Sebastian St. Cyr is called in to investigate a murder. The murder of a man that very few liked and most are happy that he is dead. Of course, that leads to many suspects, many false leads, and a lot of clues that seem to lead to dead ends. I tried to follow the clues and come up with the who done it before I reached the end, I had so many guesses, but I was so wrong. I was so far off the right path. I enjoyed every wrong turn that I took.

C.S Harris knows exactly how to write a historical mystery that pulls the reader in, leads them through history, and takes them on a tour of the city. The settings come to life, the people become real, and the story is not just something to read it is something that you cannot put down. I have become a fan of the Sebastian St. Cyr series after only reading this one and the one prior to this.

As always CSHarris gives the reader fantastic historical fiction/mystery to sink their fingers and minds into, as the reader tries to unravel the who-done-ita right along with the characters.
I love all the books!

I do love a historical mystery and this series is one that I'm really excited about. I really like Sebastian and Hero and their dynamic. They're both interesting likable characters with some baggage but not so much baggage it seems to take over their personality. Sebastian's baggage is a bit front in center in this mystery as he has to deal with his not so sister-ly sister.



Never have I been more glad a victim is a victim and never have so many suspects have sympathetic reasons for murder. Add in a little political intrigue in the form of a Russian Grand Duchess and a Princess and this mystery is just a fascinating read.



This reminded me a little bit of the Lady Darby series by Anna Lee Huber in terms of darkness and character development and both series are quickly becoming favorites.

Who Slays the Wicked is the 14th (!!) Regency murder mystery featuring Viscount Sebastian St. Cyr by author C.S. Harris. Released 2nd April 2019 by Penguin on their Berkley imprint, it's 349 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This series has been consistently strong from the first book. Although the actual mysteries are self contained, the characters and story arc develop throughout the series. Since the series itself is so well done and engaging, I recommend reading them in order. I can only think of a handful of series (in any genre) which have maintained my interest evenly throughout and this one is superlative.

The plotting and pacing are seamless with varying dramatic tension which kept me interested from the first paragraph. I love Sebastian's family and retinue and always enjoy seeing how his young coach-boy Tom is developing as well as visiting his dogsbody/valet Calhoun, and his redoubtable wife, Hero.

This is just a top quality historical murder mystery with meticulous background research and beautifully written. I highly recommend the series. It would make an admirable summer binge read. This installment might well be my favorite thus far.

Five stars for both the series as a whole and this, the 14th book.

With this entry, Harris is almost back to the best work of the series. The mystery was great and I liked catching up with Tom and some of the other side characters that we saw less of in the most recent books. I'd actually like to see more of Sid Cotten and possibly have him team up with Sebastian in the future. It would be a very interesting dynamic.

That said, Hero is still not back to her actual intelligence level. I'm not sure why Harris felt the need to dumb down the smartest and best character is the series and while Hero bounced back a little in the previous book and this one, she still isn't back to her pre-Simon level.

How does Harris keep a long running series going--it's in the details. Harris seamlessly weaves a complex mystery and real life London in the 1800s.

First line: Bloodred and splayed wide as if in panic, the dried handprint stood out clearly against the white, freshly painted inside panel of the town house’s front door.

Summary: When Lord Ashworth is found brutally murdered in his home, Sebastian is called in by Bow Street to help find his killer. However, Sebastian has wanted to see Ashworth dead. But the prime suspect is Sebastian’s niece, Stephanie, Ashworth’s wife and mother of his heirs. Even though he deserved to die for his past crimes, Sebastian is determined to clear his niece’s name.

My Thoughts: I love the Sebastian St. Cyr books! I have even gotten my mother hooked on them. They are always a lot of fun with action and history as well. The characters are always very interesting especially Hero and Tom. Harris does a great job with her series. I cannot wait to read any future books.

FYI: This is book 14 in the series.

Who Slays the Wicked by C. S. Harris is a 2019 Berkley publication.

Well, naturally, I didn’t shed any tears over Ashworth’s demise. Good riddance, if you ask me. But the evidence tends to point to Sebastian’s niece, a development that made me as nervous as it did Sebastian.

It then becomes of utmost importance to keep suspicion away from Stephanie, if at all possible, in hopes of finding another viable suspect- of which there are plenty. However, more political intrigue develops when the Russian Grand Duchess arrives in London several months ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, Hero is doing research on the poorest people of London, which has her interviewing rag and bone pickers and night soil men. Also, Hero finally begins to connect the dots when it comes to her dear, clever and conniving cousin, when a few more interesting details emerge. I can't wait for this thread to develop further!!

As always, there is a lot going on in this latest chapter in the series. As desperately as Sebastian hopes his niece is not guilty, he remains mostly unbiased, occasionally over compensating, following the clues, making calm, yet worrying deductions. He also had to put up with the Russian connection, which quickly becomes more of a personal concern, as Sebastian's inquires are not exactly welcome.

