The Black Carnation — Fergus Hume

When a famous opera singer is killed on stage by an exploding bouquet the young lawyer Mark Tancred in convinced that the police are pursuing the wrong man. The signs point to a secret anarchist society, but Tancred is certain that a more personal motive lies at the heart of the mystery. Pursuing the clue of the black carnation, he soon uncovers a hotbed of familial resentment and secret passions...

Originally published in 1892, this is a classic British murder mystery, set against the evocative background of fin de siecle London.