“The entire series is simply elegant.”—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author In this historical mystery from the national bestselling author of Who Slays the Wicked, the abduction and murder of a young boy takes Sebastian St. Cyr from the gritty streets of London to the glittering pleasure haunts of the aristocracy…London, 1813. One of the city’s many homeless children, Benji … the city’s many homeless children, Benji Thatcher was abducted and murdered—and his younger sister is still missing. Few in authority care about a street urchin’s fate, but Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, refuses to let this killer go unpunished.
Uncovering a disturbing pattern of missing children, Sebastian is drawn into a shadowy, sadistic world. As he follows a grim trail that leads from the writings of the debauched Marquis de Sade to the city’s most notorious brothels, he comes to a horrifying realization: Someone from society’s upper echelon is preying upon the city’s most vulnerable. And though dark, powerful forces are moving against him, Sebastian will risk his reputation and his life to keep more innocents from harm…
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Another outstanding Sebastian St. Cyr mystery. The mystery itself was chilling and I’m glad that the descriptions weren’t too graphic. I did miss the appearance of real historical characters – like Ben Franklin’s son and Jane Austen, etc. — Jane Austen’s brothers bank was at least mentioned in passing.
I won’t do a blow-by-blow of the story — because then you wouldn’t need to read it — and I really think you need to read it!!!
What did I like:
– I love the relationship between Sebastian and Hero. They can read each other so well — and they are open and honest with each other.
– I was so happy to see that Sebastian and Hendon had a real heart-to-heart talk and maybe have resolved their differences.
What am I a bit apprehensive about regarding the series future:
– It appears that the author introduced two (or maybe three) new ongoing threads in the series. Each book is already pretty busy with things going on, plus there is already the ongoing issue of Sebastian’s parentage. I just hope it doesn’t get so busy with the ongoing threads that you begin to feel like a pinball machine.
—- We have the addition of Cousin Victoria, Hero’s unease with the cousin, and the fact that Lord Jarvis seems to REALLY like the cousin. Makes you wonder if Jarvis kills his wife so he can have the cousin OR if the cousin kills her in order to get Jarvis – maybe as payback for something he’s done to somebody she loves or because she’s a French spy or — well — something.
—- We also have Sebastian’s niece’s marriage to somebody that Sebastian knows is a pervert and a murder. He was the partner in this book’s crimes, but Sebastian couldn’t prove it. So — we know we’ll be seeing more of him.
Anyway — I LOVED the book and can’t wait for the next one — I just hope it doesn’t get too distractingly busy.
A solid 4 stars for book 12 in the Sebastian St. Cyr series. I won book 10 in this series several years ago in a Goodreads giveaway and liked it so much that I decided to read the rest of the series. I recommend this series to anyone who enjoys historical fiction mysteries.
In this book, Sebastian, aka Viscount Devlin, is asked by his surgeon friend Paul Gibson to investigate the death of Benji Thatcher. a 15 year old boy who had been tortured and raped before being killed. Sebastian uncovers a series of murders of young boys, all tortured, raped and murdered. But they are all homeless street children, and the authorities are not interested in following up on their deaths. Sebastian does solve the case, with the help of Gibson and others.
While the subject is gruesome, the amount of graphic violence is minimal, with only brief descriptions of the torture/rape.
The author has done research on clothes worn in England in 1813: “Hero came in a few moments later trailing a very fetching straw bonnet by its dusky pink velvet ribbons. She wore a deeply flounced muslin walking dress with a dusky pink velvet spencer fastened by a row of tiny mother-of-pearl buttons up the front.”
LOVE this series!! PHAT. her books are right up there with the best of the best in this genre and beyond.
Interesting characters and a plot that isn’t self evident. Also a very good depiction of life in London in the early 1800’s. Author includes sights, sounds and smells which bring it to life.
This is probably the most disturbing of all the books in the series up to this point, but also riveting. Not necessarily due to the mystery storyline, but the emotional toll it has on nearly every character who’ve become integral to my enjoyment of the series. On top of the mystery, there are poignant side stories that will significantly impact the books going forward. I feel torn rating this book, because of how distressing it is at times, but it wouldn’t be fair to give it any less than 5 stars. This author is fantastic, even if the content of this one is extremely disturbing.
