C.S. Harris dazzles in WHO CRIES FOR THE LOST, the eighteenth book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series. This Napoleonic historical murder mystery series has been one of my favorite series for years. I eagerly await spring every year for the release of the next St. Cyr book, and WHO CRIES FOR THE LOST rewards my year-long wait with a delicious historical intrigue.
Sebastien St. Cyr is an aristocrat and former officer in His Royal Majesty's army. These days, Sebastien uses his intellect and bent for social justice to track down killers that elude Bow Street. I adore Sebastien so much! He's dogged and canny, and he cares greatly about doing the right thing. Sebastien's wife Hero, daughter to King George's powerful éminence grise, assists Sebastien in his sleuthing as well as pursuing her own vision of social justice for the downtrodden of English society. The juxtaposition of Hero and Sebastien's elevated position in society versus the work that they choose to do on behalf of those much less well-off is a powerful statement and makes me like them even more.
Harris always does a bang-up job of mixing historical facts with her mysteries. Napoleon has just escaped Elba, and the search for a killer in London is set against the backdrop of the national drama of the unfolding Battle of Waterloo. One of the things I like best about Harris is the meticulous research that shines brightly through every page while providing an utterly engaging story. The cast of secondary characters for this series is broad yet nuanced, and I enjoy watching Sebastien and Hero as their lives unfold. Sebastien always gets his man, no matter how tricky the mystery is. WHO CRIES FOR THE LOST provides a great convoluted thriller, with high drama and plenty of historical detail that provides an utterly engrossing read.
Sebastian St. Cyr must confront a savage killer and save his closest friend from the hangman’s noose in this heart-pounding new historical mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of When Blood Lies.
June 1815. The people of London wait, breathlessly, for news as Napoleon and the forces united against him hurtle toward their final reckoning at Waterloo. Among them is Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, frustrated to find himself sidelined while recovering from a dangerous wound he recently received in Paris. When the mutilated corpse of Major Miles Sedgewick surfaces from the murky waters of the Thames, Sebastian is drawn into the investigation of a murder that threatens one of his oldest and dearest friends, Irish surgeon Paul Gibson.
Gibson’s lover, Alexi Sauvage, was tricked into a bigamous marriage with the victim. But there are other women who may have wanted the cruel, faithless Major dead. His mistress, his neglected wife, and their young governess who he seduced all make for compelling suspects. Even more interesting to Sebastian is one of Sedgewick’s fellow officers, a man who shared Sedgewick’s macabre interest in both old English folklore and the occult. And then there’s a valuable list of Londoners who once spied for Napoleon that Sedgewick was said to be transporting to Charles, Lord Jarvis, the Regent’s powerful cousin who also happens to be Sebastian’s own father-in-law.
The deeper Sebastian delves into Sedgewick’s life, the more he learns about the Major’s many secrets and the list of people who could have wanted him dead grows even longer. Soon others connected to Sedgewick begin to die strange, brutal deaths and more evidence emerges that links Alexi to the crimes. Certain that Gibson will be implicated alongside his lover, Sebastian finds himself in a desperate race against time to stop the killings and save his friends from the terror of the gallows.
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