Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780451216694
ISBN number: 0451216695
Label: NAL Hardcover
Manufacturer: NAL Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: November 01, 2005
Publishing house: NAL Hardcover
Sale Popularity Level: 476052
Studio: NAL Hardcover
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In London, 1811, a young woman is brutally raped and murdered, her body left on the altar steps of an ancient church. The prime suspect: Sebastian St. Cyr, a brilliant young nobleman still haunted by his experiences in the Napoleonic Wars. Now he is running for his life, desperate to catch the killer and prove his innocence. Moving from Mayfair's glittering ballrooms to St. Giles's fetid back alleys, Sebastian is assisted by a band of unlikely allies and pursued by a Machiavellian powerbroker with ties to the Prince Regent himself. What Angels Fear seamlessly weaves an intimate knowledge of the period with a multi-layered and compelling story, and is the very first of a series of novels featuring these characters.
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Rated by buyers 
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"What Angels Fear" is a very good very first start to the St. Cyr series. I wouldn't characterize this book as a pure mystery but more of romantic suspence. Given that CS Harris also published romances under the name Candice Proctor, I wasn't surprised by the amount of time spent on the romance as well as the mystery. There are a few gory scenes in the book but there is also a romance that will continue to grow/change as series will grow/change.
There are a few things about the main character that are a little too pat for my liking but the author's note at the end, answered some of these questions for me. I would suggest not reading and putting the book down often because some of the characters are forgettable but play a part in the story later on.
A good start to a new series.
Rated by buyers -
Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, escapes arrest for the brutal murder of an actress, former prostitute, in a church. His pistol was found at the murder scene and he refuses to provide himself an alibi. Against the backdrop of King George's decent into madness, the coming Regency of the Prince of Wales and England's continuing war with France, Sebastian realizes his only hope is to find the true killer.
What an exciting book! St. Cyr, a classic hero with a past, is aided by a wonderful sidekick, the young street urchin Tom. The characters are fully developed, appealing and human. Harris is truly able to convey St. Cyr's frustration and the anger and jealousy of another character. The period details are exacting and the dialogue appropriate to the characters with some of the exchanges between St. Cyr and Tom being particularly enjoyable and touching. The story is engrossing with humor, great action sequences, a bit of sex, and blue herrings along the way to a dramatic climax. This is an excellent beginning and I look forward to more in the series. I highly recommend it.
Rated by buyers -
A fast-paced, suspenseful, fun read with the added bonus of being historically accurate. The author, a professional historian, has done a wonderful job of conveying both the spirit of the time and all the subtle details that make a story come alive. As anyone familiar with 18th and early 19th century England knows, constables and magistrates did exist at this time, and did take their detective work seriously. And while a few accents may have been dropped in the typesetting, a reading of the author's nonfiction histories will show that she is fluent in 18th century French.
Rated by buyers -
Excellent work! Well researched, yet the author has cleverly made the historical aspect fresher and more contemporary than so many authors have done. There's no bogging down in dry detail and the story keeps one's interest. Excellent editing.
Rated by buyers -
I am especially partial to historical mysteries set in England; and my interest was piqued when I noticed C. S. Harris' "What Angels Fear" on the bookstore shelves. But I was also a little wary -- after all I had heard nothing about this book -- no advance praise or early review blurbs in magazines/web sites heralding the book's upcoming publication. Fortunately, because I work at a bookstore, I was able to borrow the book, which turned out to be a really good thing 'else I'd have missed one of the most thrilling reads of the year. What an absolutely riveting and breathtaking read "What Angels Fear" proved to be!
In 1811, George III is sinking deeper and deeper into the madness, as his politicians question the wisdom of carrying on England's war with France, as well as whether or not they should support the move to make the profligate Prince of Wales, Regent of England. But for the newly returned ex-soldier, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, and heir to the powerful Earl of Hendon, the all important question is how he's going to survive an upcoming duel of honour without getting killed or killing his opponent. Having survived that ordeal however, the last thing Sebastian expected later that morning was to have a chief magistrate and a couple of constables at his doorstep, ready to arrest him for the brutal rape and murder of a young actress, Rachel York. Knowing full well that he had no hand in the young woman's murder and realising that the only way for him to clear his name is if he were to investigate the murder himself, Sebastian escapes from the constables and disappears into the bowels of London's poverty stricken streets. There, using his training as an intelligence officer, and the help of a few unorthodox allies, Sebastian begins his hunt for Rachel's killer, questioning her old friends and examining her past, sure that the key to her murder lies in her past, while evading the authorities. The last thing he expected though, was to discover that members of his own family had dealings with the late Miss York. Could one of them have murdered the actress and planted the evidence against him? As the days pass and as the constables begin to get uncomfortably close to arresting him, Sebastian begins to fear that he may never clear his name or discover the identity of the sadist who murdered Rachel York...
I can only say that I'm looking forward to the subsequent installment in this series (if there is one, that is) -- it could go in several different directions, but I'm hoping that the author will keep Sebastian in England no matter what. I thoroughly enjoyed "What Angels Fear" and would heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical mystery novels that possess a clever and engrossing plot that is full of interesting and vivid period details, and characters that engage. Also, the almost relentless pacing lent an air of immediacy and tension to novel, and gave it that edge-of-your-seat feeling and made the book practically unputdownable. "What Angels Fear" brought to mind historical novels by authors such as Bernard Cornwell and Alexander Dumas; I was completely hooked from the very very first page, and found the book hard to put down. All in all, an excellent read.
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