The young wife of an aging marquis is found murdered in the arms of the Prince Regent. Around her neck lies a necklace said to have been worn by Druid priestesses-that is, until it was lost at sea with its last owner, Sebastian St. Cyr’s mother. Now Sebastian is lured into a dangerous investigation of the marchioness’s death-and his mother’s uncertain fate. As he edges closer to the truth-and one … truth-and one murder follows another-he confronts a conspiracy that imperils those nearest him and threatens to bring down the monarchy.
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I love Regency novels, and this mystery is set in that time period. Sebastian St. Cyr is an aristocrat who fought the French in war and returned to England, brilliant and deadly. As such, he shows more interest in solving serious crimes than in attending balls. When someone kills a beautiful, young woman to make it look as if the Prince Regent committed the crime, the prince’s cousin asks Sebastian to find out who the true murderer is. Sebastian finds himself thrust in the middle of a plot to overthrow the crown.
The action never stops. People try to kill Sebastian over and over again, and he has to work to find each and every clue. I had to concentrate when I was reading this book to keep everyone straight and to understand the politics and parties at odds, struggling for the throne. The more I read about the murdered young wife, the more I liked her and her much older husband. And every time Sebastian went to his lover’s for solace, the more I liked Kat. Sebastian wants to marry her, but she knows that if he marries an actress, he’ll be shunned by every aristocratic friend he has. I have to admit that I was worried that the author was going to kill off Kat, and that would have really bothered me, but thankfully, she didn’t. Kat is still alive and in Sebastian’s arms. So I was satisfied with the book’s ending. This was a complex plot with complex characters, and I really enjoyed it.
All the books is the CS Harris series are GREAT!! Entertaining and informative about the Regency period in England. The real deal, not just the sanitized “regency romance” London. (Although I do LOVE Georgette Heyer).
A little difficult to keep all the characters straight at first. Once the story started to evolve it became easier although lots of twists and turns. The “who did it” was a surprise.
I love this series.
All of C.S. Harris’ books are good. She is an intelligent writer with mature characters.
4 stars
I won book 10 in this series 2 years ago and liked it enough that I decided to go back and read more of the series. This is book 2 in the series. Sebastian St Cyr, Viscount Devlin(the British do like titles!!) is called in to investigate the death of Lady Anglessey. He has previously successfully solved a murder in book 1 and now, Lord Jarvis, a powerful behind the scenes kind of guy, asks Devlin to investigate. Lady Anglessey was found dead in the Prince Regent’s drawing room. Jarvis worries that if the Prince is suspected of murder, there could be a revolt. The Prince was enormously unpopular in June 1811 and there was fear of a Jacobite rebellion in Georgian England.
Devlin agrees to investigate when he learns that his mother’s necklace was found on the dead woman. Devlin’s mother was presumed drowned many years before. Devlin starts asking questions and soon he is attacked by hired killers. He does solve the mystery, but not before many twists and turns. Although the story is fiction, there was a necklace just like the one described in the book in real life. At one time it was owned by an ancestor of the author.
The author has some social commentary in the book, pointing out the crushing poverty endured by millions in Britain at this time and contrasting it with the excessive consumption of the wealthy class. There is a comment that Britain is ruled by the “Upper Ten Thousand.”
One quote on Brighton: “The next morning dawned cool, with a fine mist that drifted in from the sea in heavy, salt laden patches of white swirling dampness to collect between the rows of tall, stately town houses and in the narrow winding alleyways of the Lanes.”
This is an excellent series for historical fiction fans.
The whole series is enjoyable.
I have enjoyed this series. Very well done!
Good historical mystery!
C S Harris never disappoints.
Love the Sebastian St. Cyr series! Great stories with wonderful characters
I have already read two of CS Harris’s books and I just bought the third one. The author takes you inside the story and you feel like you are experiencing what is happening.
First review I have ever made and they are great books.
I love this series!
Very original-different
The Sebastian St Cyr series always provides well drawn characters and wondeful plots. The story keeps you guessing to the very end.
READ THIS SERIES!!! absolutely fantastic!! if you love historical mysteries this will knock your socks off! dive in.
“Dead bodies don’t share their secrets for long…and this one has some interesting stories to tell.” (quote from the book)
The Regent is found with a dead woman in his arms and a knife protruding from her back at the Regent’s Brighton Pavilion. Did he kill her? Sebastion St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin and his father, Alistair St. Cyr, the Fifth Earl of Hendon witness the scene with several others. When Lord Jarvis requests Sebastion’s help in finding out what has happened, he wants nothing to do with it. But Lord Jarvis tells him to look at what is around the young woman’s neck…an ancient necklace that belonged to his mother.
“Neither spoke, their footsteps echoing softly in the darkness. The familiar scents of sea-bathed rocks and wet sand hung heavy in the warm night air, and the moon-flooded streets were haunted by shared memories neither father nor son cared to confront.” (quote from the book)
And so begins another intriguing, complex mystery with several subplots running through it. Each are intertwined and danger follows Sebastian, Tom and Kat. The historical detail is seamlessly woven together with the imaginative plot. I was captivated, yet again, from the opening chapter to the last. I love how the secrets, lies, betrayals and connections all unfold. These were dangerous times, not only to the monarchy, but to the teeming masses of the poor.
“One rip in the fabric of tradition and legitimacy, and who knows where it might end? Killing is always much easier to start than it is to stop.” (quote from the book)
I will say it again. I am thrilled to have started this series. I also love how each book hints at the next.
August 26, 2020
When Gods Die by C.S. Harris is a complex historical mystery that involves murder, secrets and the political intrigue during Prince George III’s reign in England. I that was fascinated with the story about the necklace that once belonged to Sebastian’s mother. An interesting twist to the story that allowed more insight into Sebastian’s past and his character.
I received a Kindle copy of this book from my library.
This is the second book in the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries–a series that I’ve meant to pick up for ages and am now gleefully stuffing into my eyeballs as fast as I can get them. I have a tendency to try out new series via the library and I think it’s telling one the books have a waitlist despite the fact that the series has been going on for years.
I love Sebastian and his small but helpful team. I enjoy how Harris weaves in the history of the time period, taking a look at the struggles of the classes in a changing world, as well as the various struggles women were dealing with. The books are paced well and full of questionable characters and intrigues, as well as action. I am all grabby hands on this series.
Read the series, but start at the beginning to get the complete picture of the relationships and undercurrents between the characters