What the devil knows: a Sebastian St. Cyr mystery

The Ratcliffe Highway murders terrorized London in 1811, until the main suspect committed suicide in prison, a sure sign of his guilt. Which makes the grisly murder of a magistrate in 1814 even more alarming, suggesting that a copycat is on the loose--or the original killer was never caught. Sebastian St. Cyr is called in to help solve the case, but every thread he untangles just leads to more knots. And then the killer strikes another magistrate. Both victims demanded graft from the pub owners in their districts, but as the body count rises, the connection between murders becomes even more muddied. The sixteenth in Harris' historical-mystery series, following Who Speaks for the Damned (2020), may be the most complicated installment yet, including the upheaval in St. Cyr's personal life when his father-in-law, cousin to the Prince Regent, gets engaged to a woman as conniving as he is. As readers try to guess the identity of the killer, they will enjoy the ride through the many levels of Regency English society this case involves.

Harris's excellent 16th Regency-era whodunit (after 2020's Who Speaks for the Damned) pits her aristocratic sleuth, Sebastian St. Cyr, against a killer possibly connected to a notorious real-life series of murders. In 1814, St. Cyr is consulted by magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy after Lovejoy's colleague, Sir Edwin Pym, is found dead in a London alley, his throat slit and his head bashed in. The m.o. matches the recent death of a seaman. The slaughter of a high-ranking official and nobleman is unsettling enough, but the two killings also resemble the horrific Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811, which claimed seven lives in two households and terrified the city. While sailor John Williams was charged with those homicides, he apparently hanged himself while awaiting trial, and doubts linger as to whether he was guilty. That history leads St. Cyr to reinvestigate the proof against Williams, even as his father-in-law, Lord Jarvis, the real power behind the throne, insists that the inquiry be circumscribed to avoid agitating an already restive population. Harris makes good use of the available evidence concerning the historical crimes, crafting a clever and suspenseful plot. Fans of David Morrell's Murder as a Fine Art will be pleased. Agent: Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary. (Apr.)

An aristocrat investigates a murder at the opposite end of British society. Bow Street Magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy asks Sebastian St. Cyr and his wife, Hero, no strangers to murder, for help in a dangerous and politically sensitive case: the murder of Magistrate Sir Edwin Pym. Three years after the notorious 1811 Ratcliffe Highway killings, Pym has been brutally murdered in the same way, his head bashed in and his throat cut. Although a suspect to the earlier killings was duly arrested and hanged himself in prison, this latest outrage indicates that either the authorities had the wrong man or there's a copycat at work. Sebastian--who's the son-in-law of the powerful Lord Jarvis and heir to a dukedom despite not being the natural son of the duke--doesn't know who his real father is and is desperate to track down the mother who deserted him, recently spotted on the continent. When more killings follow, Sebastian seeks and finds connections between sailors and the owners of public houses in the rough area near the docks. He's shocked by the depth of depravity the wealthy will sink to in order to enhance their fortunes. Convinced that the suspect who killed himself was innocent, he labors to connect the murders, many of which may have been committed to cover up the original crimes, searching for a motive while narrowly escaping several attempts on his own life. An intricate puzzle, based on a series of real-life murders, that indicts social injustices that continue to this day. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The Ratcliffe Highway murders terrorized London in 1811, until the main suspect committed suicide in prison, a sure sign of his guilt. Which makes the grisly murder of a magistrate in 1814 even more alarming, suggesting that a copycat is on the loose—or the original killer was never caught. Sebastian St. Cyr is called in to help solve the case, but every thread he untangles just leads to more knots. And then the killer strikes another magistrate. Both victims demanded graft from the pub owners in their districts, but as the body count rises, the connection between murders becomes even more muddied. The sixteenth in Harris' historical-mystery series, following Who Speaks for the Damned (2020), may be the most complicated installment yet, including the upheaval in St. Cyr's personal life when his father-in-law, cousin to the Prince Regent, gets engaged to a woman as conniving as he is. As readers try to guess the identity of the killer, they will enjoy the ride through the many levels of Regency English society this case involves. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

