’s apprentice.