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Sebastian St. Cyr #9
Why Kings Confess
The gruesome murder of a young French physician draws aristocratic investigator Sebastian St. Cyr and his pregnant wife, Hero, into a dangerous, decades-old mystery as a wrenching piece of Sebastian’s past puts him to the ultimate test.
Regency England, January 1813: When a badly injured Frenchwoman is found beside the mutilated body of Dr. Damion Pelletan in one of London’s worst slums, Sebastian finds himself caught in a high-stakes tangle of murder and revenge. Although the woman, Alexi Sauvage, has no memory of the attack, Sebastian knows her all too well from an incident in his past—an act of wartime brutality and betrayal that nearly destroyed him.
As the search for the killer leads Sebastian into a treacherous web of duplicity, he discovers that Pelletan was part of a secret delegation sent by Napoleon to investigate the possibility of peace with Britain. Despite his powerful father-in-law’s warnings, Sebastian plunges deep into the mystery of the "Lost Dauphin”, the boy prince who disappeared in the darkest days of the French Revolution, and soon finds himself at lethal odds with the Dauphin’s sister—the imperious, ruthless daughter of Marie Antoinette—who is determined to retake the French crown at any cost.
With the murderer striking ever closer, Sebastian must battle new fears about Hero’s health and that of their soon-to-be born child. When he realizes the key to their survival may lie in the hands of an old enemy, he must finally face the truth about his own guilt in a past he has found too terrible to consider....
Regency England, January 1813: When a badly injured Frenchwoman is found beside the mutilated body of Dr. Damion Pelletan in one of London’s worst slums, Sebastian finds himself caught in a high-stakes tangle of murder and revenge. Although the woman, Alexi Sauvage, has no memory of the attack, Sebastian knows her all too well from an incident in his past—an act of wartime brutality and betrayal that nearly destroyed him.
As the search for the killer leads Sebastian into a treacherous web of duplicity, he discovers that Pelletan was part of a secret delegation sent by Napoleon to investigate the possibility of peace with Britain. Despite his powerful father-in-law’s warnings, Sebastian plunges deep into the mystery of the "Lost Dauphin”, the boy prince who disappeared in the darkest days of the French Revolution, and soon finds himself at lethal odds with the Dauphin’s sister—the imperious, ruthless daughter of Marie Antoinette—who is determined to retake the French crown at any cost.
With the murderer striking ever closer, Sebastian must battle new fears about Hero’s health and that of their soon-to-be born child. When he realizes the key to their survival may lie in the hands of an old enemy, he must finally face the truth about his own guilt in a past he has found too terrible to consider....
340 pages, Hardcover
First published March 4, 2014
646 people are currently reading
2506 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Harris
23 books2,984 followersCandice Proctor, aka C.S. Harris and C.S. Graham, is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than a dozen novels including the Sebastian St. Cyr Regency mystery series written under the name C.S. Harris, the new C.S. Graham thriller series co-written with Steven Harris, and seven historical romances. She is also the author of a nonfiction historical study of the French Revolution. Her books are available worldwide and have been translated into over twenty different languages.
Candice graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude with a degree in Classics before going on to earn an MA and Ph.D. in history. A former academic, she has taught at the University of Idaho and Midwestern State University in Texas. She also worked as an archaeologist on a variety of sites including a Hudson's Bay Company Fort in San Juan Island, a Cherokee village in Tennessee, a prehistoric kill site in Victoria, Australia, and a Roman cemetery and medieval manor house in Winchester, England. Most recently, she spent many years as a partner in an international business consulting firm.
The daughter of a career Air Force officer and university professor, Proctor loves to travel and has spent much of her life abroad. She has lived in Spain, Greece, England, France, Jordan, and Australia. She now makes her home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband, retired Army officer Steve Harris, her two daughters, and an ever-expanding number of cats.
Candice graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude with a degree in Classics before going on to earn an MA and Ph.D. in history. A former academic, she has taught at the University of Idaho and Midwestern State University in Texas. She also worked as an archaeologist on a variety of sites including a Hudson's Bay Company Fort in San Juan Island, a Cherokee village in Tennessee, a prehistoric kill site in Victoria, Australia, and a Roman cemetery and medieval manor house in Winchester, England. Most recently, she spent many years as a partner in an international business consulting firm.
The daughter of a career Air Force officer and university professor, Proctor loves to travel and has spent much of her life abroad. She has lived in Spain, Greece, England, France, Jordan, and Australia. She now makes her home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband, retired Army officer Steve Harris, her two daughters, and an ever-expanding number of cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 628 reviews
November 10, 2020
4 stars for another book in this excellent historical fiction/mystery series. It is set in London, January 1813. This is book 9 in the series and I recommend that you read them in order, as there are continuing plot developments in Sebastian St. Cyr's personal life. Sebastian, or Viscount Devlin, heir to the Earl of Hendon, likes to solve murders without pay. He is wealthy and does not worry about money.
Devlin's friend from his army days, Doctor Paul Gibson, comes across a badly mutilated body and a severely injured woman. He asks Devlin to investigate. Devlin is warned off by his hostile father-in-law, Lord Jarvis, one of the most powerful men in Britain. Jarvis despises Devlin and hates Devlin for marrying his daughter Hero. Devlin has no love for Jarvis, since Jarvis once tried to have Devlin killed.
Despite this, Devlin does investigate. He is attacked and almost killed several times, but miraculously escapes every time. The murderers attacking Devlin is a recurring theme in each book.
Devlin does solve the case, with the help of Gibson, Hero and others. There were several different suspects and I was not sure who the murderer was until the end.
Some quotes:
London winter: "Th e sun was a distant golden ball in a frigid blue sky, but there was no warmth in its brittle light."
Description of a Frenchman member of a peace delegation: "Harmond Vaundreuil drew up in the shadow of the chapel's modest portico. He was built small and rotund, with fat fingers and a short neck swathed in a voluminous white cravat."
Hero's doctor: "The problem, my lady, is that your humors are out of balance." He proposes to solve this by bloodletting--no less than 2 pints, so she will have a successful pregnancy.
This was a library book.
Devlin's friend from his army days, Doctor Paul Gibson, comes across a badly mutilated body and a severely injured woman. He asks Devlin to investigate. Devlin is warned off by his hostile father-in-law, Lord Jarvis, one of the most powerful men in Britain. Jarvis despises Devlin and hates Devlin for marrying his daughter Hero. Devlin has no love for Jarvis, since Jarvis once tried to have Devlin killed.
Despite this, Devlin does investigate. He is attacked and almost killed several times, but miraculously escapes every time. The murderers attacking Devlin is a recurring theme in each book.
Devlin does solve the case, with the help of Gibson, Hero and others. There were several different suspects and I was not sure who the murderer was until the end.
Some quotes:
London winter: "Th e sun was a distant golden ball in a frigid blue sky, but there was no warmth in its brittle light."
Description of a Frenchman member of a peace delegation: "Harmond Vaundreuil drew up in the shadow of the chapel's modest portico. He was built small and rotund, with fat fingers and a short neck swathed in a voluminous white cravat."
Hero's doctor: "The problem, my lady, is that your humors are out of balance." He proposes to solve this by bloodletting--no less than 2 pints, so she will have a successful pregnancy.
This was a library book.
September 2, 2016
Well I am pretty much at the point now where for me C.S. Harris can do no wrong! Nine lovely books in this series so far and she has not put a step out of line.
This particular episode contained the usual gruesome murders, political scheming and near death experiences for our favourite main characters. There were also several really romantic bits and a near perfect ending serving up something we have been waiting for for a while!
