When Gods Die (Sebastian St. Cyr Series #2) by C. S. Harris

From the Publisher

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.

Publishers Weekly

Fans of quality historical suspense who mourn the end of the late Kate Ross's Julian Kestrel mysteries and the late Bruce Alexander's Sir John Fielding novels should find solace in the work of promising newcomer Harris, whose series (beginning with 2005's What Angels Fear) is set in Regency England. The ability of Harris's detective, Sebastian St. Cyr, the Viscount Devlin, to mingle freely with the cream of society leads to his receiving a highly sensitive commission. Given the perilous state of the English monarchy in 1811, the discovery of the dissolute Prince Regent with a murder victim in his arms makes the death of the beautiful young wife of an aristocrat even more scandalous. St. Cyr is charged by the powers that be with solving the crime and absolving the royal suspect. The author deftly combines political intrigue, cleverly concealed clues and vivid characters for a fast-moving story that will have readers eagerly anticipating future volumes in the series. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

MIt is June 1811. At a party thrown by the Prince Regent at Brighton Pavilion, the notoriously decadent royal is discovered in a secluded room with the corpse of the beautiful young wife of a marquis, a knife planted in her back. Most assume the Regent, a victim of excessive appetites, is guilty but of what they cannot say. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is asked to find out who killed the marchioness and how her body was smuggled into the Royal Pavilion. He only agrees after he recognizes the necklace worn by the dead woman. It had been worn by his mother the day she was lost at sea, her body never recovered. Harris knows her English history and has a firm grasp of how a mystery novel is supposed to play out. In this second Sebastian St. Cyr novel (What Angels Fear), she cleverly pulls the threads of her plot together, ending in a crescendo of suspense and surprise. Fans of historicals, especially those set in Regency-era England, will snap up this triumph. Harris lives in New Orleans. . Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

It's a bad day for royalty when the Price Regent is found in the Royal Pavilion clutching the dead body of the Marchioness of Anglessey. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is willing to investigate only when Lord Jarvis, the power behind the throne, shows him an unusual necklace found around Guinevere Anglessey's neck. Sebastian's mother had been wearing it when she was lost in a boating accident years earlier. An autopsy shows that Guinevere was killed in London, not Brighton, by poison, not the Stuart dagger in her back. Guinevere was pregnant, but not by her much older husband. Desperate for an heir to cut out his odious nephew, he encouraged her affair with her childhood sweetheart, a penniless French nobleman. With the help of his lover, an Irish actress and French spy who refuses to marry him; his young horse handler, a former thief; and his own contacts, Sebastian finds that Guinevere was last seen going into a tavern in a London slum. Fighting off several murderous attacks, he realizes he has stumbled on a Stuart plot to overthrow the profligate, unpopular Regent. After a series of dangerous adventures, he solves the crime, thwarts the plot and discovers the truth about his mother's disappearance. Like Georgette Heyer, Harris (What Angels Fear, 2005) delves deep into the mores of Regency England, but hers is a darker, more dangerous place. St. Cyr is a charismatic hero whose future exploits are eagerly awaited.

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