Sebastian St. Cyr investigates the mysterious life and death of a nobleman convicted of murder in this enthralling new historical mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Why Kill the Innocent…. It’s June 1814, and the royal families of Austria, Russia, and the German states have gathered in London at the Prince Regent’s invitation to celebrate the defeat of Napoléon and the … defeat of Napoléon and the restoration of monarchical control throughout Europe. But the festive atmosphere is marred one warm summer evening by the brutal murder of a disgraced British nobleman long thought dead.
Eighteen years before, Nicholas Hayes, the third son of the late Earl of Seaford, was accused of killing a beautiful young French émigré and transported to Botany Bay for life. Even before his conviction, Hayes had been disowned by his father, and few in London were surprised when they heard the ne’er-do-well had died in disgrace in New South Wales. But those reports were obviously wrong. Recently Hayes returned to London with a mysterious young boy in tow–a child who vanishes shortly after Nicholas’s body is discovered.
Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is drawn into the investigation by his valet, Jules Calhoun, an old friend of the dead man. With Calhoun’s help, Sebastian begins to piece together the shattered life of the late Earl’s ill-fated youngest son. Why did Nicholas risk his life and freedom by returning to England? And why did he bring the now-missing young boy with him? Several nervous Londoners had reason to fear that Nicholas Hayes had returned to kill them. One of them might have decided to kill him first.
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This riveting historical tale of tragedy and triumph… will enthrall you.
Another wonderful entry in the St. Cyr series. C.S. Harris continues to create marvelous new crimes for Devlin to solve. As usual, his wife Hero takes an active role while continuing her quest to make her world a better place. One of my favorite couples in one of my favorite series.
Series: Sebastian St. Cyr #15
Publication Date: 4/7/20
Number of Pages: 352
Hold on to your hats because this intense and complex historical mystery is going to take you on a rollercoaster of a ride. We are fifteen books into the series, and you’d think things might begin to get a tad stale. That isn’t even remotely close to the case though. This book is as fresh, different, and interesting as the first book in the series. The author’s research and grasp of the history of that period are outstanding and make you feel as if you are right there living the tale as it unfolds.
I’ll make no bones about it – this book ripped my heart from my chest, flung it to the floor and stepped on all the little pieces. Many of this author’s victims are sympathetic and you mourn their passing, but this one… If you don’t wail at the things that he had to endure in his life only to be murdered – well…
Nicholas Hayes was discovered in Pennington’s Tea Gardens with a sickle protruding from his back. He’d only been back in England for a week or two after eighteen years away. Everyone had thought he had died after being transported when he had been convicted of the murder of a young Frenchwoman. If he had escaped death after he’d been transported, why would he return to London where he’d be immediately executed if the crown discovered him? What of the young child who is with him?
As we learn more about our victim, we find that all is not as one would think. But, who wanted him to die and why? You’ll learn all of that as you follow the clues along with Sebastian and Hero. You’ll meet some truly despicable people – true vermin in the guise of humans. You’ll also meet and get to know some lovely, caring people who deserve a better life than they’ve had.
This was truly a wonderful read – well-written, well-plotted and filled chock full of characters you will either love or hate, but nothing in-between. For me personally, because it was such an emotional read, I should probably have chosen to read it at some time other than the midst of a global pandemic. But, nonetheless, I am happy to have read it and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Sebastian, St. Cyr is a nobleman who enjoys solving murders. Harris’ writing is authentic. I feel as if I’m walking the streets and passing a pub filled with musk and ale as horse carriages clip clop across the dung filled cobblestones.
And I get to know ‘who done it’ along the way.
Another winner from C.S. Harris. This Regency era mystery series just never gets old or stale. If you haven’t read the earlier books, I’d strongly suggest you start from the beginning.
Moody and atmospheric, exposing the dark underside of Regency London.
Who Speaks for the Damned by C.S. Harris is the newest in her Regency Historical Mystery Series. Hayes, a nobleman was convicted of murder and transported 18 years before. He returns to London many years later and is murdered himself. St. Cyr along with his wife Hero assisting, investigates the life and murder of the victim along with the disappearance of a child. Plenty of historical details, political intrigue, suspense, suspects with various motives and mysterious murders. The main characters are down to earth and honorable while some of the other characters are less than desirable people. I have devoured each book in this series and always look forward to reading them . Every book has a few of the same main characters but all have new complicated mysteries and unusual characters. The Historical notes are excellent providing information the reader has probably never heard.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 5 Stars
So this series!! Another wonderful storyline with lots of rich historical detail and 4 possible villains. With this series, Harris has created a diverse cast of interesting, compelling, and flawed characters that you root for, cry with and feel invested in.
This particular story involves a heartbreaking miscarriage of justice with elements of revenge, greed and corruption. Sebastian and crew sort it all out to end with a lovely bit of hope and happiness.
I find myself anxiously anticipating each new chapter in these characters’ lives and am always a bit crestfallen to say goodbye until next time.
Thank you to #BerkleyPublishing , #PenguinRandomHouse and #Goodreads for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
Steeped in rich period details, a complex tale of murder, revenge and a long-ago miscarriage of justice set in Regency London. Harris’s engaging storytelling style only serves to increase the suspense.
