I now blog over at The Eyre Guide! This blog is an archive of my past posts.


Thursday, July 31, 2014

Review: What Angels Fear

Posted by Charlene // Tags: , ,
What Angels Fear (a Sebastian St. Cyr mystery, #1)
by C.S. Harris
Mystery
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

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 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....

Review:

Sebastian St. Cyr is a very intriguing character to follow.  Throughout this book his noble attitude and secret feelings are hinted at but continually hidden by a veneer of studied self-interest and carelessness.  He's everything I find particularly appealing about darker, wounded main characters so it's no wonder that I really enjoyed this book!

The mystery starts off with a look at what happens to the victim, Rachel York.  The reader glimpses her personality and her hopes for the future which makes it even more disturbing and saddening as we get to know her better through the course of Sebastian's investigation.  The gradual and simultaneous understanding of the victim, the 'detective' (Sebastian) and of the truth behind the mystery was such an intriguing way to develop the whole story, and I really admired how well the author plotted everything out.  The mystery was pretty impenetrable - I tried so hard to figure out who the murderer was before Sebastian but failed utterly.  Even when some pretty glaring clues were dropped.  It made for a fantastic reveal though!

The story moves very quickly and has many seemingly suspicious characters to keep the reader always second-guessing.  There are so many secrets Sebastian has to unravel which made this a very engaging mystery and since Sebastian is also a puzzle in himself the story was that much more intriguing.  The historical setting added to the level of interest I had in the mystery as well - the state of England at that time was not very promising, and the undercurrent of civil and political change was a nice backdrop to place this highly complex mystery.

This book did have some darker, gruesome moments which made the story sometimes very thought-provoking and melancholy but it has a wonderful lead in Sebastian St. Cyr, with his uncanny sight, hearing and reflexes, and I enjoyed reading how his cleverness, his disguises and his persistence helped him unravel this mystery.  I look forward to reading more of this series!

Share this post: Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email This Pin This Share on Google Plus Share on Tumblr
Scroll Up

10 comments:

  1. I love this series so I'm hoping you'll like the next books too. :) I actually reread this book a few days ago (there's a lot of revelations about Sebastian's past and I had kind of lost track of things) and I completely forgot who the murderer was! It was really an impenetrable mystery.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I always love a good mystery, especially when it's difficult to guess the culprit, and this book sounds like just that. I hadn't heard of this one before reading your review, so thank you for bringing it to my attention. The main character sounds very intriguing! Lovely review :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think I'll love them! I heard the second book was better too? It's great that the book surprised you a second time - that is definitely the mark of a good mystery!

    ReplyDelete
  4. He is very intriguing! I've been in the mood for a good mystery lately and this one fit the bill. I hope you will enjoy it too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh this sounds really good! I am intrigued, need to check it out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've heard that this series is excellent. I haven't read much mystery, but your review is making me think that this is definitely something that I'd be interested in, especially because of the setting; I LOVE books set in England!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just sort of assumed this was a steampunk novel based on the cover, then I read your review. Oops! :P

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yes, it might be a new series for me to be obsessed with! :) I hope you will enjoy it too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm glad this one appeals to you - I haven't read mystery in awhile so this was a great one to get back into it! And I am very enamored with books that are set in England too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can see that! There are a couple other covers including one with an angel statue (terrifying haha) but I like this one much better. Probably because the focus in Sebastian, and I am a little partial to him. :)

    ReplyDelete