I enjoy these books for the author's writing skills, her historical research and the fact that she invented Sebastian and Hero. I am already looking forward to the next one.
This particular episode contained the usual gruesome murders, political scheming and near death experiences for our favourite main characters. There were also several really romantic bits and a near perfect ending serving up something we have been waiting for for a while!
I enjoy these books for the author's writing skills, her historical research and the fact that she invented Sebastian and Hero. I am already looking forward to the next one.
November 21, 2016
This is an excellent series. It is a historical mystery. I just love historical mysteries.
When surgeon Paul Gibson finds Damion Pelletan’s body in a shady section of London, he’s horrified to see that someone has cut out Pelletan’s heart. The dead man’s companion, Alexandrie Sauvage,
is also a physician, but she gives little help in the investigation
Gibson launches with his friend Sebastian St. Cyr. The two
are an unlikely combination: Gibson is a one-legged, opium-addicted son of poor Irish Catholics, and Sebastian St. Cyr is Viscount
Devlin. Pelletan was the personal physician of a diplomat who, it’s rumored, is part of a delegation to negotiate peace between Napoleon and the prince regent. The failure of this plan, however, would seriously benefit certain parties, including a wealthy Scots arms dealer and the Bourbons in exile in England.
Devlin is also suspicious of the motives of his ruthless father-in-law, cousin to the prince regent and the real power behind the throne.
While Devlin tries to make sense of the connection between Pelletan and the French royal family, he worries about his beloved wife, Hero, who is nine months pregnant and facing a difficult delivery. The person who can best help her is Alexandrie Sauvage—and she’s vowed to kill Devlin.
Devlin’s love for his heroic wife is the book’s saving element, just as she is the saving of him.
When surgeon Paul Gibson finds Damion Pelletan’s body in a shady section of London, he’s horrified to see that someone has cut out Pelletan’s heart. The dead man’s companion, Alexandrie Sauvage,
is also a physician, but she gives little help in the investigation
Gibson launches with his friend Sebastian St. Cyr. The two
are an unlikely combination: Gibson is a one-legged, opium-addicted son of poor Irish Catholics, and Sebastian St. Cyr is Viscount
Devlin. Pelletan was the personal physician of a diplomat who, it’s rumored, is part of a delegation to negotiate peace between Napoleon and the prince regent. The failure of this plan, however, would seriously benefit certain parties, including a wealthy Scots arms dealer and the Bourbons in exile in England.
Devlin is also suspicious of the motives of his ruthless father-in-law, cousin to the prince regent and the real power behind the throne.
While Devlin tries to make sense of the connection between Pelletan and the French royal family, he worries about his beloved wife, Hero, who is nine months pregnant and facing a difficult delivery. The person who can best help her is Alexandrie Sauvage—and she’s vowed to kill Devlin.
Devlin’s love for his heroic wife is the book’s saving element, just as she is the saving of him.
November 23, 2023
5★
“The fog was so thick it could strangle a man if he made the mistake of breathing too deeply, and Gibson could feel the beads of moisture-encrusted grit reddening his eyes, until between the fog and his own watering vision he was nearly blind. And still he hurried on.”
London’s air in the early 1800s would have knocked me out, I’m sure. Gibson has endured worse. He is a close friend of Sebastian St Cyr, Viscount Devlin, with whom he served in the army. Both men have left the army behind, but not the memories and nightmares. Devlin has carried a badly injured young woman to Gibson’s surgery.
“He was looking unusually haggard, even for Gibson, his cheeks hollow and unshaven, his green eyes sunken and bloodshot, his wiry frame close to emaciated. He was only in his early thirties, yet streaks of gray already showed at the temples of his dark hair.
The two men came from different worlds, one the son of a poor Irish Catholic, the other heir to the powerful Earl of Hendon. But they were old friends. Once, they’d both worn the King’s colors, fighting from the mountains of Italy to the fever-racked swamps of the West Indies and the stony uplands of Iberia. As a regimental surgeon, Gibson had learned the secrets of life and death with an intimate familiarity rarely matched by his civilian peers. When a French cannonball tore off the lower part of one of his legs and left him bedeviled by chronic pain, he had come here, to London, to share his knowledge of anatomy at the teaching hospitals of St. Thomas’s and St. Bartholomew’s, and to open this small surgery in the shadow of the Tower of London.”
I’ve quoted all of this to give readers a feel for how the author catches up even enthusiastic fans of the series who may not recall everything. It also reinforces the source of Gibson’s pain and his reason for opium use.
This is January, 1813, and Devlin is embroiled in yet more murder investigations, although he isn’t working much with Bow Street this time. The victims, as they accrue, are all connected with the French and English royal families, with which Devlin is, of course, familiar, being one of the nobility himself.
The Napoleonic Wars are cruel beyond belief, but they are making some men rich, and both countries are full of spies and conspirators. A secret proposal for a peace mission isn't welcomed by everyone.
The intrigue between royal families is complicated enough that the author has printed an abbreviated family tree of the French Royal Family from Louis XV (1710-1774) to Louis XVI who was executed with his wife, Marie-Antoinette, in 1793, after the French Revolution.
It is their daughter, Marie-Therese, “Daughter of France”, who is a central character in this story. She is living in England, as are many of the French royals in exile.
The other story arc, of course, is that of Sebastian (Lord Devlin) and his wife Hero, who is due to give birth soon. She is an intelligent, strong-willed woman being attended to by the highly-regarded accoucheur (obstetrician) to the nobility. She is not to walk or eat much, and she’s to purge herself – a lot. It’s no wonder childbirth was so deadly.
“‘My lady, I beg of you; you must trust me in this.’ He brought up his hands, palms together, as if he were praying. ‘Your color is too robust, and you have far too much energy. At this point, patients who follow my strictures are pale and languid, as befits a woman about to give birth. I shall have to bleed you again.’”
Not bloody likely, pardon my French. Hero is the formidable daughter of the all-powerful Lord Jarvis, the power behind the Prince Regent’s throne. The doctor underestimates her at his peril.
Lest you think it’s all grim London fog and the stench of the Thames, I will add this bit from Devlin’s race across the countryside, trying not to be gone from his pregnant wife too long, just in case.
“They drove through misty flat meadows filled with frost-whitened grass, and sleepy villages with stone-walled, thatched-roof cottages and wind-ruffled millponds where ducks foraged amongst the freeze-nipped reeds that grew in the shallows. The sun rose in a muted pink haze above winter-bared stands of elm and birch, and still they pressed on, the team’s galloping hooves eating up the miles, their heaving sides dark with sweat by the time Tom blew up for the change.”
Such a good series!
My reviews of the previous books:
1. What Angels Fear
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2. When Gods Die
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3. Why Mermaids Sing
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4. Where Serpents Sleep
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
5. What Remains of Heaven
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
6. Where Shadows Dance
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
7. When Maidens Mourn
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
8. What Darkness Brings
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
“The fog was so thick it could strangle a man if he made the mistake of breathing too deeply, and Gibson could feel the beads of moisture-encrusted grit reddening his eyes, until between the fog and his own watering vision he was nearly blind. And still he hurried on.”
London’s air in the early 1800s would have knocked me out, I’m sure. Gibson has endured worse. He is a close friend of Sebastian St Cyr, Viscount Devlin, with whom he served in the army. Both men have left the army behind, but not the memories and nightmares. Devlin has carried a badly injured young woman to Gibson’s surgery.
“He was looking unusually haggard, even for Gibson, his cheeks hollow and unshaven, his green eyes sunken and bloodshot, his wiry frame close to emaciated. He was only in his early thirties, yet streaks of gray already showed at the temples of his dark hair.
