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It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then the body of a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol discovered 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 experiences in the Napoleonic Wars. Now a fugitive running for his life, Sebastian show more calls upon his skill as an officer during the war to catch the killer and prove his own innocence. In the process, he accumulates a band of unlikely allies, including the enigmatic beauty Kat Boleyn, who broke Sebastian's heart years ago. In Sebastian's world of intrigue and espionage, nothing is as it seems, yet the truth may hold the key to the future of the British monarchy, as well as to Sebastian's own salvation.... show lessTags
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This series has been popping up on my radar for years and years, and I always thought I need to try those, and then something shiny would distract me. When Jennifer's books posted about one of the more recent books in the series, it was the motivation I needed to check out the first one from my library.
At 400+ pages, I was wary of what I was getting into, but the pace is fast enough to make the pages fly by. They flew even faster when I started skimming some of the more descriptively verbose sections, the kind you're either in the mood for, or you aren't. I really liked Sebastian and was disappointed that his friend (Sir Christopher?) wasn't around more - I liked the dynamic between them best for its light-hearted banter. I'm reserving show more judgement about Kat and the rest of the cast as there was an element of ... not melodrama, but Very Serious, to the tone of this book that I'm hoping is a natural result of the plot, rather than the series' permanent tone.
The one thing I categorically did not like was the graphicness. Harris seemed to take particular delight in trying to sicken the reader with the perverseness of the crime, bring it up again, and again, and dwelling on details [spoiler]Trigger warning for rape and necrophilia.[/spoiler]. I have speculations about what drove her to write like this, but I'll keep them to myself, as they aren't very generous, but suffice it to say I didn't care for the heavy handedness.
I did like everything else though; the multi-threaded approach to the investigation, with multiple POVs handled gracefully, the intricateness of the plotting and the confidence of the characters. I am definitely interested in reading the next book in what is a very long series. If the heavy handed graphicness continues, well, they're library loans. God bless libraries! show less
At 400+ pages, I was wary of what I was getting into, but the pace is fast enough to make the pages fly by. They flew even faster when I started skimming some of the more descriptively verbose sections, the kind you're either in the mood for, or you aren't. I really liked Sebastian and was disappointed that his friend (Sir Christopher?) wasn't around more - I liked the dynamic between them best for its light-hearted banter. I'm reserving show more judgement about Kat and the rest of the cast as there was an element of ... not melodrama, but Very Serious, to the tone of this book that I'm hoping is a natural result of the plot, rather than the series' permanent tone.
The one thing I categorically did not like was the graphicness. Harris seemed to take particular delight in trying to sicken the reader with the perverseness of the crime, bring it up again, and again, and dwelling on details [spoiler]Trigger warning for rape and necrophilia.[/spoiler]. I have speculations about what drove her to write like this, but I'll keep them to myself, as they aren't very generous, but suffice it to say I didn't care for the heavy handedness.
I did like everything else though; the multi-threaded approach to the investigation, with multiple POVs handled gracefully, the intricateness of the plotting and the confidence of the characters. I am definitely interested in reading the next book in what is a very long series. If the heavy handed graphicness continues, well, they're library loans. God bless libraries! show less
One of the worst books I've actually been able to finish. As Sebastian St Cyr complains, 'I feel as if I've been chased across London and back again for the past hundred years' - and so does the reader, after persevering for 400 pages to solve the mystery.
This novel is an exercise in repetition - descriptions (how many times do we need to be told that it's cold, damp and foggy?), gestures (the universal sign of despair being to draw/drag/scrape a hand across the face), tactics (appearing from dark corners, brandishing a gun, to confront strangely co-operative suspects). Midway through the book, the main mystery is how long the author intends to drag it out. I didn't even care about the victim, an improbably pure and admirable show more actress/prostitute, strangely sharing her moniker with a real-life Broadway actress, after she actually uttered the comedy last words of: 'It's you!' The plot became hopelessly convoluted, involving French spies and blackmail, so that any glimmer of compulsion to discover the real murderer rapidly dwindled. And the dialogue is atrocious, intended more I feel for a Hollywood blockbuster or Hallmark screenplay than a historical novel - any attempt at formal English is quickly abandoned, giving into a modern, colloquial style that jars with the alleged era in which the story is set. Characters tell each other to 'snap out of it', and use glib phrases like 'I guess' and 'I don't get it'. Unfortunately, and rather painfully, the only dialect that remains is the excrutiating Mockney of the Disney-fied street urchin, presumably Dick Van Dyke's ancestor, who befriends the hero - 'Lor', love you, gov'nor!' When the author does attempt to insert a little Regency colour into the narrative, it's at the expense of Georgette Heyer - all 'rum coves' and 'showy hacks'.
Perhaps the most irritating aspect of the whole novel, however, is the facile, American perspective of English politics in the early nineteenth century: 'He knew his nation, too, knew its arrogance and its fears and its willingness to blame anyone foreign, without due process'. Naturally, St Cyr, an English viscount, is exempt, and his amour is an Irish actress, whose parents were hanged by the invading soldiers, so she can hate the English, too. Why set a book in Regency England just to rant against history? However, as the author merely provides a potted history of politics during the reign of George III/ the Regency of George IV, actually employing her hero to spout the textbook version to his young accomplice, brevity precludes impact. Charactersation (everybody wealthy good-looking, everybody poor well-meaning) and historical detail are also skimmed over in favour of a trite script and violent scenes, and the ending is appalling. The villain is straight out of a Victorian penny dreadful or a B-movie, explaining his dark deeds as he soon intends to kill the intrepid St Cyr, so it won't matter.
Please. Don't buy this, lured by the premise and the historical setting as I was - it fails to deliver. show less
This novel is an exercise in repetition - descriptions (how many times do we need to be told that it's cold, damp and foggy?), gestures (the universal sign of despair being to draw/drag/scrape a hand across the face), tactics (appearing from dark corners, brandishing a gun, to confront strangely co-operative suspects). Midway through the book, the main mystery is how long the author intends to drag it out. I didn't even care about the victim, an improbably pure and admirable show more actress/prostitute, strangely sharing her moniker with a real-life Broadway actress, after she actually uttered the comedy last words of: 'It's you!' The plot became hopelessly convoluted, involving French spies and blackmail, so that any glimmer of compulsion to discover the real murderer rapidly dwindled. And the dialogue is atrocious, intended more I feel for a Hollywood blockbuster or Hallmark screenplay than a historical novel - any attempt at formal English is quickly abandoned, giving into a modern, colloquial style that jars with the alleged era in which the story is set. Characters tell each other to 'snap out of it', and use glib phrases like 'I guess' and 'I don't get it'. Unfortunately, and rather painfully, the only dialect that remains is the excrutiating Mockney of the Disney-fied street urchin, presumably Dick Van Dyke's ancestor, who befriends the hero - 'Lor', love you, gov'nor!' When the author does attempt to insert a little Regency colour into the narrative, it's at the expense of Georgette Heyer - all 'rum coves' and 'showy hacks'.
Perhaps the most irritating aspect of the whole novel, however, is the facile, American perspective of English politics in the early nineteenth century: 'He knew his nation, too, knew its arrogance and its fears and its willingness to blame anyone foreign, without due process'. Naturally, St Cyr, an English viscount, is exempt, and his amour is an Irish actress, whose parents were hanged by the invading soldiers, so she can hate the English, too. Why set a book in Regency England just to rant against history? However, as the author merely provides a potted history of politics during the reign of George III/ the Regency of George IV, actually employing her hero to spout the textbook version to his young accomplice, brevity precludes impact. Charactersation (everybody wealthy good-looking, everybody poor well-meaning) and historical detail are also skimmed over in favour of a trite script and violent scenes, and the ending is appalling. The villain is straight out of a Victorian penny dreadful or a B-movie, explaining his dark deeds as he soon intends to kill the intrepid St Cyr, so it won't matter.
Please. Don't buy this, lured by the premise and the historical setting as I was - it fails to deliver. show less
This first title in the Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series will hook you and reel you in. Accused of a heinous rape/murder, Viscount Devlin flees the authorities and takes refuge in 1811 London where he seeks to clear his name. With various allies to help him, he unravels a scheme involving French spies, political intrigue, blackmail, and greed. Evocative setting details will have you believing you’re in fog-shrouded London as you follow the hero’s adventures into disreputable alleyways and slummy inns as he searches for the killer before the man strikes again. Devlin can’t even trust his own family who harbors their own damaging secrets. At stake is the life of a woman he once loved and who loves him still. Can he unmask the show more villain, save the Regency, and avoid the hangman’s noose? Once you read this book, you’ll want to find more stories in Harris’s engaging series. show less
It's wonderful to be truly surprised. This book surprised me in that I not only liked it...I loved it. Although I am a huge fan of history as a subject...I am not and never have been a historical mystery fan. I took up this book because of a group that I do group reads with each month...approaching it cautiously. The more I read the more I liked it. You'll need to be on your toes and possibly have a spreadsheet for this one. We are introduced to a wide group of characters who...I'm sure...will figure into the next twelve books in the series. The plot is well done . I found myself struggling to find the killer among all the possible suspects that we had to choose from and working against the fact that 1811 had no forensic science show more available as we do today that would have almost immediately eliminated most of them. Bottom line is it was well written, good character envelopment and I am so looking forward to more of Sebastian St. Cyr. show less
The first in the St. Cyr mystery series that takes place just as the Regency period of (future) George IV is being installed.
The book starts from the POV of a young woman who is brutally murdered; the final thought in the prologue is "she knew she'd made a terrible mistake." This thought proves a foundation to who could possibly be the murderer and lends credence to Sebastian St. Cyr as he tries to solve her slaying.
Main characters in the series are introduced: Jarvis, who knows his mind is better than anyone else's; Sebastian St. Cyr; his father, Hendon, holding the office of Exchequer; Kate, an actress who has shared her heart with Sebastian in the past and now; and the landscape of 1811 London with all its class structure and a show more burgeoning police investigative arm.
One of the more refreshing parts of this book is the main characters' reactions to Rachel. She is an actress whose rooms are paid for by a paramour, and she has a past and a brain that has helped her get away from her past. The characters on her side do not discount her for being an actress and a paid companion in order to earn money; it's the characters who sneer at her who are the dislikable ones in this tapestry.
The mystery is engaging, the characters are well-done, and the ending was quite shocking. Just the perfect thing for foggy London nights! show less
The book starts from the POV of a young woman who is brutally murdered; the final thought in the prologue is "she knew she'd made a terrible mistake." This thought proves a foundation to who could possibly be the murderer and lends credence to Sebastian St. Cyr as he tries to solve her slaying.
Main characters in the series are introduced: Jarvis, who knows his mind is better than anyone else's; Sebastian St. Cyr; his father, Hendon, holding the office of Exchequer; Kate, an actress who has shared her heart with Sebastian in the past and now; and the landscape of 1811 London with all its class structure and a show more burgeoning police investigative arm.
One of the more refreshing parts of this book is the main characters' reactions to Rachel. She is an actress whose rooms are paid for by a paramour, and she has a past and a brain that has helped her get away from her past. The characters on her side do not discount her for being an actress and a paid companion in order to earn money; it's the characters who sneer at her who are the dislikable ones in this tapestry.
The mystery is engaging, the characters are well-done, and the ending was quite shocking. Just the perfect thing for foggy London nights! show less
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: 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 raped and savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol discovered 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.
Now a fugitive running for his life, Sebastian calls upon his skill as an agent during the war to catch the killer and prove his own innocence. In the process, he accumulates a band of unlikely allies, including the enigmatic beauty Kat Boleyn, who broke Sebastian's show more heart years ago. In Sebastian's world of intrigue and espionage, nothing is as it seems, yet the truth may hold the key to the future of the British monarchy, as well as to Sebastian's own salvation....
My Review: BOOK ONE OF ADDICTIVE SERIES
You've been warned.
It's amazing how involving I *still* find the Regency, even after many and various outrages perpetrated on its remnant mummy corpse. People with ultramod unprejudiced 'tudes bearing titles like Lord Shavingrazorden and the Duchess of Murkwatter,entertaining. People traveling to far points without seeming to spend the required months. I mean seriously, how did all those East Indiamen get to Fort Thingummy in Malaya in a twinkling? Ye Olde Concorde?
*ahem*
This book does its share of anachronism-perpetuating. Devlin, our hero, is a straight (in all senses)-ahead 21st century romance hero. Doesn't make him unappealing; it makes me a little impatient, I guess.
What makes this book so appealing to me is the atmosphere, the evocation of the London that one writer characterized as "...diamonds gleaming in the manure pile." Rich was better than poor by right; titles better than all the masses by right; royalty? Fuhgeddaboudit.
The characters around Devlin are all very clearly delineated, and several recur (no spoiler in that, since it's a series mystery) with evolving storylines that tie them into a unit in some unexpexcted and, honestly, some surprising and upsetting ways. Of course the female characters are single-emotion placeholders. I say of course because a first mystery usually has this minor and female character flaw, giving them shorter shrift than is advisable early on.
Withal the book is very worthy of your shelf space; the series is high quality reading; and the price of entry paltry compared to the pleasures you'll get. show less
The Publisher Says: 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 raped and savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol discovered 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.
Now a fugitive running for his life, Sebastian calls upon his skill as an agent during the war to catch the killer and prove his own innocence. In the process, he accumulates a band of unlikely allies, including the enigmatic beauty Kat Boleyn, who broke Sebastian's show more heart years ago. In Sebastian's world of intrigue and espionage, nothing is as it seems, yet the truth may hold the key to the future of the British monarchy, as well as to Sebastian's own salvation....
My Review: BOOK ONE OF ADDICTIVE SERIES
You've been warned.
It's amazing how involving I *still* find the Regency, even after many and various outrages perpetrated on its remnant mummy corpse. People with ultramod unprejudiced 'tudes bearing titles like Lord Shavingrazorden and the Duchess of Murkwatter,entertaining. People traveling to far points without seeming to spend the required months. I mean seriously, how did all those East Indiamen get to Fort Thingummy in Malaya in a twinkling? Ye Olde Concorde?
*ahem*
This book does its share of anachronism-perpetuating. Devlin, our hero, is a straight (in all senses)-ahead 21st century romance hero. Doesn't make him unappealing; it makes me a little impatient, I guess.
What makes this book so appealing to me is the atmosphere, the evocation of the London that one writer characterized as "...diamonds gleaming in the manure pile." Rich was better than poor by right; titles better than all the masses by right; royalty? Fuhgeddaboudit.
The characters around Devlin are all very clearly delineated, and several recur (no spoiler in that, since it's a series mystery) with evolving storylines that tie them into a unit in some unexpexcted and, honestly, some surprising and upsetting ways. Of course the female characters are single-emotion placeholders. I say of course because a first mystery usually has this minor and female character flaw, giving them shorter shrift than is advisable early on.
Withal the book is very worthy of your shelf space; the series is high quality reading; and the price of entry paltry compared to the pleasures you'll get. show less
After reading this one, I can understand the love out there some readers have for this series. Harris (who also writes as Candice Proctor) gives readers a wonderfully crafted, well-paced mystery steeped in atmosphere, setting and politics of the Regency period. Sebastian St. Cyr is my kind of character. The author bills Sebastian as “Mr. Darcy with a James Bond edge”. Not sure I agree with the Bond bit. Maybe more “Mr. Darcy with Edmund Dante’s edge”, IMO. A dashing nobleman with a notorious reputation and a determination to clear his name of the crimes he did not commit. Yes, he could have just “jumped ship” for the continent or even America, but then we wouldn’t have such an interesting story, would we? Happily, Harris show more provides us with an equally strong and intelligent female lead in Kat Boleyn, the love that got away and then came back. As with any good mystery, Harris provides Sebastian with some key helpers, including opium addicted Dr. Paul Gibson for medical/autopsy skill and the young street urchin Tom. For opponents, we have Lord Jarvis, an already powerful man positioning himself to be the right hand of the new Prince Reagent and the boss of chief magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy, who thankfully, respects the art and new scientific methods of detection, even if Jarvis thinks he can just incarcerate someone with scant to no evidence. Oh wait…. That was routine back then, wasn’t it?
Parts of the story are a little eye-rolling, like how Sebastian always seems to be that cape-clad individual escaping though an open window, on an appropriated horse or down a stairwell as the magistrate, constable and Bow Street runners are fast on his tail. I was also a tad suspicious of Sebastian’s uber-acute hearing and eyesight, but the author accounts for this as being Bithil Syndrome but I was unable to confirm this so will just accept it as a “thing” and enjoy the story and the series for the historical fiction mystery that it is. I already have the second book in the series, When Gods Die ready to go. show less
Parts of the story are a little eye-rolling, like how Sebastian always seems to be that cape-clad individual escaping though an open window, on an appropriated horse or down a stairwell as the magistrate, constable and Bow Street runners are fast on his tail. I was also a tad suspicious of Sebastian’s uber-acute hearing and eyesight, but the author accounts for this as being Bithil Syndrome but I was unable to confirm this so will just accept it as a “thing” and enjoy the story and the series for the historical fiction mystery that it is. I already have the second book in the series, When Gods Die ready to go. show less
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- Canonical title
- What Angels Fear
- Original title
- What Angels Fear
- Original publication date
- 2005-11-01
- People/Characters
- Sebastian Alistair St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin; Sir Christpher Farrell; Captain John Talbot; Lord Firth; Maynard; Malanie Talbot (show all 80); Jem Cummings; Reverend James McDermott; Sir Henry Lovejoy (Chief Magistrate at Queen Square); Senior Constable Edward Maitland; Rachel York; Mrs. William Nackery; Spencer Perceval; Mary Grant; Charles, Lord Jarvis; Morey; Alistair James St. Cyr, Earl of Hendon (Chancellor of the Exchequer); Danford; Richard St. Cyr; Cecil St. Cyr; Earl Ferrers; Constable Simplot; Mr. Hammer; Lord Frederick Fairchild; Tom; Katherine "Kat" Boleyn; Léon "Leo" Pierrepont; George; Cecelia Wainwright; Lord Stoneleigh; Samuel Whitbread; Gwen; Lord Grimes; Admiral Worth; Amanda Wilcox (née St. Cyr. | at odds with both her brother and father); Stephanie Wilcox; Martin Wilcox, Baron Wilcox; Hugh Gordon; Paul Gibson (Irish former army surgeon | Sebastian's friend); Giorgio Donatelli; Lord Mayor; Mr. Blackadder; George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales; Sir John Bethany; Dr. Heberden; Collins; Bayard Wilcox; Robert (Bayard's friend); Gil; Jumpin' Jack Cochran; Ben; Copeland; Jacob Touro; Sir Albert; Arnaud; Robert (Leo's footman); Matron Snyder; Reverend Finley; Mrs. Charles Lavery; Elizabeth Fairchild; Sarah; Agnes (Lord Jarvis's sister); Phyllis (Lord Jarvis's sister); Annabelle Jarvis, Lady Jarvis; David Jarvis (Lord Jarvis's son); Hero Jarvis (Lord Jarvis's daughter); Wesley Davis; Julia Lovejoy; Adelaide Hunt; Lady Bainbridge; Paddy O'Neal; Lord Braxton; Coachman John; Alice; Molly O'Hara; Sal Levitz; Sophia Hendon, Countess of Hendon; Emily; Coachman Ned; Downing
- Important places
- London, England, UK; St. Matthew of the Fields, London, England, UK
- Important events
- Regency Crisis of 1788
- Epigraph
- No place so sacred from such fops is barred,
Nor is Paul's Church more safe than Paul's Churchyard;
Nay fly to altars; there they'll talk you dead,
For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
—Alexander Pope,<... (show all)br>An Essay on Criticism - Dedication
- For my husband
Steven Ray Harris
for more reasons than I could name - First words
- She blamed the fog.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)England and your destiny await you.
- Blurbers
- Rowland, Laura Joh; Grant, Tracy; Williamson, Penelope; Thompson, Victoria
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.6
- Canonical LCC
- PS3566.R5877
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