It is hard to find fault in this book anywhere, especially the way Harris weaves the intricate details of this enthralling mystery. But, as a long- time reader of the series, I was a bit disappointed in the chemistry between Hero and Sebastian- and Hero’s reduced role. I, also, at this point in the series, really wouldn’t miss Kat all that much, if Sebastian left off visiting her for a while. Her role in this installment felt more like a contrivance or token appearance anyway.

That said, Hero’s research is eye-opening. As a history lover, I have read about the extremely distasteful occupations the poor acclimated themselves to and the lengths they would go just to survive, but Hero’s research humanizes the poverty- which is extreme, and hard to imagine. These segments may make a few readers feel a bit squeamish- and grateful for modern plumbing.
(Although it is worth noting that Rag & Bone men made a resurgence in the 2000’s due to the cost of scrap metal.)

Overall, this was another incredibly tense and deeply engrossing installment in one of my very favorite series!!

4 stars

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

It is difficult to believe that Who Slays the Wicked by C.S. Harris is the fourteenth book in the Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery series; it is as fresh and interesting as the debut. Each book in the series is better than the previous one, which is seemingly impossible, and I cannot get enough of the broody hero, authentic prose and historical setting, and sophisticated murder mystery.

Long known to be a lascivious and profligate scoundrel, many people believe Lord Ashworth gets exactly what he deserves when he is gruesomely murdered, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, chiefly among them. Personal feelings aside, Sebastian feels obliged to help investigate when the Bow Street magistrate requests it. To complicate matters, Sebastian’s niece Stephanie is Ashworth’s wife and high on the suspect list. Sebastian follows a trail that leads him to the Royal family, Russian visitors, merchants, a fortune teller, his family, and back alley assassins to get to the surprising truth.

I adore this series for the careful research and compelling characters Harris provides. Real historical people and events are sprinkled seamlessly throughout the tale adding amazing layers to the storytelling. I always feel a bit smarter after reading Harris’s books. In addition to the history, Harris meticulously plots the complex mysteries but also includes Sebastian’s personal life and touches on the plight of the lower class citizens in Regency Era England.

Sebastian is a fascinating amateur sleuth. Even though he carries a lifetime of baggage, he is obviously intelligent and an exception of his noble class. He truly cares about the dire circumstances of the poor and justice regardless of social standing. He is somewhat of an antihero and deliciously complicated. His relationship with his wife Hero and his son Simon is one of my favorite aspects of the series. The supporting characters are equally well drawn and captivating.

The stakes of solving the mystery of Lord Ashworth’s death seem especially high for Sebastian. Of course, readers will have no sympathy for Ashworth. He is evil personified. Interestingly, few of the suspects inspire much sympathy either. With so much wrong with Ashworth, the suspect pool is bottomless. This makes the mystery satisfyingly convoluted and tough to figure out.

Who Slays the Wicked far exceeds any of my expectations. Highly recommended.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

WHO SLAY THE WICKED (HistMys-Sebastian St. Cyr-1814- London) - Good
Harris, C.S. – 14th in series
Berkeley, April 2019
First Sentence: Bloodred and splayed wide as if in panic, the dried handprint stood out clearly against the white, freshly painted inside panel of the town house's front door.
Stephanie, niece of Sebastian St. Cyr, is married to Lord Ashworth, a sexually profligate, violent man, whom St. Cyr had suspected of kidnapping and killing children several years ago. After the birth of their twin sons, Stephanie no longer lives with Ashworth. Still she becomes a natural suspect when a small bloody handprint is found in the door to Ashworth's house, and he is found naked, tied to the bedposts, and brutally murdered.
Harris is very good at capturing the reader's attention on page one. She then keeps the tension going through the introduction of various suspects, and additional bodies, and a character gone missing.
It's always interesting to see how similar, and yet different, was forensics over 200 years ago. Harris makes very good use of such information. The story's setting and the inclusion of historical events adds a nice layer and intrigue to the plot. It also educates one about the period.
There are nicely done snippets of humor—"Why exactly are we here?" "To watch. And listen. And leap to wild and probably faulty assumptions." Harris knows how to create atmosphere—"The entire area reeked of overflowing bog houses, rot, disease, and despair." She effectively destroys any illusions one may have about the tranquil, genteel life of the entitled and wealthy, especially as it pertains to a woman. As she describes the rise and fall of prosperity in various neighborhoods, one does wish for a detailed map.
The question as to why one murders has long been given the answer of five human emotions. To that, Harris adds a sixth, rather frightening motive. She also reflects on the hypocrisy of those who call themselves Christians and reveals things about which one might not know except for reading historicals. While the story contains a plethora of bodies and suspects, many are ones who seem incidental and don't add significantly to the story.
"Who Slays the Wicked" does hold one's interest, and effectively demonstrates that it truly is the poor who pay the price while the elite are never brought to justice.

