Barbara’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Series: Sebastian St. Cyr #20
Publication Date: 4/15/25
Period: Regency – 1816 London
Number of Pages: 384
This is another stellar addition to the Sebastian St. Cyr series, and I highly recommend it. While the stories tend to skew toward the darker side, there are always lighter moments to help offset the dark. The main continuing characters are all well developed, multi-dimensional, and people you’d like to meet in person.
From the moment Viscount Sebastian St. Cyr is taken to the macabre murder scene to the moment the case is solved, there are myriad red herrings to convince you of the solution – then to dash your theories with yet another. Way to go author!
A nobleman, a saint by all accounts, is found bashed and hanged most unusually – with a tarot card affixed to him. Can anyone be as saintly as Lord Preston is reputed to be? The only viable suspect is Major Hugh Chandler, Sebastian’s friend. Sadly, Sebastian believes Hugh could be the murderer – but hopes it isn’t so. Further investigation revealed many other suspects, but there was no hard evidence. With the Crown pressuring Bow Street to arrest someone (anyone), Sebastian has little time to solve the murder.
The atmospherics in this story are remarkable as it is set in 1816 – the year of no summer- and at a time where soldiers from the Napoleonic Wars are literally dying on the street from starvation. Those soldiers, many maimed, get no pension and no care from the country they fought for and are left to starve. If you add a gruesome murder – and then more murders – to that scenario, you have a gripping tale that will keep you riveted from the first word to the last.
I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Flippin' Pages Book Reviews 