The two men came from different worlds, one the son of a poor Irish Catholic, the other heir to the powerful Earl of Hendon. But they were old friends. Once, they’d both worn the King’s colors, fighting from the mountains of Italy to the fever-racked swamps of the West Indies and the stony uplands of Iberia. As a regimental surgeon, Gibson had learned the secrets of life and death with an intimate familiarity rarely matched by his civilian peers. When a French cannonball tore off the lower part of one of his legs and left him bedeviled by chronic pain, he had come here, to London, to share his knowledge of anatomy at the teaching hospitals of St. Thomas’s and St. Bartholomew’s, and to open this small surgery in the shadow of the Tower of London.”
I’ve quoted all of this to give readers a feel for how the author catches up even enthusiastic fans of the series who may not recall everything. It also reinforces the source of Gibson’s pain and his reason for opium use.
This is January, 1813, and Devlin is embroiled in yet more murder investigations, although he isn’t working much with Bow Street this time. The victims, as they accrue, are all connected with the French and English royal families, with which Devlin is, of course, familiar, being one of the nobility himself.
The Napoleonic Wars are cruel beyond belief, but they are making some men rich, and both countries are full of spies and conspirators. A secret proposal for a peace mission isn't welcomed by everyone.
The intrigue between royal families is complicated enough that the author has printed an abbreviated family tree of the French Royal Family from Louis XV (1710-1774) to Louis XVI who was executed with his wife, Marie-Antoinette, in 1793, after the French Revolution.
It is their daughter, Marie-Therese, “Daughter of France”, who is a central character in this story. She is living in England, as are many of the French royals in exile.
The other story arc, of course, is that of Sebastian (Lord Devlin) and his wife Hero, who is due to give birth soon. She is an intelligent, strong-willed woman being attended to by the highly-regarded accoucheur (obstetrician) to the nobility. She is not to walk or eat much, and she’s to purge herself – a lot. It’s no wonder childbirth was so deadly.
“‘My lady, I beg of you; you must trust me in this.’ He brought up his hands, palms together, as if he were praying. ‘Your color is too robust, and you have far too much energy. At this point, patients who follow my strictures are pale and languid, as befits a woman about to give birth. I shall have to bleed you again.’”
Not bloody likely, pardon my French. Hero is the formidable daughter of the all-powerful Lord Jarvis, the power behind the Prince Regent’s throne. The doctor underestimates her at his peril.
Lest you think it’s all grim London fog and the stench of the Thames, I will add this bit from Devlin’s race across the countryside, trying not to be gone from his pregnant wife too long, just in case.
“They drove through misty flat meadows filled with frost-whitened grass, and sleepy villages with stone-walled, thatched-roof cottages and wind-ruffled millponds where ducks foraged amongst the freeze-nipped reeds that grew in the shallows. The sun rose in a muted pink haze above winter-bared stands of elm and birch, and still they pressed on, the team’s galloping hooves eating up the miles, their heaving sides dark with sweat by the time Tom blew up for the change.”
Such a good series!
My reviews of the previous books:
1. What Angels Fear
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2. When Gods Die
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3. Why Mermaids Sing
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4. Where Serpents Sleep
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
5. What Remains of Heaven
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
6. Where Shadows Dance
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
7. When Maidens Mourn
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
8. What Darkness Brings
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
November 14, 2018
Another very complicated mystery!
Is the first dead man, whose heart has been riped from his body, the lost Dauphin? Who killed him or order him killed? His own sister Marie-Therese? The English? The French?
Sebastian has to answer all these questions before solving the mystery. And all that while Hero is having problems with her pregnancy and his friend, Gibson, is slowly spiralling into his opium addiction and falling for a woman, Alexi, risen from Sebastian's bloody past in Portugal!
Alexi is also the only one who can help Hero, but Sebastian doesn't trust her at all!
There're many suspects, but while the number of murdered people increases, some of them fit as murderer of some of the dead, but nobody fits completly. It was fun to read how he sorted everything!
I loved his moments with Hero! His love for her has grown very strong and while he's still keeping some secrets from her, he's also very tender and gentle. Nobody could doubt his feelings!
The historical bits are very ineteresting too!
For example, the facts about child delivering and the diet pregnant women were submitted to are so incredible! I'm in awe of the women of that time! Their lives were really in peril with the idiots who thought themselves physicians! They' were charlatans who knew nothing aboout women!
Ah, the afterword by the author are as interesing as the book itself!
Another wonderful book!
Is the first dead man, whose heart has been riped from his body, the lost Dauphin? Who killed him or order him killed? His own sister Marie-Therese? The English? The French?
Sebastian has to answer all these questions before solving the mystery. And all that while Hero is having problems with her pregnancy and his friend, Gibson, is slowly spiralling into his opium addiction and falling for a woman, Alexi, risen from Sebastian's bloody past in Portugal!
Alexi is also the only one who can help Hero, but Sebastian doesn't trust her at all!
There're many suspects, but while the number of murdered people increases, some of them fit as murderer of some of the dead, but nobody fits completly. It was fun to read how he sorted everything!
I loved his moments with Hero! His love for her has grown very strong and while he's still keeping some secrets from her, he's also very tender and gentle. Nobody could doubt his feelings!
The historical bits are very ineteresting too!
For example, the facts about child delivering and the diet pregnant women were submitted to are so incredible! I'm in awe of the women of that time! Their lives were really in peril with the idiots who thought themselves physicians! They' were charlatans who knew nothing aboout women!
Ah, the afterword by the author are as interesing as the book itself!
Another wonderful book!
September 11, 2016
Sebastian St. Cyr is greatly challenged with this most recent crime. French physician Damion Pelletan is found murdered in the alley of St. Katharines, a poor section of London. His mutilated body was discovered by Paul Gibson after first encountering Damion's unconscious companion, Alexandrie Sauvage, lying nearby.
The course of the investigation was pretty complicated as it was entangled with French history and politics, as well as English interests and Lord Jarvis. As usual, while there were many suspects, none seem to completely fit when other seemingly related murders entered the fray. I must admit it got too complicated and repetitive at times.
Meanwhile, Sebastian's relationship with Hero was a highlight of the story. They continue to be an interesting, well-suited couple who enliven the story. There's also a surprise development involving Paul that I found delightful.
While the investigation felt a little protracted, the superior writing and historical elements still made this an outstanding story. My memory is weak on Napoleonic history and the resurrection of the Bourbons so this was an interesting education. Be sure to read the author's notes at the end.
This continues to be one of my favorite series.
The course of the investigation was pretty complicated as it was entangled with French history and politics, as well as English interests and Lord Jarvis. As usual, while there were many suspects, none seem to completely fit when other seemingly related murders entered the fray. I must admit it got too complicated and repetitive at times.
Meanwhile, Sebastian's relationship with Hero was a highlight of the story. They continue to be an interesting, well-suited couple who enliven the story. There's also a surprise development involving Paul that I found delightful.
While the investigation felt a little protracted, the superior writing and historical elements still made this an outstanding story. My memory is weak on Napoleonic history and the resurrection of the Bourbons so this was an interesting education. Be sure to read the author's notes at the end.
This continues to be one of my favorite series.