Lord Ashworth, the “only son and heir of the Marquis of Lindsay,” is found hacked to death. Gazing at “blood-soaked fine linen sheets beneath his lordship’s mutilated body,” Magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy proclaims it a “ghastly sight.” The young viscount’s appearance is sordid and seedy: “Silken red cords tied the dead man’s widespread hands and feet to the bedstead’s stout wooden posts.” Lovejoy sends word of Ashworth’s death to Sebastian St. Cyr’s Brook Street residence: he’s counting on him to help solve the murder. Sebastian, the heir to the Earl of Hendon, has entrée to highest ranks of the haut ton.

Just seven months before, Sebastian had suspected Ashworth of aiding one of his longtime friends and companions in the kidnapping and murder of a string of vulnerable street children. But Sebastian was never able to prove Ashworth’s complicity. Nor was he able to prevent his troubled, headstrong young niece Stephanie from entering into a disastrous marriage with the dangerous nobleman.

Stephanie, now the mother of twin boys, quickly left Ashworth’s degenerate household. She and her boys are in residence at the Marquis’s London mansion. London society “knows” that Stephanie hated her husband: she is suspected of an involvement with Russell Firth, an up-and-coming young Welsh architect. The Earl of Hendon tells his son that they were seen in Hyde Park: “Simply standing together by the water. Talking. Laughing.”

Sebastian studied Hendon’s troubled face. “Stephanie might not be the insufferable snob her mother is, but somehow I find it difficult to believe she’s suddenly taken to consorting with some random architect-builder. There’s probably a simple explanation.”

When someone is killed, and the world rejoices, does it matter who did the dirty deed? Sebastian’s young tiger Tom says, “Ye ask me, whoever killed ‘im done the world a favor, getting’ rid o’ that cove.” Unfortunately, the murder of a marquis’s son can’t be swept under the carpet: “… it won’t matter if the person they finger is guilty or innocent, as long as he hangs.” Make that “he, or she.”

Read a review of What Darkness Brings by C.S. Harris.
Such is the situation in which Sebastian finds himself. To prevent an innocent person from being charged as Ashworth’s murderer, Sebastian decides to help Lovejoy. Who Slays the Wicked picks up the story of Where the Dead Lie, the 12th Sebastian St. Cyr mystery, when, try as he might, Sebastian is unable to bring Ashworth to justice. He pulls on all the strings of that earlier murder to see who, among the many who hated Ashworth, might have been driven to kill.

Sebastian’s wife Hero’s lifework is documenting the unseen lives of neglected members of society; street-sweepers; rag-and-bone men; and pure-finders (people “who collected dog faeces for sale to tanneries).” These workers are mistreated, and many are displaced—torn from the English countryside through the Enclosure Act, only to wash up on London’s unfriendly shores. Hero alerts Sebastian to how observant these hidden workers are, which leads him to visit London’s most dangerous haunts although no disguise prevents him from standing out among the riff-raff and dispossessed.

Not that Sebastian neglects to consider if an aristocrat or someone even higher in the ranks might have hated Ashworth enough to kill him. His inquiries lead him to Russian Grand Duchess Ivanna Gagarin. Her reputation is somewhat unsavory, and she’s known to have had dealings with the dead viscount. She says Ashworth confided that Sebastian threatened his life: “On more than one occasion, actually.” Sebastian has no use for comforting lies.

She rested a hand fleetingly and ever so lightly on his arm, and he was surprised to feel his skin crawl. His reaction to her was that powerful, that visceral. She said, “It makes for an interesting dynamic, does it not? For you to investigate the murder of a man you yourself threatened to kill?”


He held himself perfectly still. “If nothing else, I suppose it give me some insight into the motivation of his killer.”

Kat Boleyn, Sebastian’s natural sister, sums up the prevailing feeling about Ashworth’s death: “Frankly, I’m glad he’s dead.” But Sebastian can’t accept that as an answer, especially since there’s evidence that a woman was at the murder scene. Although he doesn’t believe his niece Stephanie is being entirely truthful with him, he doesn’t think she’s a murderess.

The case forces Sebastian to re-examine his prevailing opinion on evil, that it “is simply a lack of good—the same way darkness is a lack of light.” That definition doesn’t fit the deliberate malevolence and fury of Ashworth’s staged execution. C.S. Harris delivers a bone-chilling treatise on evil, an answer to “Why do people murder?” Obviously, the answer is ordinarily as “varied and idiosyncratic as the people who killed.”

