Who speaks for the damned

After he was exiled to Botany Bay, most of society assumed Nicholas Hayes, disgraced third son of the earl of Seaford, was dead. But he didn't die in Australia, nor in China, where he fled his captors. Instead, his body is discovered in a quiet tea garden, with a sickle stuck in his back. Sebastian St. Cyr was at war when Hayes was earning his scandalous reputation, and no one seems particularly willing to help him understand the man's past or why he was back in England. Sebastian and his wife, Hero, are also worried for a young half-Chinese boy who was traveling with Hayes, and who may be the rightful heir to the Seaford earldom. With London in merry chaos, celebrating the defeat of Napoleon and fêting visiting royal families, nobody wants a scandal, but Sebastian's hard-earned domestic bliss adds an urgency to his quest for the truth. Fast-paced and emotional, the latest St. Cyr novel, following Who Slays the Wicked (2019), showcases Harris' ability to transport readers to the sights and smells of Regency London with a truly twisty, satisfying mystery.

At the start of Harris's solid 15th whodunit featuring aristocratic Regency sleuth St. Cyr (after 2019's Who Slays the Wicked), St. Cyr is astonished to learn from Jules Calhoun, his valet, that Nicholas Hayes, an old friend of Calhoun, has been fatally stabbed at a London tea garden. St. Cyr believed that Hayes, an earl's son, had died a few years after being convicted of murder and transported to Australia 18 years earlier in 1796. Calhoun reveals that Hayes, who managed to return to England by stealing a dead man's identity, got in touch with him and asked for his help, but didn't specify what for. St. Cyr delves into the related questions of why Hayes took the step of coming to London at the risk of summary execution and who was responsible for his murder, which inevitably require probing the crime that led to Hayes's being sent to Australia--the killing of the wife of a French count. Once again, Harris weds a twisty plot with convincing period detail. This long-running series shows no sign of losing steam. Agent: Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary. (Apr.)

In June 1814, as royalty from Austria, Russia, and the German states gather in London at the Prince Regent's invitation to celebrate Napoleon's defeat, the dissolute third son of the late Earl of Seaford is found dead. That he was supposed to have died nearly two decades previously after being convicted of murdering a young French émigré and that a young lad said to have accompanied him to London has now vanished brings Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, and his valet, Jules Calhoun, into the investigation. Fifteenth in the USA TODAY best-selling series.

A pair of Regency sleuths take on a miscarriage of justice in the past that leads to murders in the present. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, despises injustice in every form, and his wife, Hero, is a committed reformer even though her father, Lord Jarvis, is cousin to the Prince Regent and a major power behind the throne (Who Slays the Wicked, 2019, etc.). Shortly after Hero spots a child watching their house, Devlin's valet, Jules Calhoun, goes out and returns with news that someone he knows has been murdered. Nicholas Hayes, youngest son of the late Earl of Seaforth, was convicted of murder, sent to Australia, and thought to have died. But now he's returned with Ji, a child he's brought from China, only to be stabbed to death with a sickle in Pennington's Tea Gardens. Why would Hayes risk his life to return to England, where he would be hanged if caught? The question plagues Devlin as he reconsiders the evidence that led to the conviction of Hayes. He revisits the scandal that was hushed up back when Hayes was accused of kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy man and shooting to death a married woman on whom he'd reportedly set his eye. The other suspects, all wealthy and well-connected, include Hayes' cousin Ethan, who's succeeded to the title since Hayes' two older brothers died before their father, and the Comte de Compans, whose wife he was convicted of killing. The more he learns of Hayes, the more Devlin is convinced he was an innocent man who took the blame for things he never did, including kidnapping Theo Brownbeck's daughter, Katherine, with whom he was actually eloping and whom Brownbeck immediately married off to Sir Lindsey Forbes, a power in the East India Company. Hayes' murder is followed by the deaths of several of his enemies. If Hayes were alive, Devlin would suspect him; since he's not, Devlin and Hero risk their lives following clues no one wants to see uncovered. A suspenseful tale of hypocrisy, greed, and cunning finally overcome by social conscience. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

After he was exiled to Botany Bay, most of society assumed Nicholas Hayes, disgraced third son of the earl of Seaford, was dead. But he didn't die in Australia, nor in China, where he fled his captors. Instead, his body is discovered in a quiet tea garden, with a sickle stuck in his back. Sebastian St. Cyr was at war when Hayes was earning his scandalous reputation, and no one seems particularly willing to help him understand the man's past or why he was back in England. Sebastian and his wife, Hero, are also worried for a young half-Chinese boy who was traveling with Hayes, and who may be the rightful heir to the Seaford earldom. With London in merry chaos, celebrating the defeat of Napoleon and fêting visiting royal families, nobody wants a scandal, but Sebastian's hard-earned domestic bliss adds an urgency to his quest for the truth. Fast-paced and emotional, the latest St. Cyr novel, following Who Slays the Wicked (2019), showcases Harris' ability to transport readers to the sights and smells of Regency London with a truly twisty, satisfying mystery. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.

In June 1814, as royalty from Austria, Russia, and the German states gather in London at the Prince Regent's invitation to celebrate Napoleon's defeat, the dissolute third son of the late Earl of Seaford is found dead. That he was supposed to have died nearly two decades previously after being convicted of murdering a young French émigré and that a young lad said to have accompanied him to London has now vanished brings Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, and his valet, Jules Calhoun, into the investigation. Fifteenth in the USA TODAY best-selling series.

In Harris's latest installment of the long-running series (after Who Slays the Wicked), Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, has reached a level of peace and fulfillment, at least in his personal life, that is surprising based on where he began in What Angels Fear. He still has his demons, as evidenced by his passionate and sometimes violent investigation into the murder of Nicholas Hayes. To St. Cyr, Hayes represents the darker road not taken, as they were both younger sons who fell from society and were falsely accused of heinous crimes. But Hayes was ruined, convicted, and transported, then murdered, possibly by someone who arranged for, and certainly benefited from, the false conviction that took everything from him. St. Cyr pursues his investigation from cheap dockside flash houses all the way to the halls of power, no matter who gets in his way or tries to dissuade him. His quest for the truth exposes the darkness that the glitter of the Regency tries its best to hide. VERDICT Highly recommended for lovers of historical mystery, readers who can't resist a dark, complex but redeemed hero, and anyone looking to see justice done. [See Prepub Alert, 9/23/19.]—Marlene Harris, Reading Reality, LLC, Duluth, GA

At the start of Harris's solid 15th whodunit featuring aristocratic Regency sleuth St. Cyr (after 2019's Who Slays the Wicked), St. Cyr is astonished to learn from Jules Calhoun, his valet, that Nicholas Hayes, an old friend of Calhoun, has been fatally stabbed at a London tea garden. St. Cyr believed that Hayes, an earl's son, had died a few years after being convicted of murder and transported to Australia 18 years earlier in 1796. Calhoun reveals that Hayes, who managed to return to England by stealing a dead man's identity, got in touch with him and asked for his help, but didn't specify what for. St. Cyr delves into the related questions of why Hayes took the step of coming to London at the risk of summary execution and who was responsible for his murder, which inevitably require probing the crime that led to Hayes's being sent to Australia—the killing of the wife of a French count. Once again, Harris weds a twisty plot with convincing period detail. This long-running series shows no sign of losing steam. Agent: Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary. (Apr.)