Why Kill the Innocent: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery by C. S. Harris

Why Kill the Innocent: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery. C. S. Harris. Penguin Publishing Group. Copyright April 2018. pb. 352 pp.; ISBN: 9780399585623.

Jane Ambrose is music instructor to Princess Charlotte, the presumptive heir (before Victoria) to the throne in England in London in 1814.  The Regent of Charlotte is doing everything in his power to get the Princess engaged to royalty in Denmark so that he can continue his rule unopposed.  Jane is a brilliant composer although as a woman she cannot publish her works under her own name.  A tragedy, however, cuts short her life and it is Sebastian St. Cyr’s wife, Hero, who finds Jane’s broken body in the snowy streets of London.  Certain clues, however, indicate that Jane was murdered elsewhere but the killer obviously dragged her body into the street thinking the awful snowstorm would hide her, allowing the murderer to escape any chance of arrest.

The famous couple sets out to investigate the crime and all clues lead back very close to the seat of royalty.  Hero also demonstrates a compassionate side in assisting the wives of men who have been impressed into the Royal Navy, leaving wives and children penniless and often homeless.

It also turns out that Jane’s husband was a violent man who just might have discovered Jane knew a secret that would have necessitated him permanently silencing her.  Jane’s brother is an enigmatic character who was formerly imprisoned for speaking out against government policies.  He also has a huge secret which might be lethal but will actually be elicited as something even more amazing. 

This is a non-stop, page-flipping, wild and intriguing romp through London’s fashionable, aristocratic society as well as in the dregs of poverty on the “other” side of London.  Murderers, however, are fierce but cowardly creatures who think too highly of themselves.  Several more characters will die by the time Sebastian and Hero immediately after the famous winter Frost Fair have it all figured out, the reader never suspecting the “who done it” side of the mystery.

This is a fine historical mystery that will delight all lovers of the genre and many more besides.  Plan on staying up late as this is a novel one can’t put down until the last page is finished!  Finely crafted, C. S. Harris; a real treat!

Where the Dead Lie: A Sebastian St. Cyr Novel #12 by C. S. Harris

Where The Dead Lie: A Sebastian St. Cyr Novel #12. C. S. Harris. Penguin Publishing Group. April 2017. 352 pp. ISBN #: 9780451471192.

It’s 1813 and the tastes of some of the upper class in London, England tend to the propensities of the depraved.  When a young, 15-year-old boy is found dead, a rudimentary investigation finds he has been beaten, tortured, raped and then strangled by his killer.  It also turns out that his younger sister is missing, and Viscount Devlin, or Sebastian St. Cyr, is absolutely horrified.  Viscount Devlin is newly married to Honor and they have a child who is going through a stormy teething period.  However, the deep love and contentment Sebastian feels for them make him even more horrified about the fact that so many children, including this latest murder of Benji Thatcher, have been disappearing.  Sebastian knows that this is so because they are poor and of no concern to any of the middle or upper class.  However, Sebastian also knows he and others like him are determined to stop this child trafficking depleting London of its youth.

As Sebastian begins to investigate, he finds one of his relatives engaged to marry someone of a dubious reputation regarding children or teens. The story is horrifying but because the perpetrators are upper class and the victims are poorer than poor their outcome is ignored. 

An interesting subplot provides more fuel for riveting interest, that which concerns Sebastian’s true origins.  The reader feels compelled to pay attention to details about Sebastian’s background, but the truth of the matter defies one’s best efforts at exploring and predicting the truth.

Another interesting side line involves the high trade of pornographic works of literature, the most famous being by the Marquis de Sade of ill repute.  These books are bound in beautiful cover and considered works of art, while the producers of such works ignore the sordid application that such education leads to eventually.

The investigation behind this mystery goes forward in spite of the denial of many characters and eventually threatens the life of  many prime characters!

All in all, this is a sordid story that enables the lives of many poor children to be saved.   Sebastian is clever, practical and yet also idealistic, believing he can and does make a difference in this old mystery!  Nicely crafted, C. S. Harris!

Who Buries the Dead – A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery #10 by C. S. Harris

Who Buries the Dead – A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery #10.  C. S. Harris. Penguin Group (USA). March 2015. 352 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780451417565.

Stanley Preston, cousin to the Home Secretary in the year 1813, lived in London, England and there is found murdered, decapitated by two young lovers heading toward a secluded area for their amorous tryst.  The aristocrat, Sebastian St. Cyr is asked to help with the investigation of the grisly murder, a task he gladly enters in spite of the risk to himself, his wife and their newborn child.  The investigators quickly find an engraved strap of lead near the body, an object related to the death of King Charles by beheading in 1648. 

An odd hobby by several aristocrats shocks St. Cyr.  It seems these gentlemen have an inordinate interest in collecting historical objects, including the heads and/or bodies of those who died by the axe for varied reasons, all of them stemming from disapproval by royalty or the ruling class.  The owners see nothing odd about their ghoulish interests and the reader has a hard time not incriminating each one as they appear throughout the story. More to the point, why was that strap found near the body and what did Stanley Preston have to do with beheadings and these strange characters?

Just when St. Cyr seems totally confused, one of his enemies appears, a man reputed to be responsible for the cruel death of many Portugal residents, Mr. Stanley Oliphant, appears to muddy the waters of the investigation.  Not to be daunted, St. Cyr continues in his methodical questioning of anyone even remotely connected with Preston and eventually deduces who is responsible. Will the nefarious murderer be apprehended and justice be served?

Harris’s novel is an intriguing, complex read that is delightful to follow and intriguing.  Connection to fame, even if it is through physical or antique objects brings that fame into the owners’ lives.  What is perceived to be grotesque is just part of the history that haunted the lives of British subjects in more ways than imagined.  Very nicely constructed, C. S. Harris – recommended mystery for lovers of the genre!