C.S. Harris spins an engaging tale of deception, detection and mystery where Camelot meets the deductive wit of Sherlock Holmes and Jessica Fletcher in the latest satisfying Sebastian St. Cyr mystery.

Set in Regency England, we meet this story at a slightly grissly starting point with the death of the lovely Gabrielle Tennyson. Yes, she is of that family of literary Tennysons, smart, lovely, curious, but nonetheless dead, in a boat at that and her two young nephews are missing to boot. In a perfect storm of wrong place, right time, Sebastian St. Cyr finds himself pulled into another murder mystery just as he is coming to grips with the complicated relationship with his new wife, the dashing Hero, whose character I found richly developed and rather intriguing. The play between the two is Regency-steamy, absolutely enjoyable and slightly aggravating, I am thoroughly looking forward to the next edition to see how they continue on or if they continue to grow together, in the midst of familial ties, complicated politics and the lure of past relationships.

Harris pulls a together a story that kept me reading long into the night and left me hunting for the previous tales to load into my Kindle. Nuanced and laced with snarky wit, an intelligent pair of protagonists and nicely paced, When Maidens Mourn had me thinking about all I had ever heard about the legend of Camelot, King Arthur and the Lady of Shallot. Enjoyable as a stand-alone, I have no doubt that the experience would have been enhanced by prior knowledge of the characters and situations alluded to into the text.

Fans of political intrigue, Arthurian legends, Regency romance and thought-provoking thrillers will be delighted by this unexpectedly captivating text.