But in his experience, most of their motives could be reduced to five common human emotions: greed, whether for money or power; love, or at least sexual lust; fear; jealousy; and revenge.

But there existed another breed of killer, and those were the ones Sebastian believed belonged in a category all their own: the men and women who killed for pleasure.

Isn’t that poetic justice, since Ashworth was like that—it was not enough for him to kill his victims, he reveled in their pain and suffering—which was what made him such a vicious individual. In Who Slays the Wicked, Sebastian must find such a monster, and quickly, since there is a mounting body count in the wake of Ashworth’s murder.

Sebastian and his wife Hero get involved in another murder investigation. The husband of Sebastian's cousin was found tied in his bed with his chest hacked open. Ashworth was notorious so suspects were not few, the question was who had motive, opportunity and lacked a alibi. And having the Russians around interfering in British affairs and with Ashworth was distracting. Plenty of period details, a nicely paced plot, and a twisted ending adds up to a very satisfying read.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!

Do you love historical romance and/or historical mysteries? Then you should be reading (or listening to) the Sebastian St. Cyr series. Who Slays the Wicked, the fourteenth book in this long-running series is another compelling entry – although it isn’t quite as strong as many of the novels that precede it. As usual, Ms. Harris masterfully disguises her villain until the bitter end, and there are red herrings and surprise twists throughout. But this entry suffers from one significant problem: the murder victim is a nasty piece of work we first met in book twelve, Where the Dead Lie, and quite frankly I didn’t care who killed him! I wish the author had spent more time giving this character the torturous and painful comeuppance he so richly deserved, so I felt cheated! Who Slays the Wicked is a compelling and clever mystery, but far from the best in this amazing series.

Fair warning to new readers: this review will contain spoilers for the earlier novels.

What Angels Fear introduced readers to Sebastian St. Cyr, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars. Accused of a rape and murder he didn’t commit, Sebastian fled his home and went into hiding, and while on the run, he used investigative skills honed as an agent during the war to find the killer. As the book progressed, we learned more about Sebastian and the people and events that shaped his life, and over thirteen books the author has slowly advanced his life story while at the same time crafting clever and complicated standalone mysteries that only Sebastian (with help from his family and friends – including a Bow Street magistrate) can solve. There are surprises and secrets and lies and lovers and enemies and spies and betrayals and trysts (and more!), all juxtaposed against significant historical events of the time. Ms. Harris’s worldbuilding is comprehensive – people, places, events – and all of it is supremely well done.

In book twelve, Where the Dead Lie, Sebastian was drawn into one of his darkest and most harrowing cases: finding the person who was kidnapping, sadistically brutalizing and then murdering London’s homeless boys and girls. The investigation eventually led him to conclude two friends committed the crimes together simply because it pleased them to do so. When Where the Dead Lie concluded, one of the killers was dead, and in a surprise twist, Anthony, Viscount Ashworth, the only son and heir to the Marquis of Lindley – and the man Sebastian suspects (but can’t prove) was the second killer – is engaged to be married to Sebastian’s beautiful, troubled niece Stephanie.

Who Slays the Wicked picks up seven months later. Despite Sebastian’s attempts to block the union and find evidence linking Ashworth to the murders, Stephanie and Ashworth are married, and parents to twin boys. But the marriage is a sham. Amanda lives with her father-in-law at his Park Street mansion, and a dissolute Ashworth continues living the life of a bachelor. When the story opens, Ashworth has just been found viciously stabbed to death in his own bed, hands and feet bound to the bedposts. Sebastian learns of the murder from Bow Street Magistrate (and friend) Sir Henry Lovejoy, and he can’t help but worry that Stephanie might have killed him. The ghastly, bloody crime scene and Ashworth’s savaged body point to an angry killer, and when Sebastian uncovers additional evidence that seems to suggest the killer was a woman, Stephanie becomes his number one suspect.

Like the books that precede it, finding Ashworth’s killer is complicated by the abundance of suspects and their hidden agendas. In addition to his young wife, Ashworth was despised by a large and disparate group – shopkeepers he failed to pay, victims of his sadistic sexual games, grieving relatives, his household staff – and Sebastian is compelled to investigate every lead, even when the evidence appears to point to Stephanie as the killer. His inquiries are further complicated by Ashworth’s apparent involvement with Princess Ivanna Gagarin, a lady in waiting attached to Catherine of Oldenburg, sister to Tsar Alexander of Russia, who delights in many of the same perverted sexual games Ashworth enjoyed when he was alive. When Ashworth’s missing valet is found – naked and stabbed to death – Sebastian realizes it’s a race against time to stop the killer from silencing anyone related to the case.

