WHO WILL REMEMBER by C.S. Harris

Historical mystery writer C.S. Harris wows with the latest in her Regency British sleuth Sebastian St. Cyr series. WHO WILL REMEMBER is book twenty in this engrossing series, and Harris is still bringing masterful mysteries that captivate me. I eagerly look forward to April every year for the annual St. Cyr release, which is one of my very favorite book series.

Sebastian St. Cyr is a nobleman and retired Napoleonic war military officer who investigates murders. I adore Sebastien. He’s a complex character, smart and daring, with a strong moral compass and an abiding drive to help others.

Each book can stand on its own, but the reader will probably enjoy reading this series in order, as one of the best parts is the intricate relationships between secondary characters here. Sebastien’s wife Hero usually assists him in his investigations, in between her extensive work in helping the poor and downtrodden in England. Hero and Sebastien are a marvelous couple, and I enjoy watching her ferret out secrets from those who would attempt to keep knowledge hidden.

Another delectable part of this series is its rich depiction of historical facts. Harris weaves a robust tapestry of details to bring Regency England to vivid life. WHO WILL REMEMBER employs the struggle of England and France following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, with the huge social upheavals occurring. The “year without a summer” in extraordinarily cold & wet England from a faraway volcanic eruption provides an additional artful backdrop. The exploration of societal foibles is always enjoyable as well.

The mystery is spun out to the final end, with a satisfying solution that surprised and gratified me. The many threads of the mystery tangled throughout the plot to create a delicious suspense. Harris’s WHO WILL REMEMBER is an elaborate feast of intrigue, interpersonal relationships, and a storied past that will delight the mystery reader.

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SUMMARY

The macabre murder of a prominent nobleman throws an already unsettled London into chaos in this electrifying new historical mystery by the USA Today bestselling author of What Cannot Be Said.

August 1816. England is in the grip of what will become known as the Year Without a Summer. Facing the twin crises of a harvest-destroying volcanic winter and the economic disruption caused by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the British monarchy finds itself haunted by the looming threat of bloody riots not seen since the earliest days of the French Revolution. Amidst the turmoil, a dead man is found hanging upside down by one leg in an abandoned chapel, his hands tied behind his back. The pose eerily echoes the image depicted on a tarot card known as Le Pendu, the Hanged Man. The victim—Lord Preston Farnsworth, the younger brother of one of the Regent’s boon companions—was a passionate crusader against what he called the forces of darkness, namely criminality, immorality, and sloth. His brutal murder shocks the Palace and panics the already troubled populace.

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, learns of the murder from a ragged orphan who leads him to the corpse and then disappears. At first, everyone in the dead man’s orbit paints Lord Preston as a selfless saint. But Sebastian quickly realizes that the man had accumulated more than his fair share of enemies, including Major Hugh Chandler, a close friend of Sebastian’s who once saved his life. Sebastian also discovers that the pious Lord Preston may have been much more dangerous than those he sought to redeem.

As dark clouds press down on the city and the rains fall unceasingly, two more victims are found, one strangled and one shot, with ominous tarot cards placed on their bodies. The killer is sending a gruesome message and Sebastian is running out of time to decipher it before more lives are lost and a fraught post-war London explodes.

EXCERPT

BOOK SERIES

Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery