Synopses & Reviews
The “rich period detail [and] riveting action”* C.S. Harris delivers in her Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series reaches new heights as the aristocratic sleuth navigates dangerous political waters to bring a murderer to justice… Regency London: July 1812. How do you set about solving a murder no one can reveal has been committed? That’s the challenge confronting C.S. Harris’s aristocratic soldier-turned-sleuth Sebastian St. Cyr when his friend, surgeon and “anatomist” Paul Gibson, illegally buys the cadaver of a young man from London’s infamous body snatchers. A rising star at the Foreign Office, Mr. Alexander Ross was reported to have died of a weak heart. But when Gibson discovers a stiletto wound at the base of Ross’s skull, he can turn only to Sebastian for help in catching the killer. Described by all who knew him as an amiable young man, Ross at first seems an unlikely candidate for murder. But as Sebastian’s search takes him from the Queen’s drawing rooms in St. James’s Palace to the embassies of Russia, the United States, and the Turkish Empire, he plunges into a dangerous shadow land of diplomatic maneuvering and international intrigue, where truth is an elusive commodity and nothing is as it seems. Meanwhile, Sebastian must confront the turmoil of his personal life. Hero Jarvis, daughter of his powerful nemesis Lord Jarvis, finally agrees to become his wife. But as their wedding approaches, Sebastian can’t escape the growing realization that not only Lord Jarvis but Hero herself knows far more about the events surrounding Ross’s death than they would have him believe. Then a second body is found, badly decomposed but bearing the same fatal stiletto wound. And Sebastian must race to unmask a ruthless killer who is now threatening the life of his reluctant bride and their unborn child. * The New Orleans Times-Picayune
Review
"[A] treat...riveting action." --
Times-Picayune [New Orleans] "Deftly combines political intrigue, cleverly concealed clues and vivid characters." --
Publishers Weekly [starred review] "A crescendo of suspense and surprise." --
Library Journal [starred review]
Review
"Sure to be a hit." -
Publishers Weekly "Perfect reading." - Times-Picayune [New Orleans]
Review
"Page-turning adventure, international intigue and unlikely romance...I like the way Harris is moving through with the series, especially with the multi-faceted Hero, herself an iconoclast who can move through drawing rooms and set up social service enterprises--but can be awfully handy with a knife when the need arises."
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
"Historical-mystery fans will enjoy this absorbing story."
Booklist
"Once again, the good-looking young lord investigates a horrific murder--or perhaps more than one--in this new and riveting story from the talented Harris."
Romatinc Times
Review
Praise for the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries “Page-turning adventure, international intrigue and unlikely romance...I like the way Harris is moving through the series, especially with the multi-faceted Hero.”—
Times-Picayune (New Orleans) “A ripping read. Sebastian St. Cyr’s world of Georgian intrigue captivated me to the final page.”—Will Thomas, author of
To Kingdom Come “Thoroughly enjoyable...kept me enthralled.”—Deanna Raybourn, author of
The Dead Travel Fast “Harris does an excellent job of interweaving the mystery in this book with the larger story arc of the series.”—
St. Petersburg Times “An intriguing mix of bloody murder, incest and brutality. The author, who has done her historical homework, makes a fascinating focus of her book in Hero Jarvis, a young woman whose uncompromising independence puts her far ahead of her time.”—
The Washington Times “Harris is a master of the genre.”—The Historical Novels Review
Review
Praise for the Sebastian St. Cyr Series
"Best historical thriller writer in the business! Sebastian St. Cyr is…uncannily clever, unwaveringly reserved, and irresistibly sexy. The entire series is simply elegant.”—New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner
“Deftly combines political intrigue, cleverly concealed clues and vivid characters.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“A crescendo of suspense and surprise.”—Library Journal (Starred Review)
“Thoroughly enjoyable…kept me enthralled.”—Deanna Raybourn
“A ripping read...captivated me to the final page.”—Will Thomas
“Harris crafts her story with the threat of danger, hints of humor, vivid sex scenes, and a conclusion that will make your pulse race.”—The New Orleans Times-Picayune
“Harris delves deep into the mores of Regency England…”—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
Praise for the Sebastian St. Cyr Series "Best historical thriller writer in the business! Sebastian St. Cyr is…uncannily clever, unwaveringly reserved, and irresistibly sexy. The entire series is simply elegant.”—New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner “Deftly combines political intrigue, cleverly concealed clues and vivid characters.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) “A crescendo of suspense and surprise.”—Library Journal (Starred Review) “Thoroughly enjoyable…kept me enthralled.”—Deanna Raybourn “A ripping read...captivated me to the final page.”—Will Thomas “Harris crafts her story with the threat of danger, hints of humor, vivid sex scenes, and a conclusion that will make your pulse race.”—The New Orleans Times-Picayune “Harris delves deep into the mores of Regency England…”—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Synopsis
While hunting a ruthless assassin targeting diplomats, Sebastian discovers that his bride-to-be, Hero Jarvis, knows something about the victims-something that can get her and their unborn child killed...
Synopsis
The young wife of an aging marquis is found murdered in the arms of the Prince Regent. Around her neck lies a necklace said to have been worn by Druid priestesses-that is, until it was lost at sea with its last owner, Sebastian St. Cyr's mother. Now Sebastian is lured into a dangerous investigation of the marchioness's death-and his mother's uncertain fate.
As he edges closer to the truth-and one murder follows another-he confronts a conspiracy that imperils those nearest him and threatens to bring down the monarchy.
Synopsis
It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man-Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.
Synopsis
Murder has jarred London?s elite. The sons of prominent families have been found at dawn in public places, partially butchered, with strange objects stuffed in their mouths. Once again, the local magistrate turns to Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for help. Moving from the gritty world of London?s docks to the drawing rooms of Mayfair, Sebastian confronts his most puzzling?and disturbing?case yet.
Synopsis
When Gabrielle Tennyson is murdered, aristocratic investigator Sebastian St. Cyr and his new reluctant bride, the fiercely independent Hero Jarvis, find themselves involved in an intrigue concerning the myth of King Arthur, Camelot, and a future poet laureate...
Synopsis
Sebastian St. Cyr's search for the killer of the controversial Bishop of London leads him from the back alleys fo Smithfield to the power corridors of Whitehall-to the well-guarded secrets of his own family's past.
Synopsis
Sebastian St. Cyr proves his courage once again, with murder and marriage-in a brand new historical mystery. Sebastian St. Cyr finds himself in the realm of international intrigue when he investigates the murder of a foreign office diplomat-a murder his reluctant bride-to-be, Hero Jarvis, knows something about. And when a second body is found, Sebastian must race to unmask a ruthless killer who is now threatening Hero's life-and the life of their unborn child.
Synopsis
Fifth in the critically acclaimed mystery series.
London 1812. When the controversial reform-minded Bishop of London is found bludgeoned to death in an ancient crypt beside the corpse of an unidentified man murdered decades before, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, reluctantly agrees to investigate. As his search for the killer leads him from the back alleys of Smithfield to the power corridors of Whitehall, Sebastian must confront the well-guarded secrets of his own family's past—and a devastating truth that could ultimately force him to question who—and what—he really is. Watch a Video
Synopsis
Hero Jarvis, reform-minded daughter of the Prince Regent?s cousin, enlists Sebastian St. Cyr?s help in investigating the brutal murders of eight prostitutes.
Following a trail of clues from London?s seedy East End to the Mayfair mansions of a noble family, the two must race against time to stop a killer whose ominous plot threatens to shake the nation to its very core?
Synopsis
The death of a notorious London diamond merchant draws aristocratic investigator Sebastian St. Cyr and his new wife, Hero, into a sordid world of greed, desperation, and the occult, when the husband of Sebastians former lover Kat Boleyn is accused of the murder. Regency England, September 1812: After a long night spent dealing with the tragic death of a former military comrade, a heart-sick Sebastian learns of a new calamity: Russell Yates, the dashing, one-time privateer who married Kat a year ago, has been found standing over the corpse of Benjamin Eisler, a wealthy gem dealer. Yates insists he is innocent, but he will surely hang unless Sebastian can unmask the real killer.
For the sake of Kat, the woman he once loved and lost, Sebastian plunges into a treacherous circle of intrigue. Although Eislers clients included the Prince Regent and the Emperor Napoleon, he was a despicable man with many enemies and a number of dangerous, well-kept secretsincluding a passion for arcane texts and black magic. Central to the case is a magnificent blue diamond, believed to have once formed part of the French crown jewels, which disappeared on the night of Eislers death. As Sebastian traces the diamonds ownership, he uncovers links that implicate an eccentric, powerful financier named Hope and stretch back into the darkest days of the French Revolution.
