The Hidden City, page 26
part #12 of Charles Lenox Series
The readers of this series are why I still write it. Thank you for every last note, message, post, every kind word! They mean more than you can know.
To my mother; to my sister, Isabelle; and to Peter, Rosie, Julia, Sarabeth, Henry, Jamie, Teddy, Remi, Wes, my thanks for so many happy times, and so many to come. I love you more than words.
To my departed Lucy, most wonderful of dogs, stout and brave and funny and sweet, thank you for teaching me as much about love as any creature ever has. And to Emily, Annabel, and Alexander, my irreplaceable ones: eternal gratitude, eternal love.
Also by Charles Finch
The Last Enchantments
What Just Happened
The Charles Lenox Series
A Beautiful Blue Death
The September Society
The Fleet Street Murders
A Stranger in Mayfair
A Burial at Sea
A Death in the Small Hours
An Old Betrayal
The Laws of Murder
Home by Nightfall
The Inheritance
The Woman in the Water
The Vanishing Man
The Last Passenger
An Extravagant Death
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charles Finch is a novelist and literary critic, author of the beloved Charles Lenox mysteries, following one of the earliest private detectives in Victorian London. The books have appeared multiple times on the USA Today bestseller list. He has written numerous essays, articles, and reviews for The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, Slate, New York, and The Guardian, and was honored with the 2017 Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing by the National Book Critics Circle. He subsequently served on the boards of the NBCC and the arts colony Ragdale, and was a judge for the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award. He lives in Los Angeles with his family. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Acknowledgments
Also by Charles Finch
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
THE HIDDEN CITY. Copyright © 2025 by Hampden Lane LLC. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover painting: Westminster Bridge by Moonlight by John Atkinson (Grimshaw/Artiz/Alamy Stock Photo)
eISBN 9781250767172
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First Edition: 2025
Charles Finch, The Hidden City