July 29, 2018
This ninth book in the Sebastian St. Cyr stories is every bit as strong as previous ones, though I swear I liked it maybe even more than the preceding books. For one thing, Sebastian has a number of scenes that really highlight just how totally cool and deserving of his own series he is. It also features some quite modern themes, including a very closeted transgender community, frank discussions of opioid addiction, as well as domestic violence. Sebastian and his small cohort of like-minded family and friends stand out in this world Harris as constructed as progressive voices on issues that resonate as much today as they did more than two hundred years ago. I really appreciate too the artfulness and subtlety on the author's part in depicting Sebastian as an open-minded and tolerant man of his age. All of these issues occur organically in the book without any preachy insertions. We simply observe Sebastian reacting with respect and fairness over and over in quiet and humble scenes. Some of the scenes in this book are very moving.
The book picks up eight months into Sebastian's and Hero's marriage with a very pregnant Hero awaiting the impending birth of their child. Pregnancy complications create some genuine suspense and the resolution was a particularly happy note in what is otherwise a fairly bleak book about the murder of French exiles in London. I learned quite a lot about the dispersal of the French royal family following the Revolution, and the mystery of the child Dauphin. We also learn more of Sebastian's past war traumas as well, which serves to illuminate more of what has shaped Sebastian into the man he is in present day.
Of particular note in this book is the addition of Alexi Sauvage, a love interest (finally!) for Gibson. She fits in so well with this tight community of people important to Sebastian and I look forward to reading more about her in the upcoming books.
Finally, this is the book that presents Hero and Sebastian's child, and the baby's arrival offers a lovely ending to a fantastic book.
The book picks up eight months into Sebastian's and Hero's marriage with a very pregnant Hero awaiting the impending birth of their child. Pregnancy complications create some genuine suspense and the resolution was a particularly happy note in what is otherwise a fairly bleak book about the murder of French exiles in London. I learned quite a lot about the dispersal of the French royal family following the Revolution, and the mystery of the child Dauphin. We also learn more of Sebastian's past war traumas as well, which serves to illuminate more of what has shaped Sebastian into the man he is in present day.
Of particular note in this book is the addition of Alexi Sauvage, a love interest (finally!) for Gibson. She fits in so well with this tight community of people important to Sebastian and I look forward to reading more about her in the upcoming books.
Finally, this is the book that presents Hero and Sebastian's child, and the baby's arrival offers a lovely ending to a fantastic book.
September 3, 2017
I'm continuing to enjoy this excellent series of historical mysteries. The main characters, Sebastian St Cyr and Hero Jarvis continue to grow and their relationship is deepening as they become true friends and allies as well as soulmates. Sebastian continues his role of amateur investigator when a young French doctor is found killed in an alley with his heart removed. Sebastian must collect all the random pieces of this puzzle to determine if his death is this part of a current day political intrigue involving a peace delegation from Paris or an older story that goes back many years involving the deposed French Royal family, the Bourbons, in exile in England.
What I really love about this series is not only the great writing in developing a really intriguing mystery and the ongoing development of the characters, but also the firm setting in history and the historical facts and explanations that the author includes in her epilogue. I'm hoping C.S. Harris intends to make this a very long series with many more great books to come.
What I really love about this series is not only the great writing in developing a really intriguing mystery and the ongoing development of the characters, but also the firm setting in history and the historical facts and explanations that the author includes in her epilogue. I'm hoping C.S. Harris intends to make this a very long series with many more great books to come.
December 10, 2019
I've been pretty stingy with my ratings regarding this series -- despite the obvious fun I'm having by doing nothing but read these damn books for days -- and so while this might not rank up with my other five star reads.. honestly, I don't know why I even bother to think I need to justify one to the other.
This is as close as we've come to perfect all series (imo, obvs) and so I'm awarding it top marks. This one put me through literally almost all the emotions. I need a nap. Instead.. hello book ten.
This is as close as we've come to perfect all series (imo, obvs) and so I'm awarding it top marks. This one put me through literally almost all the emotions. I need a nap. Instead.. hello book ten.
December 31, 2022
These books are just plain addictive. I buzz right through one and can't wait to start the next. The different layers and plots just make me want to continue this series. Here there were several really good suspects, but no one seems to fit all the different murders and the attempts on Sebastian's life. Quite puzzling, right to the end. Loved how Hero and Sebastian are growing together and their baby also grows. When complications happen, it is great to see how very much Hero has come to mean to Sebastian.
While on a ramble in the dead of night on the mean streets of London, Dr. Paul Gibson comes across a badly injured woman and her dead, mutilated companion. Gibson calls Sebastian and throws him into both the terrible past of the French Revolution and his own personal hell of his time of war in Portugal. The man is Dr. Damion Pelletan, a French physician attached to a secret delegation seeking to negotiate peace between France and England. The woman turns out to be his sister, also a physician, and a specter from Sebastian's past.
When Alexi Sauvage regains consciousness, she has no memory of what happened. But she does remember Sebastian. As Sebastian attempts to piece together what happened he is drawn into the intrigue of the different factions seeking to wield power at that time and finding the killer is complicated by the mystery of what happened to the boy prince who died after the French Revolution, or did he? With the competing factions all having reasons to commit murder one thing is certain - Sebastian has a lot of suspects and few solid pieces of evidence.
While on a ramble in the dead of night on the mean streets of London, Dr. Paul Gibson comes across a badly injured woman and her dead, mutilated companion. Gibson calls Sebastian and throws him into both the terrible past of the French Revolution and his own personal hell of his time of war in Portugal. The man is Dr. Damion Pelletan, a French physician attached to a secret delegation seeking to negotiate peace between France and England. The woman turns out to be his sister, also a physician, and a specter from Sebastian's past.
When Alexi Sauvage regains consciousness, she has no memory of what happened. But she does remember Sebastian. As Sebastian attempts to piece together what happened he is drawn into the intrigue of the different factions seeking to wield power at that time and finding the killer is complicated by the mystery of what happened to the boy prince who died after the French Revolution, or did he? With the competing factions all having reasons to commit murder one thing is certain - Sebastian has a lot of suspects and few solid pieces of evidence.
June 27, 2021
5 STARS
Still loving these! And I'm so happy, I've been waiting for something good to happen for our favorite Irish surgeon. Finally... finally.
Sorry, can't tally here writing, on to book 10.
He who covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. - Proverbs 28:13
Still loving these! And I'm so happy, I've been waiting for something good to happen for our favorite Irish surgeon. Finally... finally.
Sorry, can't tally here writing, on to book 10.
March 18, 2019
Possibly my favorite so far.
January 30, 2020
Audio: 5 STARS!!
Story: 5+ STARS!!
This is my favorite installment yet! So much happened in this one....and it was all so very satisfying. I cannot recommend this series enough!
Story: 5+ STARS!!
This is my favorite installment yet! So much happened in this one....and it was all so very satisfying. I cannot recommend this series enough!
May 16, 2019
Very good! As well as being an highly entertaining historical fiction series, I always learn interesting facts and see my existing knowledge in a new light, when I read CS Harris’s books. I know there was a revolution in France in 1789, but I didn’t stop to wonder what happened to the aristocracy who escaped and the Bourbons in particular. In fact I didn’t realise Bourbon was the family name. Well it turns out a large chunk of them ended up as emigres in Britain and it is on this, that the plot of this book is based. Highly enjoyable plus informative read. Recommended series.
December 20, 2019
We seem to have moved forward in leaps and bounds past certain stupid issues.
The mystery was Uber political with a sort of cheap shot explanation.
That one relationship is aces. And this other one? I don’t trust it.
This book didn’t have nearly enough Tom.
I was excited that Sebastian opened up a little to us.
The mystery was Uber political with a sort of cheap shot explanation.
That one relationship is aces. And this other one? I don’t trust it.
This book didn’t have nearly enough Tom.
I was excited that Sebastian opened up a little to us.