When the killer grows ever more desperate and vicious, Sebastian finds his new marriage to Hero tested by the shadows of his first love, especially when he begins to suspect that Kat is keeping secrets of her own. And as matters rise to a crisis, Sebastian must face a bitter truththat he has been less than open with the fearless woman who is now his wife.
Synopsis
When Gabrielle Tennyson is murdered, aristocratic investigator Sebastian St. Cyr and his new reluctant bride, the fiercely independent Hero Jarvis, find themselves involved in an intrigue concerning the myth of King Arthur, Camelot, and a future poet laureate...
Synopsis
The “rich period detail [and] riveting action”* C.S. Harris delivers in her Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series reaches new heights as the aristocratic sleuth navigates dangerous political waters to bring a murderer to justice… Regency London: July 1812. How do you set about solving a murder no one can reveal has been committed? That’s the challenge confronting C.S. Harris’s aristocratic soldier-turned-sleuth Sebastian St. Cyr when his friend, surgeon and “anatomist” Paul Gibson, illegally buys the cadaver of a young man from London’s infamous body snatchers. A rising star at the Foreign Office, Mr. Alexander Ross was reported to have died of a weak heart. But when Gibson discovers a stiletto wound at the base of Ross’s skull, he can turn only to Sebastian for help in catching the killer. Described by all who knew him as an amiable young man, Ross at first seems an unlikely candidate for murder. But as Sebastian’s search takes him from the Queen’s drawing rooms in St. James’s Palace to the embassies of Russia, the United States, and the Turkish Empire, he plunges into a dangerous shadow land of diplomatic maneuvering and international intrigue, where truth is an elusive commodity and nothing is as it seems. Meanwhile, Sebastian must confront the turmoil of his personal life. Hero Jarvis, daughter of his powerful nemesis Lord Jarvis, finally agrees to become his wife. But as their wedding approaches, Sebastian can’t escape the growing realization that not only Lord Jarvis but Hero herself knows far more about the events surrounding Ross’s death than they would have him believe. Then a second body is found, badly decomposed but bearing the same fatal stiletto wound. And Sebastian must race to unmask a ruthless killer who is now threatening the life of his reluctant bride and their unborn child. * The New Orleans Times-Picayune
Synopsis
The death of a notorious London diamond merchant draws aristocratic investigator Sebastian St. Cyr and his new wife, Hero, into a sordid world of greed, desperation, and the occult, when the husband of Sebastians former lover Kat Boleyn is accused of the murder. Regency England, September 1812: After a long night spent dealing with the tragic death of a former military comrade, a heart-sick Sebastian learns of a new calamity: Russell Yates, the dashing, one-time privateer who married Kat a year ago, has been found standing over the corpse of Benjamin Eisler, a wealthy gem dealer. Yates insists he is innocent, but he will surely hang unless Sebastian can unmask the real killer.
For the sake of Kat, the woman he once loved and lost, Sebastian plunges into a treacherous circle of intrigue. Although Eislers clients included the Prince Regent and the Emperor Napoleon, he was a despicable man with many enemies and a number of dangerous, well-kept secretsincluding a passion for arcane texts and black magic. Central to the case is a magnificent blue diamond, believed to have once formed part of the French crown jewels, which disappeared on the night of Eislers death. As Sebastian traces the diamonds ownership, he uncovers links that implicate an eccentric, powerful financier named Hope and stretch back into the darkest days of the French Revolution.
When the killer grows ever more desperate and vicious, Sebastian finds his new marriage to Hero tested by the shadows of his first love, especially when he begins to suspect that Kat is keeping secrets of her own. And as matters rise to a crisis, Sebastian must face a bitter truththat he has been less than open with the fearless woman who is now his wife.
About the Author
C. S. Harris graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, with a degree in classics before earning a PhD in European history. A respected scholar of the French Revolution and nineteenth-century Europe, she is also the author of the nonfiction study Women, Equality, and the French Revolution, written under the name Candice E. Proctor. After years of living in England and various far-flung regions of the old British Empire, she now makes her home in New Orleans with her husband, retired Army Intelligence officer Steve Harris, with whom she has written contemporary thrillers under the name C. S. Graham.