I found this hardcover in this Little Free Library in Pepperell MA while dropping off some books of my own. (It has some interesting notes on the rear flyleaf, possibly a conversation held in class? "Um enough already with the smiley faces you're how old? Yeek" etc. and "We aren't different in the ways we want to be. We clearly both suck at poesie...." Makes me wonder how that actually went down!)

The book's the second in a series featuring Victorian gentleman-detective Charles Lenox; I found the first book, A Beautiful Blue Death, entertaining if not awesome. Will see if the series improves! (I must add that I really like the cover-art in this series; each one seems to feature a trio of similar objects, from the pens on this one to spectacles on another and knots on yet another.)

Later: This one features a mystery surrounding the titular society at Oxford, where students are disappearing - and dying. I admit that the mystery itself didn't wow me, but as a next installment in the series the book certainly takes Lennox and his beloved Lady Annabelle to new places in their lives.

[Intriguing artifact: on the back flyleaf there are several paragraphs handwritten in ink, apparently from 2008. Looks like two different hands, perhaps people trying to carry on a flirtation while in class or in the library? (I agree with the sentiment that "smiley faces being deal breakers"!)

Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.

I left this book in the Little Free Library on this snowy day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2020 Spooktacular October challenge, for the blood on the cover. ***

*** Released for the 2020 Tick Tock challenge. ***