March 24, 2024
Let me start off by saying this is a series I very much enjoy. Davina Porter is a dream to listen to and I give her 5*. I know many love this book, I am not one of them. I would give it a 2.5*. I found it a bore. The mystery was thin and the reveal was a let down. The story had almost none of the main characters of previous books but did introduce a new one, Alexi. I thought Sebastian just kept going in one big circle and I struggled to finish the book.
August 30, 2024
Devlin's friend, Doctor Paul Gibson, happens to find a badly mutilated body and a severely injured woman. He asks Devlin to investigate. Devlin is warned off by his hostile father-in-law, Lord Jarvis, who is one of the most powerful men in Britain. Jarvis despises Devlin and hates him for marrying his daughter Hero. The feelings are mutual as Devlin has no love for Jarvis either. Maybe the fact that he once tried to have Devlin killed might contribute a lot to his feelings about the man. Despite of all this, Devlin does say he will investigate. Several times he is attacked and almost killed but manages to escape every time. Of course, he does...there's more books that he has to come and save people and the country. Murderers that attack Devlin is a common theme in each book in this series. Devlin does solve the case with the help of Paul Gibson, Hero and others. There were several different suspects, and I was not sure who the murderer was until the end. This was not my favorite of this series, but it was made more enjoyable because it was the group read for this month, so different folks had different ideas about the story.
December 21, 2018
Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, likes the following things: 1) his wife; 2) his house; 3) his cat. He also solves murders! And in this particular novel there is a variety pack of dead people and also a good chunk of the displaced French monarchy. After solving this particular murder, he rushes to his threatened wife's aid only to discover that Hero Devlin GETS SHIT DONE.
1. Hero fucking Devlin: smashing in bad dude's heads with a fire poker and assisting in putting out a corpse fire while NINE MONTHS PREGNANT WITH SEBASTIAN ST CYR'S BOUNCING BABY BOY.
2. ADDITIONAL QUOTES BECAUSE I CAN:
3. I was rather disappointed by the plot, actually. Some of the twists and turns felt a little overwrought; I suspected one of the Major Revelations very early on, was actually pleasantly surprised that the book wasn't bothering to go that cliche route, and then had to deal with it when the book actually DID go there. I also thought some of the philosophizing over madness was a bit too on the nose, especially in light of the "cold calculations" of the major villain.
It also is starting to bother me that Sebastian's confrontations with the murderers ends with the murderers dead. Part of it is clearly that there is no true way to hold some of these particular killers accountable for the atrocities they committed in the landscape that was Regency England, but it does tend to become a somewhat rote ending: Sebastian figures it out! He lets the villain monologue! They fight (or flee), and die! Sebastian races to save the threatened witness / bystander / wife / cat, and then provides a handy summary of the events to the authorities. The end.
4. Sebastian's crawling fear that Hero won't survive childbirth is a god-damned revelation. ("He wanted to tell her that the thought of losing her terrified him, that he could no longer even imagine a life without her in it. Yet he'd never said these to her, never even whispered those three simple words, 'I love you.'" I MEAN: !!!!)
5. PAUL GIBSON: GET IT, DOC! I enjoyed his growing relationship with Alexi although I could have done without the ~~lingering ghosts of wartime past nonsense with her and Sebastian: it felt somewhat superfluously antagonistic without purpose beyond stretching out the revelations about her brother's past. But lady doctors flirting with Gibson is good stuff and I approve.
6. I also approve Hero Jarvis Devlin throwing out asshole doctors like nobody's business.
7. THAT FORESHADOWING THO ABOUT CROFT! READER, I WAS AFLUTTER.
1. Hero fucking Devlin: smashing in bad dude's heads with a fire poker and assisting in putting out a corpse fire while NINE MONTHS PREGNANT WITH SEBASTIAN ST CYR'S BOUNCING BABY BOY.
2. ADDITIONAL QUOTES BECAUSE I CAN:
He paused in the doorway for a moment, just for the pleasure of looking at her. She was an unusually tall woman with large, clear gray eyes, an aquiline nose, and the kind of strong facial structure that was generally described as "handsome" rather than pretty. He had disliked her intensely the first time he met her. Now he wondered how he could ever live without her.16% of the way into this thing and the path is already clear!
3. I was rather disappointed by the plot, actually. Some of the twists and turns felt a little overwrought; I suspected one of the Major Revelations very early on, was actually pleasantly surprised that the book wasn't bothering to go that cliche route, and then had to deal with it when the book actually DID go there. I also thought some of the philosophizing over madness was a bit too on the nose, especially in light of the "cold calculations" of the major villain.
It also is starting to bother me that Sebastian's confrontations with the murderers ends with the murderers dead. Part of it is clearly that there is no true way to hold some of these particular killers accountable for the atrocities they committed in the landscape that was Regency England, but it does tend to become a somewhat rote ending: Sebastian figures it out! He lets the villain monologue! They fight (or flee), and die! Sebastian races to save the threatened witness / bystander / wife / cat, and then provides a handy summary of the events to the authorities. The end.
4. Sebastian's crawling fear that Hero won't survive childbirth is a god-damned revelation. ("He wanted to tell her that the thought of losing her terrified him, that he could no longer even imagine a life without her in it. Yet he'd never said these to her, never even whispered those three simple words, 'I love you.'" I MEAN: !!!!)
5. PAUL GIBSON: GET IT, DOC! I enjoyed his growing relationship with Alexi although I could have done without the ~~lingering ghosts of wartime past nonsense with her and Sebastian: it felt somewhat superfluously antagonistic without purpose beyond stretching out the revelations about her brother's past. But lady doctors flirting with Gibson is good stuff and I approve.
6. I also approve Hero Jarvis Devlin throwing out asshole doctors like nobody's business.
7. THAT FORESHADOWING THO ABOUT CROFT! READER, I WAS AFLUTTER.
March 20, 2014
There are some mysteries of history that are just incredibly fascinating to me and I love it when fiction authors do their homework and tackle these mysteries with a credible explanation of their own. The fact that a true life mystery like the Lost Dauphin of France being blended in with a murder that only the redoubtable Sebastian St. Cyr and his intelligent wife, Hero can solve is just bonus. I love this series both for the cunning mysteries, authentic backdrop and well drawn characters, but the on going reveal of Sebastian's past and the continuing story lines involving the regular supporting cast make each installment a must read.
In this story, Sebastian is confronted by the horrid death of a French physician who is part of a secret delegation to London for the purpose of feeling out the chance of a peace treaty. The only possible witness is a woman who can't remember the event because she was bashed in the head and Sebastian is given a startling turn when he realizes that she is someone from one the darkest moments of his past.
In the meanwhile, Hero nears the end of her pregnancy and Sebastian is terrified that he will lose her to the dangers of childbirth. She is tranquil and confident even encouraging him to stay busy with his investigation which she can't help but dip her finger into as well. Sebastian slowly but surely tracks down clues and connections even as danger stalks his heels. It is when the murderer strikes again that people get rattled enough to let go of some rather disturbing secrets that might shake the House of Bourbon in exile if the rumors are true.
This was one of the less intense investigations that Sebastian has, but no less engaging for all that. His private life worrying about Hero and their baby almost makes up for it. There was not a lack for motives, suspects or even clues for that matter. Though it didn't all fit together until the final pieces were added in. I do confess to still only having a vague idea about how the second murder fits in. It's possible I missed the confirming explanation. I thought it rather exciting that the Lost Dauphin myth played a huge part in this one and I am now intrigued by Marie-Therese enough to go do further research on her. Ms. Harris left a nice historical note at the end of the story (which she does in each book actually) discussing a little more about her research.
So all in all, it was another great installment in the series and I look forward to the next one. Historical mystery fans particularly those that feature a husband/wife detective team and a bit of an ongoing personal side story should give these a try.
In this story, Sebastian is confronted by the horrid death of a French physician who is part of a secret delegation to London for the purpose of feeling out the chance of a peace treaty. The only possible witness is a woman who can't remember the event because she was bashed in the head and Sebastian is given a startling turn when he realizes that she is someone from one the darkest moments of his past.
In the meanwhile, Hero nears the end of her pregnancy and Sebastian is terrified that he will lose her to the dangers of childbirth. She is tranquil and confident even encouraging him to stay busy with his investigation which she can't help but dip her finger into as well. Sebastian slowly but surely tracks down clues and connections even as danger stalks his heels. It is when the murderer strikes again that people get rattled enough to let go of some rather disturbing secrets that might shake the House of Bourbon in exile if the rumors are true.
This was one of the less intense investigations that Sebastian has, but no less engaging for all that. His private life worrying about Hero and their baby almost makes up for it. There was not a lack for motives, suspects or even clues for that matter. Though it didn't all fit together until the final pieces were added in. I do confess to still only having a vague idea about how the second murder fits in. It's possible I missed the confirming explanation. I thought it rather exciting that the Lost Dauphin myth played a huge part in this one and I am now intrigued by Marie-Therese enough to go do further research on her. Ms. Harris left a nice historical note at the end of the story (which she does in each book actually) discussing a little more about her research.
So all in all, it was another great installment in the series and I look forward to the next one. Historical mystery fans particularly those that feature a husband/wife detective team and a bit of an ongoing personal side story should give these a try.
February 11, 2017
Why Kings Confess
4.5 Stars
In his latest case, Regency investigator, Sebastian St. Cyr becomes involved in a wicked web of political intrigue and murder when the body of a young French doctor is discovered in the slums of London. As Sebastian investigates, he discovers the victim's connection not only to a secret peace delegation sent by Napoleon, but also his link to the remaining French royals living in exile in England. Was the murder a result of these connections?
The excellent historical research, suspenseful mysteries and wonderful characterization make this one of my absolute favorite series.
In this installment, the mystery revolves around the French Revolution and its aftermath, particularly for the surviving members of the House of Bourbon. As someone whose interest in history has focused mainly on Britain, the details on the French royal family living in exile during Napoleon's regime and the theories concerning the death of the Dauphin were particularly fascinating. As always, Harris's research is comprehensive and impeccable.
Sebastian's investigation is one of the more convoluted in the series with an abundance of suspects, motives, secrets and lies to work through. That said, the ultimate explanation is compelling and believable although the clues to the villain's identity are somewhat vague, which makes it difficult for the reader to guess.
In terms of the characters, Sebastian and Hero are expecting the birth of their child and the issues of pregnancy and childbirth in the Regency era are at the fore. Sebastian's concern over his wife's health and his fear that either she or the baby or both might not survive really brings home just how much she has come to mean to him.
Readers also learn more about Sebastian's past during his time in the Peninsular War and the horrors that he witnessed.
All in all, a particularly satisfying installment and it will be interesting to see what happens going forward.
4.5 Stars
In his latest case, Regency investigator, Sebastian St. Cyr becomes involved in a wicked web of political intrigue and murder when the body of a young French doctor is discovered in the slums of London. As Sebastian investigates, he discovers the victim's connection not only to a secret peace delegation sent by Napoleon, but also his link to the remaining French royals living in exile in England. Was the murder a result of these connections?
The excellent historical research, suspenseful mysteries and wonderful characterization make this one of my absolute favorite series.
In this installment, the mystery revolves around the French Revolution and its aftermath, particularly for the surviving members of the House of Bourbon. As someone whose interest in history has focused mainly on Britain, the details on the French royal family living in exile during Napoleon's regime and the theories concerning the death of the Dauphin were particularly fascinating. As always, Harris's research is comprehensive and impeccable.
Sebastian's investigation is one of the more convoluted in the series with an abundance of suspects, motives, secrets and lies to work through. That said, the ultimate explanation is compelling and believable although the clues to the villain's identity are somewhat vague, which makes it difficult for the reader to guess.
In terms of the characters, Sebastian and Hero are expecting the birth of their child and the issues of pregnancy and childbirth in the Regency era are at the fore. Sebastian's concern over his wife's health and his fear that either she or the baby or both might not survive really brings home just how much she has come to mean to him.
Readers also learn more about Sebastian's past during his time in the Peninsular War and the horrors that he witnessed.
All in all, a particularly satisfying installment and it will be interesting to see what happens going forward.
March 23, 2021
Complex plot involving a French delegation from Napoleon exploring peace talks, the French royal family, French emigrees and a series of butchered bodies. Hero is due any day and in true Hero fashion has chased out her fashionable doctor. Dr Paul Gibson finds himself looking after an injured French woman with a past. A past that impinges on Sebastian and has us learning more of the awful scenes he encountered during the war.
Another stellar read!
Another stellar read!
April 14, 2020
I savored this as this was the only remaining book of the 14 book series that I had yet to read. Harris's mysteries are complex and enriched in factual historical details. This series features an amazing cast of characters that care for more than "who done it," that in the process, both Sebastian and Hero end up revealing all the frailties and the fallibilties of their times. This was indeed a heartbreaking and at times a desolate read.
December 8, 2021
This is the first time I've been disappointed in one of these stories. Several things just didn't add up, and characters were having to go OOC to make certain things happen.
I was proud of myself for figuring out a big chunk of the mystery early on, but I was also distracted by the strange behavior of the leads.
I'll get specific under the spoiler tag:
I'll stop there, but it just seemed like this one was a bit phoned in. I'm addicted to this series, though, so I'm hoping the next one rises back to the previous level.
I was proud of myself for figuring out a big chunk of the mystery early on, but I was also distracted by the strange behavior of the leads.
I'll get specific under the spoiler tag:
I'll stop there, but it just seemed like this one was a bit phoned in. I'm addicted to this series, though, so I'm hoping the next one rises back to the previous level.
February 9, 2019
4.5 stars My favorite of the series so far!
July 18, 2020
4.5 Stars!
Sebastion St. Cyr continues to impress me as he maneuvers through political machinations and mysteries, staunchly protects his growing family, and succumbs to the inevitable - love. Another great addition to this series.
May 15, 2021
4.5 stars
February 15, 2022
**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** This series just gets better and better! What Angels Fear was a masterful introduction to the best sleuth of contemporary fiction. While something always felt odd about Sebastian's relationship with Kat, the way they worked together was engrossing, and those first few books were the perfect blend of dark malevolence, twisty intrigue and high-flying action. What followed were those in-between books where Kat steps out of center stage and Hero wanders part-way into the picture. They developed his character and demonstrated the depth and strength of personality required to endure the revelations and machinations thrown into a life nowhere near as simple as was once believed. Finally, we have the current phase of Sebastian's career as a noble sleuth, where he has finally convinced Hero to marry him and they are beginning to hesitantly form a formidable partnership. Why Kings Confess is the end of a tensely drawn-out plot line from which new developments and characters weave themselves into the growing saga.
Our favorite detective is matched up against a rumor which was a legend from the moment it was first whispered. When Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette mounted the guillotine and Marie-Therese was held under lock and key, did the little Dauphin endure a long, abusive death ... or was he liberated from his prison cell and spirited away in secret? When one of history's most tantalizing pieces of gossip is revitalized, Sebastian must dig into the innuendos, idle fantasies, and outright lies of revolutionaries, political magnates bent on destroying Napoleon's reign, and the scattered remnants of the French royal family. Could the Dauphin have survived only to face violence and death in the rookeries of London long decades after the Reign of Terror? What stakes have been raised when not only is a man found dead, but desecrated with a hole in his chest where his heart should have been?
