Who Speaks for the Damned is book fifteen in C.S. Harris’ series of historical mysteries featuring aristocratic sleuth, Sebastian St. Cyr, and could, at a pinch, be read as a standalone.  While earlier books in the series featured a long-running plotline concerning Sebastian’s his search for the truth about his origins, that doesn’t really feature here, so a new reader could jump right in.  That said, this is a consistently well-written series that has garnered high praise across the board – including several DIK reviews here – and I’d advise any fan of the genre who hasn’t yet read the series to go back to the beginning with What Angels Fear.  I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

It’s the swelteringly stuffy June of 1814 and London society is preoccupied with the visit of dignitaries from Austria, Russia and the German states, who have gathered in the city at the behest of the Prince Regent to celebrate the defeat of Napoléon and the re-establishment of peace and monarchical rule throughout Europe.  Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, and his wife Hero are spending time with their infant son prior to attending an engagement, when they are informed of the death – the murder – of Nicholas Hayes, youngest son of the late Earl of Seaforth.  The murder of an earl’s son in a tea garden in Somer’s Town is unusual enough, but Hayes, who, twenty years earlier had been found guilty of murder and transported to Botany Bay, is believed to have died over a decade before.  Which begs many questions – not least of which is what Hayes was doing back in England when, if discovered, he’d have been arrested and probably hanged.

Sebastian’s valet Jules Calhoun is the one who delivered the news, and Sebastian is a little surprised to discover that he had known the deceased before he was transported – and that he was aware that Hayes had returned to England accompanied by a young, half-Chinese boy named Ji.  Calhoun doesn’t know who Ji is to Hayes, but the boy has disappeared; concerned for his safety, Hero, who is currently researching an article about London’s street musicians, sets about looking for him among that community while Sebastian, with the help of Bow Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy, begins to look for whoever was responsible for Hayes’ death.

His enquiries begin to paint a picture of Hayes as a rather wild and unprincipled young man.  Some months before he was convicted of killing the Comtesse de Compans, he abducted a wealthy heiress, presumably with the intent to force her into marriage in order to gain control of her fortune.  Yet that Nicholas Hayes is one completely at odds with the man Calhoun had known, and as Sebastian digs deeper, a rounder, more sympathetic portrait of Nicholas begins to emerge. Sebastian, himself the son of an earl and once accused of a murder he did not commit (What Angels Fear), finds himself identifying strongly with the dead man and becomes more and more convinced  that Nicholas was wrongly convicted.  Could he have returned to England in order to exact revenge on whoever set him up?  And if so, why now?  Most importantly, who had a strong enough motive to want him dead?  Could Ji be Nicholas’ son and therefore a threat to the position of the current Earl?  Could the Comte de Compans – currently in London as part of the retinue of the newly-restored King Louis XVIII – have taken revenge for the murder of his wife? Or perhaps the husband and father of the young woman Hayes is accused of abducting wanted their pound of flesh.

C.S. Harris has – as always - penned a complex, tightly-plotted mystery rich in historical detail and full of intrigue and red-herrings.  Unsurprisingly, there is a lot more to the murder than at first appears, and equally unsurprisingly, the people most closely connected to Hayes are tight-lipped and evasive.  With the help of Hero, Calhoun, surgeon Paul Gibson and his formidable Aunt Henrietta – who knows everyone worth knowing, and has her finger on the pulse of the best gossip, past and present – Sebastian is able to start piecing together a picture of the truth behind Hayes’ conviction for murder and his reasons for returning to England.  It all makes for a thoroughly entertaining and compelling mystery and, when the truth finally comes to light, reveals an incredibly poignant picture of a life wilfully and carelessly destroyed – a life that could have been Sebastian’s just a few years earlier.

Who Speaks for the Damned is another gripping instalment in the Sebastian St. Cyr series, and one I’m sure St. Cyr will need no urging to pick up as soon as it’s released.

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4 stars for another enjoyable historical fiction book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series. This is book 15 in the series and I recommend that you start at the beginning, because there are continuing plot developments in Sebastian's personal life throughout the series.
I started reading this series when I won book 10 in a Goodreads giveaway 4 years ago and enjoyed the book so much that I started reading the rest of the series.
In this book, Sebastian, aka Viscount Devlin(the English do love their titles!), is approached by his valet, Calhoun, who asks Devlin to investigate the murder of his friend, Nicholas Hayes. Calhoun has a somewhat shady background. Calhoun's underworld connections have proved useful to Devlin in the past. Devlin agrees to investigate as he has done in each of the past books(not always on behalf of Calhoun). Book 1 was actually a case of Devlin being accused of a murder that he did not commit. In that book, he proves himself innocent by finding the real murderer. Now the authorities are happy to cooperate with him, because of his uncanny abilities to find killers.
Devlin does find the murderer, after many twists and turns in an absorbing plot with well written characters.
I learned something new in this book. "Lascars were Asian sailors who served as seamen on British ships to replace the sailors who tended to die at such alarming rates in the East."
Devlin on murder: "Murder is unseemly. Making certain a killer doesn't get away with what he has done is an obligation we the living owe to the dead-no matter how unsavory we consider them to be."
Thank You Dache Rogers at Berkley for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#WhoSpeaksfortheDamned #NetGalley