Part of what makes the Sebastian St. Cyr series so superb is the exquisite balancing act Ms. Harris pulls off with every book. The novels are equal parts Sebastian’s life, a clever, intricate self-contained mystery (the villain is rarely who one initially suspects) and history lesson. Usually, this author gets the mix just right, but in Who Slays the Wicked, Sebastian’s ongoing journey of self-discovery is sacrificed in favor of finding the killer – and since there are LOTS of suspects, the balance the author has so carefully maintained before is off. While I was interested in Sebastian’s niece, her BIG REVELATION was more depressing than surprising, and the link between Russian political machinations in London at the end of the Napoleonic war and Ashworth’s murder felt tenuous at best. Ivanna could have been a great villain, but her character is underdeveloped within the context of this story.

Fortunately – and despite my ambivalence about who killed Ashworth – we get to spend time with the memorable cast of secondary characters that inhabit Sebastian’s world – although these vignettes are too few and far between. The marriage between Sebastian and his brilliant wife Hero is still passionate and tender, and Hero provides the emotional and intellectual support Sebastian needs to persevere in his investigations. Via her efforts to investigate and publicize the lives of London’s poorest citizens, she also unwittingly helps Sebastian identify Ashworth’s killer. (I love how Ms. Harris pulls together seemingly unrelated, disparate threads in her stories before she reveals whodunit.) There are also blink-and-you’ll-miss-them appearances from Hendon and Henrietta, and if you didn’t loathe Sebastian’s sister Amanda, the Dowager Lady Wilcox (but you probably did) before this novel, you will. Evil bitch. Hero’s father, Jarvis, only plays a minor role in this story, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens after his relationship with conniving cousin Victoria is revealed. Hero suspects they’re engaged in a secret affair, but I think there’s more to Victoria than meets the eye. Am I the only one who suspects she killed Hero’s mother?

Although I enjoyed the novel, Who Slays the Wicked didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The murder that opens it is an anti-climactic conclusion to the events of Where the Dead Lie, and I found the abhorrent revelations about Sebastian’s extended family less compelling and slightly repellent. The historical aspects don’t quite dovetail into the plot as well as in previous books, and overall, I found this novel weaker than earlier entries in the series. With fourteen books written, and still so many unanswered questions, I’m skeptical as to how Ms. Harris can possibly wrap up the series with only one book to go. But since every book is good for at least one big revelation (or two! or three!), I’m eagerly looking forward to whatever she surprises us with next.

When a dissolute young member of the Upper Ten Thousand is discovered murdered in his bed, surrounded by erotic paraphernalia, Sir Henry Lovejoy summons Sebastian St. Cyr to investigate. As Sebastian begins to question suspects, it becomes apparent the widow of Lord Ashworth, Sebastian's niece, rises to the top of the list. But, Lord Ashworth was not a good person and a lot of other people wanted him dead. Too many people. Meanwhile, a delegation of Russian diplomats, heading by the Tsar's sister and her entourage, including Lady Ivanna Gargarin, arrive in London to negotiate the set-up of post-Napoleonic Europe. This adds another element to the investigation. As Sebastian worries about his niece, more bodies turn up. This is a very well-written series of historical thrillers, written with an eye for detail. I like the characters, who are fully developed. Recommended.

In contemporary mystery, it is usually considered a requirement that the investigator be an impartial observer, that he or she not have any relationship to the victim or the possible suspects. Although it is often a plot point that an involved detective pursues the case anyway.

No such restriction hampers Sebastian St. Cyr. His investigations, though often at the behest of Bow Street, are always at least somewhat unofficial. And as a high-ranking member of the aristocracy during the Regency, it’s not as if a Bow Street Runner, no matter how high-ranking within the still-rudimentary force, could tell him what to do in any case.

This is ironically similar to the situation that surrounds the dead man, Lord Ashworth. Sebastian St. Cyr knew the man and loathed him, as did seemingly everyone who crossed the man’s path. A path that includes, unfortunately, St. Cyr’s beloved niece Stephanie.

She has the misfortune to be married to the man. A man who St. Cyr was certain was guilty of multiple brutal murders of young street children. (That story is in Where the Dead Lie.) But just as St. Cyr can’t be ordered about because of his rank, Ashworth was too highly ranked to ever be held accountable for his many, many crimes.

It seems all too fitting that Ashworth, a known sexual sadist, was found naked, tied to his own bed and hacked to death by so many stab wounds that it is impossible to ascertain the murder weapon. Only that the killing was extremely vicious and certainly personal.

The problem for St. Cyr is that he’s a bit sorry he didn’t do the job himself, but he fears that his niece may have done. She had plenty of motive – she’s just far from the only person who had plenty.

As much as St. Cyr feels relieved that this killer has been put out of his niece’s – and the entire city’s – misery, when the dead reprobate turns out to be merely the first in a host of corpses, he needs to figure out who slew this very wicked man – before that person kills another innocent – and before his niece is officially charged with the crime.