The Mystery...
Not original, but entirely Harris! The rumors surrounding the little Dauphin and his possible escape from captivity create a fertile source of inspiration for authors to mine. I'm not very surprised to see it crop up in a Sebastian St. Cyr mystery, but to me it meant there was just that much more at stake. Whereas many other authors take historical curiosities and blow them all out of proportion, creating tall tales and taking all the bite out of the historical in their fiction, Harris has proven time and again that she does not go in for cheap tricks and easy melodrama to progress her stories. She tries to allow what facts there are to speak for themselves and create the background to her stories for her, rather than molding the history to fit the story. As before, she has paid a respectfully eloquent tribute to the historical record in this case. It's easy to take the bygone gossips at their word and say the Lost Dauphin escaped and survived, but not so easy to create a credible epilogue to his tale. I think Harris made a wise choice by presenting a believable scenario, but ultimately left it up to her audience to judge for ourselves.
The Characters...
If there is one aspect of this addition to the series that falls somewhat short it is in the characterization. There aren't really any major development points with anybody ... unless you count the sudden need of Gibson's to experience a woman's love. That seemed a little contrived to me, honestly. It could have used some subtle roots in previous books, culminating in this new relationship with his French counterpart. Until now, his internal wound has been his pain and a weakness for opium, but all of a sudden he has this desperate need to be seen as a man by the fairer sex? A little shaky there, Harris. There is one out-standing psychological breakthrough for Sebastian dealing with a traumatic altercation during his service, thus leading him to sell his commission and shoulder a moral burden that haunts him to this day. Through Hero, the oppression on his spirit is dealt with to a certain extent, though Sebastian isn't the sort of man who would ever release his own conscience from perceived responsibility. That's who he is, though, and his personal demons are one of the reasons he is such an engaging personality. Still no news on his mother, his true paternity, the rough and tough Mr. Knox, or any of the other long-ranging story arcs, but this was something that had been an outstanding hole in Sebastian's story, and it was satisfying to have it filled in.
The Shifting Balance...
As stated, the series has undergone a major evolution as Sebastian's character, relationships, and role have altered and grown. With that and the change in his personal responsibilities to his wife and the family they oh-so-accidentally started, the overall balance of brain-bending, crime-solving, and thriller-style action has shifted. Where the earlier books had Sebastian running down back alleys and into abandoned warehouses chasing after gun- or dagger-wielding crooks every few chapters, the emphasis now is more on the intellectual puzzle of the crimes. Oh, don't get me wrong! There is still plenty of derring-do on our dashing hero's part, but it doesn't dominate the pages anymore. Whether this was a deliberate choice on Harris's part or entirely incidental, I think it reflects the re-balancing of his life that has come with marriage to Hero and coming fatherhood. Well done!
Hero, Love A Baby...
FINALLY!!! Finally, in so many ways! First and foremost, Sebastian finally manages to bring himself to say the words he has kept inside, but have been so plain until now. Does that count as a spoiler? Deal with it! And, of course, we have the other FINALLY moment: Hero finally gets to have the baby she has been pregnant with for five books. It may be nine months either way, but that's a high page-count pregnancy! I was really starting to feel bad when we got through What Darkness Brings and she still hadn't popped. And, in true Harris fashion, there was nothing easy about it for either Sebastian or Hero. The threat of the loss of the wife he had only recently come to love and their child colored the entire book. The ending was pitch-perfect and so emotionally-charged, ending this chapter of their relationship and opening the way for the next part of the unlikeliest of romances.
It was hard to wait a year for it, but Harris always makes it well worth our patience. Understandably, Hero couldn't play much of a role in the mystery itself in this one -- she was a little preoccupied -- but here's hoping that she'll become the well-matched partner she has shown the promise of being previously. An excellent addition to an addictivly wonderful series. Bravo!
Our favorite detective is matched up against a rumor which was a legend from the moment it was first whispered. When Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette mounted the guillotine and Marie-Therese was held under lock and key, did the little Dauphin endure a long, abusive death ... or was he liberated from his prison cell and spirited away in secret? When one of history's most tantalizing pieces of gossip is revitalized, Sebastian must dig into the innuendos, idle fantasies, and outright lies of revolutionaries, political magnates bent on destroying Napoleon's reign, and the scattered remnants of the French royal family. Could the Dauphin have survived only to face violence and death in the rookeries of London long decades after the Reign of Terror? What stakes have been raised when not only is a man found dead, but desecrated with a hole in his chest where his heart should have been?
The Mystery...
Not original, but entirely Harris! The rumors surrounding the little Dauphin and his possible escape from captivity create a fertile source of inspiration for authors to mine. I'm not very surprised to see it crop up in a Sebastian St. Cyr mystery, but to me it meant there was just that much more at stake. Whereas many other authors take historical curiosities and blow them all out of proportion, creating tall tales and taking all the bite out of the historical in their fiction, Harris has proven time and again that she does not go in for cheap tricks and easy melodrama to progress her stories. She tries to allow what facts there are to speak for themselves and create the background to her stories for her, rather than molding the history to fit the story. As before, she has paid a respectfully eloquent tribute to the historical record in this case. It's easy to take the bygone gossips at their word and say the Lost Dauphin escaped and survived, but not so easy to create a credible epilogue to his tale. I think Harris made a wise choice by presenting a believable scenario, but ultimately left it up to her audience to judge for ourselves.
The Characters...
If there is one aspect of this addition to the series that falls somewhat short it is in the characterization. There aren't really any major development points with anybody ... unless you count the sudden need of Gibson's to experience a woman's love. That seemed a little contrived to me, honestly. It could have used some subtle roots in previous books, culminating in this new relationship with his French counterpart. Until now, his internal wound has been his pain and a weakness for opium, but all of a sudden he has this desperate need to be seen as a man by the fairer sex? A little shaky there, Harris. There is one out-standing psychological breakthrough for Sebastian dealing with a traumatic altercation during his service, thus leading him to sell his commission and shoulder a moral burden that haunts him to this day. Through Hero, the oppression on his spirit is dealt with to a certain extent, though Sebastian isn't the sort of man who would ever release his own conscience from perceived responsibility. That's who he is, though, and his personal demons are one of the reasons he is such an engaging personality. Still no news on his mother, his true paternity, the rough and tough Mr. Knox, or any of the other long-ranging story arcs, but this was something that had been an outstanding hole in Sebastian's story, and it was satisfying to have it filled in.
The Shifting Balance...
As stated, the series has undergone a major evolution as Sebastian's character, relationships, and role have altered and grown. With that and the change in his personal responsibilities to his wife and the family they oh-so-accidentally started, the overall balance of brain-bending, crime-solving, and thriller-style action has shifted. Where the earlier books had Sebastian running down back alleys and into abandoned warehouses chasing after gun- or dagger-wielding crooks every few chapters, the emphasis now is more on the intellectual puzzle of the crimes. Oh, don't get me wrong! There is still plenty of derring-do on our dashing hero's part, but it doesn't dominate the pages anymore. Whether this was a deliberate choice on Harris's part or entirely incidental, I think it reflects the re-balancing of his life that has come with marriage to Hero and coming fatherhood. Well done!
Hero, Love A Baby...