Another satisfying title in the Sebastian St. Cyr series. I discovered this series with book 13 and quickly binge-read all the previous titles. Who Speaks for the Damned also did not disappoint. All the usual cast of characters are present and the events of Regency London provide a fine backdrop to another intriguing mystery. A nobleman who had be sent to Australia after the murder of the woman he supposedly loved is found dead in a park. Sebastian and his closest associates work to discover why he returned, what happened to the child he had with him, and who killed him. Although the book has the usual themes of Hero working for the rights of the poor, Sebastian sparring with his father-in-law Jarvis, and working with doctor friend.Gibson, this story feels more personal and introspective with Sebastian considering his own choices and life. An enjoyable read - I look forward to the next book!

Who Speaks for the Damned is Harris back at her finest! A twisty, complex mystery that kept me guessing right up to the end. Sebastian and Hero are in top form and we got to catch up a little with Tom which was nice. I also enjoy her notes at the end explaining the historical events and what she chose to change to fit her narrative.

Long time readers of the series will be very pleased with this installment and new readers will want to go back and read the entire series. Harris' continued use of real historical events as anchors for the plot and characters makes the series engaging to readers who don't normally read fiction.

Who Speaks for the Damned is the fifteenth book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series by C.S. Harris. An intriguing mystery that is full of twists and turns that are sure to keep you second-guessing until the end. Who Speaks for the Damned is a page-turner with action, suspense, and lots of mysterious drama. This can easily be read as a standalone novel but after you read Who Speaks for the Damned you will want to read the whole Sebastian St. Cyr series.

When accused murderer, Nicholas Hayes, is found dead in a tea garden, many are shocked to learn he had returned to England after being transported for his crime. Sebastian St Cyr takes it upon himself to once again champion the underdog as he attempts to find the killer and the young child who was traveling with Hayes.

C.S. Harris' latest St Cyr mystery-Who Speaks for the Damned- examines the ties that bind family and the lengths some will go to cut those ties. Set in the 1800's, Harris' rather extensive historic knowledge creates an engaging and surprisingly sympathetic mystery suspense series with a rather complicated protagonist whose need for justice for all often lands him on the wrong side of the law. Action, suspense, humor, and some rather poignant moments only add to the overall enjoyment of this installment. I look forward to solving more mysteries with Harris and her St Cyr in the future.

I have always enjoyed the Sebastian St. Cyr series and this one does not disappoint. Sebastian tries to solve the murder of a former gentleman whose rough life could have easily been Sebastian's. Some of the more sideline characters get more spotlight, like Jules Calhoun. Hero also has a role but slightly less than what we have seen in the past. Overall a fun read that I highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for the ARC.

I don't know how book 15 in a series can still be so good, but C.S. Harris continues to impress. These are some of the best, smartest mysteries out there, & I hope the series continues for many books more.

When the body of man who's supposedly been dead for years turns up in a pleasure garden, Sebastian, with the help of Hero and his valet Calhoun, dig into the exiled nobleman's past to uncover the truth of his death and race against the clock to save the child he brought with him.
I absolutely love this series and highly recommend it to mystery and historical fiction fans.

As always, C.S. Harris delivers in the newest Sebastian St. Cyr mystery. In this installment, Lord Devlin investigates the murder of a nobleman who was transported to Botany Bay eighteen years before for killing the wife of a French aristocrat. Unsurprisingly, there is much more to both murders than it first appears. This one has an additional layer as Sebastian feels connected to this case due to him nearly been placed into a similar situation when he was wrongly accused of a crime (remember the plot line of the first book in the series?). Gritty and fast-paced, fans are sure to love the newest in the series.

I enjoy reading historical fiction and was looking forward to this review copy from Netgalley. I have to say that although I had fun reading this book, it was certainly not outstanding. The novel takes place in early 19th century England, and the the feel and life of that period was well portrayed. A disowned son of nobility has returned home and is murdered. There follows more murders possibly related to the first. They are investigated by another gentleman of nobility who tends to investigate murders as a "hobby." There are a lot of twists and turns to prevent the reader for solving the murders before the protagonist does, but after a while it got a little tiresome.
If you are looking for just a quick historical mystery read, this will serve the purpose. But don't look for anything of any depth.