“Who speaks for the restless and the damned?” Sebastian St. Cyr, apparently, or so the author appears to be telling us. This volume, like the the 14 before it has an intriguing mystery with multiple suspects, shadowy back history, and complicated subplots. The secondary characters are all well developed. Regency London, a grim shadowing version of it, makes a perfect setting. If there is a disappointment here it is that Sebastian’s love, Hero, is increasingly presented as a spear carrier in the drama and their relationship has become flat and predictable. His father makes the briefest of appearances and the St. Cyr angst and personal past no longer resonates. Jarvis, his vile father in law, however, remains a spider in the web if whatever goes on.
4.75 Stars!!
It’s obvious that I would become deeply invested in Sebastian, Hero, and the lives of the recurring characters after completing 15 books from this series, but I wasn’t prepared for the mess of emotions I felt in this particular story. This mystery was heartbreaking due to the injustices the victim endured, as well as Sebastian’s unwitting emotional attachment to the case. The secondary story line was also a sad account of a child left behind. All of that made for a melancholy feel to the entire story.
Along with some gut-wrenching tears, I found myself finally getting angry enough with one of the main secondary characters. While I’ve never particularly cared for Jarvis, I’ve always had a respect for his characterization and place within the series. After this book, I want to throttle him and maybe a little bit, Sebastian. My patience with Sebastian withholding the truth from his wife about her father is starting to wear thin.
I really wanted to give this book a full five stars simply due to how evocative 99% of the story was, but things wrapped up too conveniently at the very end and it didn’t feel entirely authentic. It still got me in the feels, though.
A man who should have died years ago is murdered in a public garden, while a child he was traveling with flees the scene. So begins, Who Speaks for the Damned.
I liked this book, but didn’t love it. It was my first introduction to the series, and perhaps that lessened how much interest I had in the characters. Unfortunately, for me most of the characters felt flat. The story had a few intriguing moments and a couple parts where I loved how the author raised the stakes, but I never felt myself gripped by the story.
As far as historical mysteries go, I’ll stick with the Charles Lenox series by Charles Finch. The characters, the story lines, and the wry bits of humor are far better done.
Great characters and good storylines make this series an automatic buy for me. Highly recommended.
Outstanding book!
I finished this book yesterday but I am struggling to write a review that will do it justice. I LOVED it and was sad it ended. This book was so good, I read it in about a day. I checked it out of the library, but after only a few pages in, I returned it and bought both the ebook and audiobook. It is a keeper!
Harris is a rare author that entertains AND enlightens her readers. Some HF books have wonderful historical background and some are exciting but not historically accurate. Harris’s books are both: authentic and exciting! The characters are fully developed and perfectly believable. The plot and events flow smoothly. There are no misunderstandings or miscommunications among the characters to prolong the book or tease the reader.
C. S. Harris has a vast knowledge of the times and places she writes about. I often stop to google the places and events in her book(s). There are very, very few writers in her league. It is clearly evident that she is highly educated. I also love how Sebastian and Hero have a good social conscious that is not out of place for their time. They are perfect together.
I can’t express enough how much I loved this book. I look forward to the next book in the series.
amateur-sleuth, England, historical-fiction, early-19th-century, murder-investigation
I’m sure that I read a much earlier Sebastian St Cyr mystery and though I can’t seem to find it, I have somewhat vague very positive feelings about it. In this one St Cyr is long restored to respectability and feels affected by a murder involving a peer exiled for murder eighteen years ago who unknowingly returned to London and is the first to die leaving behind a young Chinese boy. The sleuthing is very good and the historical research seems as authentic as I remember. The characters are exceptionally well drawn and the whole imagery is as clear as being there. I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you!
4 stars for another enjoyable historical fiction book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series. This is book 15 in the series and I recommend that you start at the beginning, because there are continuing plot developments in Sebastian’s personal life throughout the series.
I started reading this series when I won book 10 in a Goodreads giveaway 4 years ago and enjoyed the book so much that I started reading the rest of the series.
In this book, Sebastian, aka Viscount Devlin(the English do love their titles!), is approached by his valet, Calhoun, who asks Devlin to investigate the murder of his friend, Nicholas Hayes. Calhoun has a somewhat shady background. Calhoun’s underworld connections have proved useful to Devlin in the past. Devlin agrees to investigate as he has done in each of the past books(not always on behalf of Calhoun). Book 1 was actually a case of Devlin being accused of a murder that he did not commit. In that book, he proves himself innocent by finding the real murderer. Now the authorities are happy to cooperate with him, because of his uncanny abilities to find killers.
Devlin does find the murderer, after many twists and turns in an absorbing plot with well written characters.
I learned something new in this book. “Lascars were Asian sailors who served as seamen on British ships to replace the sailors who tended to die at such alarming rates in the East.”
Devlin on murder: “Murder is unseemly. Making certain a killer doesn’t get away with what he has done is an obligation we the living owe to the dead-no matter how unsavory we consider them to be.”
Thank You Dache Rogers at Berkley for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.