FINALLY!!! Finally, in so many ways! First and foremost, Sebastian finally manages to bring himself to say the words he has kept inside, but have been so plain until now. Does that count as a spoiler? Deal with it! And, of course, we have the other FINALLY moment: Hero finally gets to have the baby she has been pregnant with for five books. It may be nine months either way, but that's a high page-count pregnancy! I was really starting to feel bad when we got through What Darkness Brings and she still hadn't popped. And, in true Harris fashion, there was nothing easy about it for either Sebastian or Hero. The threat of the loss of the wife he had only recently come to love and their child colored the entire book. The ending was pitch-perfect and so emotionally-charged, ending this chapter of their relationship and opening the way for the next part of the unlikeliest of romances.
It was hard to wait a year for it, but Harris always makes it well worth our patience. Understandably, Hero couldn't play much of a role in the mystery itself in this one -- she was a little preoccupied -- but here's hoping that she'll become the well-matched partner she has shown the promise of being previously. An excellent addition to an addictivly wonderful series. Bravo!
September 22, 2024
4.1 stars
There were so many things to love in this book, but also some maddening elements.
I loved the artful intermingling of fiction and historical facts. It made for a fascinating and alluring read. As an amateur history enthusiast, I was richly served, including on the political ambience of the opposing camps of the period. I caught early on the inference about who was (potentially) Damion Pelletan and I even liked how the resolution came down to whether the truth mattered in the end. I of course devoured the personal developments in Sebastian and Hero's lives, as well as those of their close friends. I liked how the plot was tight with so many parallels and levels concerning family descendancy and inheritance, heredity, wars and their victims, PTSD, social classes and veneer, marital status and woes, and the notion of what constitutes mental instability.
What bothered me was Sebastian's poor sleuth skills. As an action man in a thriller story he was on top, but as a detective, he was below middling. Jumping from suspect to suspect in endless circles without a clear perspective on where he aims to head to was kind of tiring in the end. And some plot-contrived, out of the blue questioning irritated me (e.g. questioning his aunt on Giselle, Hero meeting LaChapelle and then the latter seeking Sebastian).
I am still enjoying greatly this series, and will certainly continue with the next books, but I am fervently wishing upon a star for Sebastian to please act a little bit more smarter and a little bit less aimlessly in his future adventures.
P.S. It was never explained Why Kings Confess. We were told how they believed they were above the mass and God anointed, and hence, would have no need to confess their sins in theory, but never offered an explanation about why they go through confession in practice.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2025
Why Kings Confess was hands down outshining all the other books in this super amazing series. The mystery thread was unbelievably captivating and complex. I didn't come close to identify any murderers. Didn't get their motives either.
The historical thread was so haunting so breaking my heart. It was such a heartrending part of history that would rip my heart out whenever I thought about it. And I would keep revisiting it all until my dying day. It was only short period of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution ~ when man lost humanity ~ when Dauphin de France 💧"the Lost Dauphin." (who was just a little boy)💧 was brutally tortured for the sins of his parents' ~ King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The author brilliantly blended facts with fiction to create Dr. Damion Pelletan, who could well be The Lost Dauphin himself.
Sebastian's investigation of Dr. Damion Pelletan's gruesome murder was mesmerizing and heart stopping eerie and ritualistic. And in the end, this book, surprisingly, left me with hope and optimism for something beautiful to come. Evil figures, both fictional and historical, got what they so deserved. And another little boy, who could be The Lost Dauphin's son would have a chance to grow up and have a good future. That was my hope.
The final thread, the romance, made me love this book beyond words. With the birth of their son, Simon Alistaire St Cyr, Sebastian and Hero now belonged together forever and always. Out of all the many favorite scenes, here're the Top Three:
The historical thread was so haunting so breaking my heart. It was such a heartrending part of history that would rip my heart out whenever I thought about it. And I would keep revisiting it all until my dying day. It was only short period of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution ~ when man lost humanity ~ when Dauphin de France 💧"the Lost Dauphin." (who was just a little boy)💧 was brutally tortured for the sins of his parents' ~ King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The author brilliantly blended facts with fiction to create Dr. Damion Pelletan, who could well be The Lost Dauphin himself.
Sebastian's investigation of Dr. Damion Pelletan's gruesome murder was mesmerizing and heart stopping eerie and ritualistic. And in the end, this book, surprisingly, left me with hope and optimism for something beautiful to come. Evil figures, both fictional and historical, got what they so deserved. And another little boy, who could be The Lost Dauphin's son would have a chance to grow up and have a good future. That was my hope.
The final thread, the romance, made me love this book beyond words. With the birth of their son, Simon Alistaire St Cyr, Sebastian and Hero now belonged together forever and always. Out of all the many favorite scenes, here're the Top Three:
💘 One
She felt his chest lift against hers as he drew in ragged breath and held her tight. And then he said the words she'd long thought she'd never hear. "God, how I love you, Hero. So much. So much . . . "
💝 Two
"May I have the pleasure of this dance, my lady?"
She sank into a deep curtsy and rested her fingertips on his proffered arm. "I would be honored, my lord."
They moved into place as the music began. Together, they wove through the stately patterns of the dance, pas simples alternating with pas doubles . . .
💞 Three
Then she looked up, her gaze meeting his, and he fell in love with her all over again. "Told you it was a boy," she whispered. "The next one can be your girl."
Just the thought of putting her through this again made his legs suddenly feel weak . . .
November 15, 2013
Despite that great, gruesome detail about the murder, this one started slow. Every recurring character got a quick recap, and there were a massive number of new players to introduce.
I liked that so many different threads were juggled without making things feel overcomplicated. But considering that Sebastian questioned over a dozen people, many of them more than once, I did get tired of going back and forth over the same ground while he probed at their evasions. The end was still satisfying, although the resolution involved a convenient bit of timing.
I love these characters, which always makes me wish that the books slanted more towards their ongoing drama. Hero is still my favorite historical character, and while she and Sebastian had a big development in their personal life, I wish they'd gotten more time together.
There was a gratifying lack of Kat as more than a nagging memory. Jarvis showed up to make ominous warnings about the investigation, but if there was a reason for that beyond needling his son-in-law then I must have missed it. Then again, I feel like I miss a lot of things when Jarvis is involved.
Sebastian's time in the military was also a focus. His story was tragic and I can see why it haunted him.
My biggest real issue with the mystery is that I prefer it when historical novels tread lightly around well-known figures from the past. Using displaced French royals as actual characters put me off a bit, but that's a personal pet peeve that probably won't bother most other readers.
This may not have been my favorite book in the series, but there's a lot here for fans to like.
I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program.
I liked that so many different threads were juggled without making things feel overcomplicated. But considering that Sebastian questioned over a dozen people, many of them more than once, I did get tired of going back and forth over the same ground while he probed at their evasions. The end was still satisfying, although the resolution involved a convenient bit of timing.
I love these characters, which always makes me wish that the books slanted more towards their ongoing drama. Hero is still my favorite historical character, and while she and Sebastian had a big development in their personal life, I wish they'd gotten more time together.
There was a gratifying lack of Kat as more than a nagging memory. Jarvis showed up to make ominous warnings about the investigation, but if there was a reason for that beyond needling his son-in-law then I must have missed it. Then again, I feel like I miss a lot of things when Jarvis is involved.
Sebastian's time in the military was also a focus. His story was tragic and I can see why it haunted him.
My biggest real issue with the mystery is that I prefer it when historical novels tread lightly around well-known figures from the past. Using displaced French royals as actual characters put me off a bit, but that's a personal pet peeve that probably won't bother most other readers.
This may not have been my favorite book in the series, but there's a lot here for fans to like.
I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program.
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