When a disgraced British nobleman is found dead in the tea gardens, Sebastian decides to investigate. No one cares that he's dead other than the child he brought with him. It's hiding on the streets with no idea where to go or what to do. He and his wife try to find the child but have no luck. Sebastien pursues the case. What he learns is disturbing.

Berkley Publishing Group and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you. It will be published April 7th.

He finds that the man has been treated badly his whole life. When he and his love eloped, he was accused of kidnapping to save her from scandal. When she had his baby, her father farmed it out to a wet nurse who used opium to keep the basbies quiet and she killed it.

Then his brother commits suicide because the lady he loves was just using him. He goes to confront her, gets in a fight with her husband, and she ends up dead. Nicholas is charged for her murder even though he tries to tell them he didn't do it. They send him away to a prison, where he gets beat and barely survives. When the ship he's on goes down, he and a jailer end up on an island together. He leaves the jailer's body after he's disfigured his face and heads to China. After he's regained his health, he comes back home.

Sebastien thinks one of the men who betrayed him killed him. Then the four suspects start to die. Who's killing them?

Whenever a new Sebastian St. Cyr book is released, I'm eager to begin! Who Speaks for the Damned by C.S. Harris pits Sebastian (Viscount Devlin) against Jarvis and a political cover-up. That damned Jarvis, he is the epitome of the influential politician. Of course, he is also Hero's father, which puts Sebastian in many an awkward situation.

Nicholas Hayes was transported to Botany Bay for life and reportedly died there. Why has he returned to London? Who killed him and why?

Sebastian's valet knew Nicholas Hayes and his opinion of the man differs greatly from those who name him as a murderer. Hayes was accompanied by a young boy who has since disappeared, and Sebastian and Hero search for him. Someone else is also searching, but the intent is vastly different.

As always, I enjoyed the history, the mystery, and the characters in C.S. Harris' enthralling series set in Regency England.

Read in November. Review scheduled for March 16, 2020.

NetGalley/ Berkley Pub.
Historica Mystery. April 7, 2020. Print length: 336 pages.

Harris continues to shape and evolve her richly written characters in the next chapter of the lives of Sebastian, Hero and their Regency-set society. A satisfying read and well-plotted read.

A disgraced Lord, who had been tried, found guilty, transported, and thought to have died years earlier, is found murdered in a paid public park. While society apparently, it appears, does not care about the demised Lord our hero takes an interest. During the course of his investigation other murders occur which he is able to tie to the original murder. Through solid investigating he is able to solve all, including the original crime, for which the disgraced Lord was transported.

A very good early 19th century offering which should hold the readers attention. I have rated this book 4 stars.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my unbiased review of this book.

The latest in the Sebastian St. Cyr mystery is about the mysterious death of a nobleman's son who was transported and thought dead decades earlier. Sebastian gets involved when Ji, the murdered man's son, seeks him out due to a previous relationship with Sebastian's valet Calhoun. What follows is a very intriguing mystery with a handful of possible suspects who may have wronged the dead man in the past.
Sebastian has dropped his favorite activity chasing after a suspect on foot, which was getting a bit old. In fact when he considers chasing after someone at one point in this book he immediately thinks about how dangerous and foolish it is and instead goes home, which made me laugh.
I still love the relationship between Sebastian and Hero, Sebastian's dogged pursuit of justice, and all the regular cast of characters who pop up along the way.

Another excellent entry into the Lord Devlin mystery series! All of the adventure, Devlin and Hero are still in love and are excellent partners in solving cases with their unique connections. Love this series.

One of my favorite historical mystery series...I'm so happy when a new title is announced!

Why has a transported convict, a younger son of an earl, returned to England while the country is celebrating Napoleon's defeat? Who is responsible for his death, and why? Where is the child who was accompanying him? Once again, social and political aspects of the Regency are key to the events of the novel. Viscount Devlin and his lovely wife, Hero, again untangle a web of deceit. Highly recommended!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for access to the eARC.

This historical fiction series by C. S. Harris is outstanding, and I thought this new entry is particularly engaging and filled with likable and heartbreaking characters. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, along with his wife, Hero, and others, all continue to speak for the dead and investigate murders in 1800's London. Highly recommended.

CS Harris displays an enthralling ability to make the past come alive in this rich and complex novel, studded with mystery after mystery. This series is must reading for any addict of historical novels.