Although the murder of Ashworth and his procurer could be considered a public service, the murder of the innocents who might have chanced to know just a bit about the crime is not.

St. Cyr must seek the truth, no matter how dangerous the places to which it leads – or how many people try to stop him – permanently.

Escape Rating A: This series is dark and gritty and fascinating at every turn. This particular entry sucked me in from the very first page, and didn’t let go until the last – at 2 am.

But fair warning, if you love the glitz and glitter of the Regency era that was popularized by Georgette Heyer and is the way that the Regency is most often portrayed, this series may not be for you. Because this series explores the extremely seedy underbelly of the Regency. It drags what has been swept far under the carpet into the light of day and has a lot of trenchant things to say about the divide between rich and poor, the extreme privilege of the aristocracy and the trampling of pretty much everyone from the lowest rag-and-bone picker to the solidly middle class.

The glitter of the Regency rested on one hell of a lot of garbage, and this series pokes into it all. It’s not a pretty sight – nor is it meant to be..

What makes this particular case so compelling is that we, and St. Cyr, know that Ashworth was rotten to the core. And even if one has not (yet) read Where the Dead Lie, St. Cyr’s investigation provides more than enough information about Ashworth’s actual crimes and his pure contempt for pretty much everyone other than himself to make the reader every bit as glad the man is dead as St. Cyr.

That he got away with so much not just disgusting but outright criminal behavior is its own indictment of both the man and the society that allows him to prey on so many people.

We also see St. Cyr’s conflict over the whole affair. He wanted the man dead. He knows Ashworth was guilty of so much. And yet, he needs to find justice. Not just to keep the accusations away from his niece, but also to keep the new predator from continuing his spree.

Part of what makes St. Cyr such a fascinating hero is the way that he deals with his own privilege and his own demons. Because he has plenty of both. But it’s his demons that drive him to assist Bow Street, no matter how many powerful people – including his own father-in-law – warn him off, over and over again.

This case, like many that St. Cyr involves himself with, has political implications that loom over the investigation. In this particular case it’s the visit by one of the Tsar’s sisters, in anticipation of the defeat of Napoleon and what will be intense political machinations over the ensuing treaty.

That one of the Princess’s noble attendants was one of the dead man’s many playmates adds to the complications, while the impending defeat of Napoleon seems like a hazy dream. The war has gone on for so very long, and has left so many scarred. St. Cyr included.

This series is dark and gritty and fascinating and compelling. While I haven’t managed to read every book (I need more round tuits to catch up!), every single one that I have read has been gripping from the opening pages – no matter how long its been since my last foray into St. Cyr’s world.

And the reveal of who slew this wicked man was a surprise and a shock and a marvelous conclusion to this dark, decadent and delicious story. I’ll be back for St. Cyr’s next investigation!