In Bannalec's The Granite Coast Murders, Commissaire Dupin remains singularly unengaged during his Brittainy coast vacation until a local deputy is attacked, a tourist vanishes, and a corpse disrupts everyone's sun and fun (30,000-copy first printing). In Fredericks's Death of a Showman, lady's maid Jane Prescott learns in summer 1914 that a former beau has written a Broadway musical, but then the producer ends up dead (30,000-copy first printing). In Harris's What the Devil Knows, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is brought in to investigate when the lead investigator in the gruesome 1811 Ratcliffe Highway murders is himself dispatched. Hillerman's Stargazer brings back Officer Bernadette Manuelito, on the trail of an old roommate who's gone missing, though husband Jim Chee isn't sure Bernie should investigate (100,000-copy first printing). For the next Mystery Writers of America story collection, New York Times best-selling author Koryta gathers works by Michael Connelly, Attica Locke, and others that detail what happens When a Stranger Comes to Town (50,000-copy first printing). In Animal Instinct, second in a series Rosenfelt spun from the Shamus Award-winning "Andy Carpenter" series, the K Team investigate the murder of a woman Corey burningly regrets not having been able to protect from her abusive boyfriend when he was on the force (75,000-copy first printing). Bookseller Delaney Nichols is thrilled to be invited to outrageous socialite Shelaigh O'Connor's treasure hunt, but robbery, murder, and Shelaigh's kidnapping put a damper on things in Shelton's Deadly Editions (30,000-copy first printing). While Tsarevich Nicholas travels to England for royal wedding, look-alike cousin Prince George is attacked, and private enquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn are called in to protect the future—and final—tsar in Thomas's Dance with Death (30,000-copy first printing). In Murder on Wall Street, Thompson brings back beloved midwife Sarah Brandt and her PI husband Frank Malloy for their 24th outing..

In this latest entry in Harris's long-running historical mystery series, a spate of gruesome killings leads Sebastian St. Cyr to a series of much less remarkable murders which cover up a network of criminal activity that reaches from upper-level government circles all the way down to the poorest quarters of London's East End. It's obvious to St. Cyr that either there's a copycat to the infamous Radcliffe Highway murders, or the wrong man was convicted and executed for the Radcliffe murders three years ago. In his investigation, he is led to the inexorable conclusion that the answer could, quite possibly, be both. And that someone is willing to attack St. Cyr's family to keep that secret—and many others—as quiet as the grave. VERDICT The St. Cyr series, and this entry in particular (following Who Speaks for the Damned), is highly recommended for readers who want their history appropriately dark and gritty, their politics dirty and corrupt, and their mystery fascinating, convoluted, and just as relevant now as it was then. Sebastian St. Cyr, with his foot in the aristocracy and his eye on justice, is a hero to be followed into whatever dark corner he investigates.—Marlene Harris, Reading Reality, LLC, Duluth, GA

Harris's excellent 16th Regency-era whodunit (after 2020's Who Speaks for the Damned) pits her aristocratic sleuth, Sebastian St. Cyr, against a killer possibly connected to a notorious real-life series of murders. In 1814, St. Cyr is consulted by magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy after Lovejoy's colleague, Sir Edwin Pym, is found dead in a London alley, his throat slit and his head bashed in. The m.o. matches the recent death of a seaman. The slaughter of a high-ranking official and nobleman is unsettling enough, but the two killings also resemble the horrific Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811, which claimed seven lives in two households and terrified the city. While sailor John Williams was charged with those homicides, he apparently hanged himself while awaiting trial, and doubts linger as to whether he was guilty. That history leads St. Cyr to reinvestigate the proof against Williams, even as his father-in-law, Lord Jarvis, the real power behind the throne, insists that the inquiry be circumscribed to avoid agitating an already restive population. Harris makes good use of the available evidence concerning the historical crimes, crafting a clever and suspenseful plot. Fans of David Morrell's Murder as a Fine Art will be pleased. Agent: Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary. (Apr.)