Why Kill the Innocent by C.S. Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Title: Why Kill the Innocent
Author: C. S. Harris
Series: Sebastian St. Cyr, #13
Pages: 368
Publisher: Berkley
Date: April 3, 2018
Summary:
In the newest mystery from the national bestselling author of Where the Dead Lie, a brutal murder draws Sebastian St. Cyr into the web of the royal court, where intrigue abounds and betrayal awaits.
London, 1814. As a cruel winter holds the city in its icy grip, the bloody body of a beautiful young musician is found half-buried in a snowdrift. Jane Ambrose’s ties to Princess Charlotte, the only child of the Prince Regent and heir presumptive to the throne, panic the palace, which moves quickly to shut down any investigation into the death of the talented pianist. But Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, and his wife Hero refuse to allow Jane’s murderer to escape justice.
Untangling the secrets of Jane’s world leads Sebastian into a maze of dangerous treachery where each player has his or her own unsavory agenda and no one can be trusted. As the Thames freezes over and the people of London pour onto the ice for a Frost Fair, Sebastian and Hero find their investigation circling back to the palace and building to a chilling crescendo of deceit and death . . .
Review:
I cannot believe there are thirteen books in this series. I have been reading them since shortly after the first was released and they just get better and better. Just a warning though: if ever there was a series that HAS to be read in order, this is it. Fortunately, they are so good, you’ll love them all.
Anyway, Why Kill the Innocent – (all of these books have the best titles) – takes place roughly a year after the previous book. Hero, St. Cyr’s wife, literally stumbles over a dead body in the snow. Although, someone has tried to make it look like the victim died accidentally, it was definitely murder . . . but why?
As always, these books focus on Sebastian St. Cyr’s desire to find justice for murder victims and he doesn’t care whether they are well-born or commoners. He also doesn’t try to stop Hero from assisting him in the investigation. Due to her family connections, her contacts are often better than his anyway.
There were so many possibilities for the murderer in this book that I was completely lost . . . and so was Sebastian. He kept saying he knew he was missing a critical piece of information. Once it came to light, I still didn’t know the solution but it made perfect sense when explained.
One of the things I really liked about this book is the extent of historical detail involved. The murder happened in 1814 during one of the harshest winters London ever experienced. There was a killing fog and the Thames froze hard enough that a fair was held on the ice. Prinny was in power although he was not yet king. He was deservedly hated by his people who were starving in the streets. His daughter and heir Charlotte was kept a virtual prisoner in her home and he had tried to have his wife, Charlotte’s mother, executed for infidelity.
A lot of the historical fiction I have read takes place when Prinny was young and loved by England’s citizens. This book gave me an entirely different perspective of the type of person he became.
If you enjoy an intense murder mystery with a wonderful sense of England’s history, I highly recommend these books. JUST BE SURE AND READ THEM IN ORDER.
This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Elaine Reads . . . constantly! 