Who Slays the Wicked

February 1, 2019
An aristocratic Regency sleuth asks who murdered a man everyone hated.Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is strikingly handsome, clever, and no stranger to murder (Why Kill the Innocent, 2018, etc.). Despite his checkered past, Bow Street Magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy often asks his help in cases involving the upper classes. Anthony Marcus Ledger, Viscount Ashworth and heir to the Marquis of Lindley, has been found naked, murdered and tied to his bed by silken cords. If Ashworth hadn't been married to Devlin's niece Stephanie, Devlin would have gloried in his death since he already suspected Ashworth of unspeakable crimes and his deviant sexual practices were well-known. Although she's the mother of Ashworth's twin boys, Stephanie has little to do with him, and her wild nature leads Devlin to fear she may have killed him. The discovery of Ashworth's missing valet naked and dead in a nearby alley only complicates the case. Devlin's investigations have often been aided by his wife, Hero, a reformer whose own father, Charles, Lord Jarvis, is cousin to the profligate prince regent and the power behind the throne. Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia recently arrived in London scheming to marry the regent, but they took an instant dislike to each other. Still, Russia continues to meddle in the prospective marriage of the regent's daughter, and Princess Ivanna Gagarin's been involved with Ashworth since her arrival with the Grand Duchess. Although politics may have played a part in Ashworth's demise, Devlin and Hero search for clues among the most squalid stews of London, where Ashworth was known to find women for his sadistic games. There's no shortage of suspects who hated the wicked Viscount; Devlin's problem is proving his niece was not the killer.Fans of this long-running series will revel in the meticulous historical detail along with the twists and turns of a case that reveals the vast inequality in Regency England.

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February 11, 2019
Harris’s solid 14th whodunit featuring Regency England aristocratic sleuth Sebastian St. Cyr (after 2018’s Why Kill the Innocent) puts St. Cyr in the unusual position of probing the murder of a man he himself once threatened to kill. Lord Ashworth was implicated in a series of killings of homeless children, but St. Cyr was unable to find enough proof of Ashworth’s guilt. Now, someone has fatally stabbed Ashworth and left his nude corpse tied to his bed. One suspect is the dead man’s wife, St. Cyr’s niece, which adds another level of awkwardness to his inquiries. Ashworth was rumored to have been cheating on his wife with Princess Ivanna Gagarin, an attendant to a Russian grand duchess, whose arrival in London in advance of a planned summit to celebrate Russia’s expected imminent victory over France makes the investigation into Ivanna’s possible involvement politically sensitive. Harris does a nice job of introducing red herrings and devising a surprising solution that fits with the clues she’s planted. If not the series’ best, this installment is sure to satisfy fans. Agent: Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary.

March 1, 2019
There are rumors of Russian collusion in the British Empire, but Sebastian St. Cyr suspects a more direct hit: the brutal murder of the vicious Viscount Ashworth. Though Ashworth certainly got what he deserved, Sebastian is worried that Princess Ivanna Gagarin, attendant to Grand Duchess Catherine of Oldenburg, whose sexual proclivities were as violent as Ashworth's, will go free, while his cousin Stephanie, Ashworth's wife, will be blamed. Not that he's entirely convinced that Stephanie is innocent either. Set amid Napoleon's last stand in France, in 1814, this tale involves the collision of international politics with British class injustices, and, as ever, Sebastian's investigation occurs in that precarious place of questioning the actions of those deemed superior by using evidence provided by the disposable and ignored working class. Harris' latest, following Why Kill the Innocent (2018), once again captures the atmosphere of Regency London, from the cut of the gowns to the stench of the overflowing sewers. This might be the most procedure-focused of the St. Cyr novels, and the identity of the real killer is a satisfying surprise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

November 1, 2018

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, has always taken issue with the unscrupulous Lord Ashworth, whom he suspects of assisting in the killing of innocent street children, yet he can't dissuade his willful young niece Stephanie from marrying him. Now the young lord lies dead, and the abandoned Stephanie is suspected of murdering him. From the USA Today best-selling author of Why Kill the Innocent.

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