I have read all in this series I can hardly wait for the next one as they come out.
I’ve read every one of the Harris series and am looking forward to more. She is an accomplished writer and I appreciate her research and the entertaining way she weaves it through the story. The characters are wonderful.
C. S. Harris does it again! I love every book in this series. Sebastian St. Cyr and his wire, Hero, are wonderfully drawn, complex characters. The books involve murder, mystery and a wonderful love story within their marriage. Sebastian is a strong, smart man who respects his strong, intellectual wife at a time when intellect was not respected in women. I anxiously await each new book in this series, and I can’t wait for the next one!
Excellent, historical world building mystery thriller series.
Another great book by C.S. Harris. It is so easy to become “attached” to the characters. There is more to his books than “just the mystery”, so much additional information incorporated in the story; it’s very obvious that much research was involved in writing this series.
This is the 12th Sebastan St. Cyr Mystery Book, and as always it’s an interesting engaging read. The mystery is particularly heinous as someone is torturing, raping and killing young homeless boys and girls. That’s horrifying, but the author steers clear of graphic gore which I appreciate. Almost as bad is the general idea (prevalent in this time) that these children don’t matter and so no one is really going to try to figure out what is going on. Even Sebastian and his wife Hero, although much more tuned into and horrified by the suffering they come into contact with (Hero interviews many youngsters found themselves alone on the street when their mothers were transported for stealing or other petty crimes), don’t see themselves as responsible for, or called upon to help the situation.
That aside, it is an engaging mystery, and not knowing how Hero’s nefarious father might be engaged in some of the cover up, adds some additional tension. However there is a lot of set up going on here. One evildoer gets his desserts, but another seems to go scott free. It’s clear there will be more to his story as he marries St. Cyr’s niece towards the end of the book. Something is clearly going on with Hero’s cousin Victoria but it’s all just foreshadowed. Hero doesn’t feel comfortable about her, so you know something is up…
If you read this series, it’s a fine story, but not too much happens between our major series protagonists, only one real life changing event, but the consequences of that will perhaps be more fully realized going forward. If you haven’t read the series, you can start here, but will be more engaged if you already know the ins and outs of the major players.
Each book of the St. Cyr series is a meaty and informative read, fueled by strong and appealing characters and worthy plotlines.
This was my first book by C.S. Harris and the subject of investigation was dark. The appalling truth about street children made for difficult reading, but was important. Sebastian and Hero are a power couple of the day, with all the best connections etc. But it is on Sebastian’s heart to solve the most difficult cases. This one was the death of a street urchin. A forgotten teenager who’d been abused beyond imagination, then dumped in a shallow grave. Following the timeline from how the poor dead child was first noticed, through the various people who cared and didn’t care, was fascinating. St. Cyr risked his life on many occasions to get to the truth and find the murderer, but in true hero fashion, never gave up. The dark topic of sick minds and beyond dark erotic to sadomasochistic literature was tough to take, but this reader needed to know who the murderer was. The killer was narrowed down early, but there were enough second guesses by St. Cyr to keep me wondering until the end.
Recommended for those who like dark topics in historical settings.
Love these books
I love this series. Must read!
One of the best series! Doesn’t disappoint!
Outstanding!
Well-developed plot and characters. Kept me interested and guessing as to the outcome all the way to the end. This has become one of my favorite historical mystery series.
This is an excellent series about Regency London with all its warts and a peer of the realm who solves murders because he is good at it. Entertaining and you get a bit of history too.
Another good book by this author. I actually think this may be the best I have read in the ST, Cyr series. The pace was quick even though Sebastian ‘s detective style is classic interview, gather more info at each interview, and re-interview until he finally gets the puzzle piece he needs. Great detail of the times, fashions and attitudes of the period.
Enjoy this series. Have read them all. If you enjoy Regency era murder mysteries C S Harris doesn’t disappoint.