Do you love historical romance and/or historical mysteries?  Then you should be reading (or listening to) the Sebastian St. Cyr series.  Who Slays the Wicked, the fourteenth book in this long-running series is another compelling entry - although it isn’t quite as strong as many of the novels that precede it.  As usual, Ms. Harris masterfully disguises her villain until the bitter end, and there are red herrings and surprise twists throughout.   But this entry suffers from one significant problem: the murder victim is a nasty piece of work we first met in book twelve, Where the Dead Lie, quite frankly I didn’t care who killed him!  I wish the author had spent more time giving this character the torturous and painful comeuppance he so richly deserved, so I felt cheated!  Who Slays the Wicked is a compelling and clever mystery, but far from the best in this amazing series.Fair warning to new readers: this review will contain spoilers for the earlier novels.What Angels Fear introduced readers to Sebastian St. Cyr, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.  Accused of a rape and murder he didn’t commit, Sebastian fled his home and went into hiding, and while on the run, he used investigative skills honed as an agent during the war to find the killer.  As the book progressed, we learned more about Sebastian and the people and events that shaped his life, and over thirteen books the author has slowly advanced his life story while at the same time crafting clever and complicated standalone mysteries that only Sebastian (with help from his family and friends  - including a Bow Street magistrate) can solve.  There are surprises and secrets and lies and lovers and enemies and spies and betrayals and trysts (and more!), all juxtaposed against significant historical events of the time.  Ms. Harris’s worldbuilding is comprehensive - people, places, events - and all of it is supremely well done.In book twelve, Where the Dead Lie, Sebastian was drawn into one of his darkest and most harrowing cases: finding the person who was kidnapping, sadistically brutalizing and then murdering London’s homeless boys and girls.  The investigation eventually led him to conclude two friends committed the crimes together simply because it pleased them to do so.  When Where the Dead Lie concluded, one of the killers was dead, and in a surprise twist, Anthony, Viscount Ashworth, the only son and heir to the Marquis of Lindley - and the man Sebastian suspects (but can’t prove) was the second killer - is engaged to be married to Sebastian’s beautiful, troubled niece Stephanie.Who Slays the Wicked picks up seven months later. Despite Sebastian’s attempts to block the union and find evidence linking Ashworth to the murders, Stephanie and Ashworth are married, and parents to twin boys.  But the marriage is a sham. Amanda lives with her father-in-law at his Park Street mansion, and a dissolute Ashworth continues living the life of a bachelor.  When the story opens, Ashworth has just been found viciously stabbed to death in his own bed, hands and feet bound to the bedposts.  Sebastian learns of the murder from Bow Street Magistrate (and friend) Sir Henry Lovejoy, and he can’t help but worry that Stephanie might have killed him.  The ghastly, bloody crime scene and Ashworth’s savaged body point to an angry killer, and when Sebastian uncovers additional evidence that seems to suggest the killer was a woman, Stephanie becomes his number one suspect.Like the books that precede it, finding Ashworth’s killer is complicated by the abundance of suspects and their hidden agendas.  In addition to his young wife, Ashworth was despised by a large and disparate group - shopkeepers he failed to pay, victims of his sadistic sexual games, grieving relatives, his household staff - and Sebastian is compelled to investigate every lead, even when the evidence appears to point to Stephanie as the killer.  His inquiries are further complicated by Ashworth’s apparent involvement with Princess Ivanna Gagarin, a lady in waiting attached to Catherine of Oldenburg, sister to Tsar Alexander of Russia, who delights in many of the same perverted sexual games Ashworth enjoyed when he was alive.  When Ashworth’s missing valet is found - naked and stabbed to death - Sebastian realizes it’s a race against time to stop the killer from silencing anyone related to the case.Part of what makes the Sebastian St. Cyr series so superb is the exquisite balancing act Ms. Harris pulls off with every book.  The novels are equal parts Sebastian’s life, a clever, intricate self-contained mystery (the villain is rarely who one initially suspects) and history lesson.  Usually, this author usually gets the mix just right, but in Who Slays the Wicked, Sebastian’s  ongoing journey of self-discovery is sacrificed in favor of finding the killer - and since there are LOTS of suspects, the balance the author has so carefully maintained before is off.  While I was interested in Sebastian’s niece, her BIG REVELATION was more depressing than surprising, and the link between Russian political machinations in London at the end of the Napoleonic war and Ashworth’s murder felt tenuous at best. Ivanna could have been a great villain, but her character is underdeveloped within the context of this story.Fortunately - and despite my ambivalence about who killed Ashworth - we get to spend time with the memorable cast of secondary characters that inhabit Sebastian's world - although these vignettes are too few and far between.  The marriage between Sebastian and his brilliant wife Hero is still passionate and tender, and Hero provides the emotional and intellectual support Sebastian needs to persevere in his investigations.  Via her efforts to investigate and publicize the lives of London’s poorest citizens, she also unwittingly helps Sebastian identify Ashworth’s killer.  (I love how Ms. Harris pulls together seemingly unrelated, disparate threads in her stories before she reveals whodunit.)  There are also blink-and-you’ll-miss-them appearances from Hendon and Henrietta, and if you didn’t loathe Sebastian’s sister Amanda, the Dowager Lady Wilcox (but you probably did) before this novel, you will.  Evil bitch.  Hero’s father, Jarvis, only plays a minor role in this story, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens after his relationship with conniving cousin Victoria is revealed.  Hero suspects they’re engaged in a secret affair, but I think there’s more to Victoria than meets the eye.  Am I the only one who suspects she killed Hero’s mother?Although I enjoyed the novel, Who Slays the Wicked didn’t quite live up to my expectations.  The murder that opens it is an anti-climactic conclusion to the events of Where the Dead Lie, and I found the abhorrent revelations about Sebastian’s extended family less compelling and slightly repellent.  The historical aspects don’t quite dovetail into the plot as well as in previous books, and overall, I found this novel weaker than earlier entries in the series. With fourteen books written, and still so many unanswered questions, I’m skeptical as to how Ms. Harris can possibly wrap up the series with only one book to go.  But since every book is good for at least one big revelation (or two! or three!), I’m eagerly looking forward to whatever she surprises us with next.Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/KoboVisit our Amazon Storefront

Historical 1814 mystery a winner!

