“The latest request for help from Sebastian St. Cyr,
Viscount Devlin—from the Archbishop of Canterbury, no less—is undeniably
intriguing: The bodies of two men have
been found in an ancient crypt, their violent deaths separated by decades. One is the Bishop of London, the elderly
Archbishop’s favored but controversial successor. The identity of the other seems lost in time,
although his faded velvet attire marks him as a gentleman of the eighteenth
century.
“To Sebastian’s consternation, the last person to see the
Bishop alive was none other than Miss Hero Jarvis, a woman whose already
strained relationship with St. Cyr has been complicated by a brief,
unexpectedly passionate encounter. Not
only that, but it soon becomes obvious that her powerful father had reasons of
his own for wanting the Bishop out of the way.
In an investigation that leads from the back alleys of Smithfield to the
power corridors of Whitehall, Sebastian amasses a list of suspects that ranges
from some of the Prince Regent’s closest cronies to William Franklin,
embittered son of famous American patriot Ben Franklin.
“Then the second corpse is identified, and Sebastian finds
himself confronting the well-guarded secrets of his own family’s history. Now each step he takes toward the killer
brings him closer to a devastating truth that could ultimately force him to
question who – and what – he really is.”
Here's my last belated May review! It feels so good to be caught up again!
I seem to be on a bit of a C.S. Harris kick lately – not
that this is a bad thing, but I typically try to “mix it up” more than I have
been. I think I’m going to have to force
myself to branch out and find some more reading materials and new authors. If I’m smart about it, I’ll start compiling a
list of new and interesting books and authors because I will be going on
maternity leave in a few months (yay!) and there’s a chance it could be sooner
with my medical history, so I’ll have to find a way to occupy myself so I don’t
go stir-crazy waiting for baby boy to arrive.
What better way to pass the enforced downtime than putting my feet up
and enjoying the escape into some amazing books?
Now, to the review:
As usual, C.S. Harris enthralls and entertains with her dark (and
sometimes disturbing) Regency murder-mysteries and her captivating hero,
Devlin. Still mourning the loss of his
love, Kat, Sebastian struggles to come to terms with his new existence – little
does he know that life as he knows it is about to be dealt an even more
crippling blow as he dives into the investigation of the murders in a country
crypt.
I feel I must issue a warning. While all of the books in this series involve
horrible murders and some gruesome autopsies, I admit that I found this book to
be particularly off-putting when I attempted to read it during my lunch breaks
at the office… The repeated descriptions
of the mummified cadavers in the crypt – while brilliantly done in vivid detail
– were stomach-turning (and I really cannot blame it on my slightly weakened
pregnancy tummy). All I mean to say is
that you should be forewarned. This book
is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach (and I like to think I’m not
particularly squeamish). If you can get
past this, then the rest of the book is quite interesting.
As usual, Devlin is a fascinating, intelligent
investigator. He doesn’t allow threats
to deter him from his mission, no matter that his own life may be at risk. His inquiries seem to take him all over
London and the countryside as he tracks a seemingly endless list of
suspects. His investigations uncover the
hidden past of a seemingly-Godly bishop, the depravity and general dislike
toward the man who is now the murdered corpse in the crypt, and a dark secret
from Devlin’s own family history. Aided
by Paul Gibson and his urchin-turned-tiger, Tom, Devlin doggedly follows his
leads, all while dodging a man from his past who seeks vengeance against Devlin
for a perceived slight when they were both in the army. He also (somewhat reluctantly) seeks out the
assistance of Hero Jarvis, though he knows doing so might very well endanger
the investigation when her own father is on his list of suspects. Doing so brings him closer to Hero…and to the
realization that she may be keeping a very, very big secret from him.
What Devlin discovers about the murders involves old family
secrets, the American Revolution, and the determination to keep those secrets
hidden, no matter the cost. What comes
to light not only changes Devlin’s life, but the lives of those around him in
irrevocable ways.
I enjoyed the suspense and the many twists and turns of this
story. Devlin, as per usual, is a
captivating lead. He’s intelligent,
intense, flawed, and charming. His sense
of right and wrong is like his religion, something he seeks out with such
fervor that it spurs him on when other, weaker men might have given up or
refused to continue on. The settings are
vivid and the story is fast-paced and wildly interesting. I didn’t see the ending until it hit me in
the face.
Not to give away any spoilers, but I am pleased that Devlin
finally learned about his family’s big secret – we readers have been privy for
some time now and I am extremely interested to see where this takes Devlin.
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