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is asked by Bow Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy to investigate the savage murder of the debauched Anthony Ledger, Lord Ashworth. The investigation becomes one of personal involvement, with international diplomatic overtones, specifically related to a state visit by the Tsar's sister, the Grand Duchess Catherine of Oldenburg.
Sebastian's niece Stephanie is the personal issue. She'd married Ashworth despite Sebastian's vigorous protest. Having given birth to twin boys, Stephanie moved out to live with Ashworth' s father, the Marquis of Lindley, ostensibly whilst their house is being refurbished. Ashworth the townhouse. Sebastian has long suspected Ashworth of being involved in the kidnapping and murder of young children. He just hasn't had proof. The problem is that it appears Ashworth might have been killed by a woman and it seems Stephanie heads the suspect list. Stephanie doesn't help. She keeps being caught out in the web of excuses she weaves. Dark secrets around Stephanie will surface.
Hero, the brilliant woman that is Sebastian's wife is researching for articles on the "poor of London, including scavengers...mainly the pure finders and rag-and-bone pickers, but perhaps also the night-soil men" " Her forays into the rankest areas of London will pay dividends.
Tracking down the murderer will prove elusive. “According to Stephanie, the list of people who wanted Ashworth dead [was] virtually endless.”
Harris' historical knowing is as always, well grounded. I was transported back to that era not by a time machine, but by the sheer force of Harris' narrative prose.
Who would know how to draw a line between a degenerate's murder, the London visit by Russian royalty and the problems of flush toilets, subsequent sewer issues, and the ecology of the Thames? (the latter is mentioned in the so very informative Author's Notes.)
An intriguing read!

A Berkley ARC via NetGalley

Fans of Georgette Heyer's Regency romances will recognize the setting, but not the style of this intriguing mystery. This is the 14th book in the series, but my first introduction to amateur detective and nobleman Sebastian St. Cyr. The plat was intriguing and the references to events in previous books did not detract from my understanding of this title. If anything, they made me want to start the series form the beginning to experience the development of the main characters and their relationships. A thoroughly enjoyable read!

This is another series that I came into way late in the game. I read the first book in the series and then skipped a head to books 12 and 13. And of course now, here we are at book 14.

I love Sebastian, AKA Viscount Devlin, though so I couldn’t pass up this book when it came up for review. I will get into how jumping around in the series effected my reading experience later on in my review, but for now I want to talk a little bit about why this series appealed to me.

When I was pitched the 12th book, I hadn’t heard of this series before so I figured I better go back and read the first book before I even start the 12th book. I immediately fell in love with the Viscount Devlin and felt that this series was a little gritty compared to some of the other amateur detective novels I had read up until that point.

I will say though, that I don’t know what happened with the cover art here. The last few books have moved away from the more colorful style and changed to more black and white. I am not sure that I care for the black and white covers as much as the more colorful options. The colorful ones stand out to me!

Summary

When the handsome but dissolute young gentleman Lord Ashworth is found brutally murdered, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is called in by Bow Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy to help catch the killer. Just seven months before, Sebastian had suspected Ashworth of aiding one of his longtime friends and companions in the kidnapping and murder of a string of vulnerable street children. But Sebastian was never able to prove Ashworth’s complicity. Nor was he able to prevent his troubled, headstrong young niece Stephanie from entering into a disastrous marriage with the dangerous nobleman.

Stephanie has survived the difficult birth of twin sons. But Sebastian soon discovers that her marriage has quickly degenerated into a sham. Ashworth abandoned his pregnant bride at his father’s Park Street mansion and has continued living an essentially bachelor existence. And mounting evidence–ranging from a small bloody handprint to a woman’s silk stocking–suggests that Ashworth’s killer was a woman. Sebastian is tasked with unraveling the shocking nest of secrets surrounding Ashworth’s life to keep Stephanie from being punished for his death (summary from Goodreads).

Review

As I said, I started this book series so late. Has that effected how I read the series….to some degree yes. When I read the 12th and 13th books after reading the first, I did feel like I had missed some major plot points and character evolution, but as far as the mystery itself goes—each book did read fine as a standalone. However, now that I have read the three books proceeding this one, I didn’t think I was as lost in some of the finer little details of the larger narrative.

So yes these books could be read as standalone books just like other big authors with established series, but if you want the total experience of seeing how Sebastian evolves and changes in the series and how his relationships with some of the characters has shifted, then obviously you should start much earlier in the series. In fact that is what I am doing, I am picking up some of the earlier books and giving them a go just because I love Sebastian and want to know more.

One of the things that I love about this series, is that it focuses more on the darker side of London. More of the back alley degenerates and criminal underworld rather than the toffs in Mayfair. I love that the author takes this approach, it makes for an engaging and unique perspective and it makes Sebastian stand out even more to me as a reader.

This particular book has a lot of layers to it. There is a lot of historic information and social history that is explored in this book, as well as an engaging mystery, mixed with some romance and progress in the larger narrative. I loved this installment, it was suspenseful and kept me engaged and reading until the wee hours. I can’t wait to continue the series and to go back and immerse myself in the larger series.