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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780451219718
ISBN number: 0451219716
Label: Signet
Manufacturer: Signet
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 432
Printing Date: October 03, 2006
Publishing house: Signet
Sale Popularity Level: 17105
Studio: Signet
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Product Description:
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 savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found 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
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I love historical fiction stories, but what attracted me to this book initially is the fact its mystery. I mostly see historical romance novels, but not many historical mysteries. I really enjoyed reading this book. I could not put the book down once I started reading. It really kept me guessing as to whom the murderer was and the motive. It was twisted yet it made you feel sorry for the main character, Sebastian St. Cyr. I look forward to reading the other novels.
Rated by buyers -
I've been looking for a good Regency mystery series ever since author Kate Ross (Julian Kestrel) died. Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen series started off well but then became repetitive; Rosemary Steven's Beau Brummell mysteries failed to capture my interest.
The St. Cyr novels are fairly standard in setup: handsome, rich, titled hero with family problems, along with a love-of-his-life who's socially unacceptable, being an actress/courtesan. C. S. Harris (aka Cindy Proctor) does an excellent job of fleshing these people out into something more complex, creating an emotional tension in their relationships that feels very real.
The women are done very well; despite being side characters, they are vividly portrayed, and each brings important secondary storylines that weave in and out of each book's main tale.
I like this series a great deal, and find it entertaining and worth re-reading. I still love Kate Ross' Julian Kestrel series the best, but this series will also stay permanently in my collection.
Rated by buyers 
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I found much of the writing of this book to be stilted and dry. It was also obvious this was Ms. Harris' very first book as it didn't flow very well. I also found the whole idea of a police force run like modern day British police to be a bit of a laugh. As another reviewer mentioned, the police didn't act like this in England for at least another 50 years. Believe me, I'm British, and grew up with stories of Robert Peel (the founder of the British Bobbies) and the like. Sebastian also needs to learn some new language as "Bloody Hell" was said at least 30 times during the book and, in many cases, in a way a true Englishman wouldn't say.
Having said this though, I did give Ms. Harris' second book a try and it was much better. Flows more, more natural speech patterns and more interesting. I'll definitely buy her third book as it looks like a fun read.
Rated by buyers -
I don't read a lot of mysteries but this one really hooked me. The mystery itself is interesting, but even more so is the lush prose, wonderful characters, and darkling atomsphere.
A brutal murder sets off a chain reaction of events that bring one Nobleman, Sebastian St. Cyr, to the brink of destruction. I've already bought the subsequent two books in the series.
Rated by buyers -
I just finished reading this light and enjoyable book (though the subject matter is anything but light). Pleasant way to spend a few hours. But the author really overdid it with the use of the word "acrid." In the very first seventy pages, it was used six or seven times. Then there was a long section where I didn't notice it, and then near the end it appeared two or three times. After the very first two times, I mentioned to my family. We all got highly amused by me calling out the page numbers every time I found it again. But that's a minor niggle, worth taking off half a star.
This book is written in the typical florid style that's used for Regency romance novels, and of course Devlin seems like he could easily be a hero of a romance novel. I take off a half star for the always-done-to-death "hooker with a heart of gold" girlfriend (though she's called an "actress," we still learn she's being kept by a rich man, who is the latest in a line of them)...
I'll keep reading these, because I like the atmosphere of the Regency era. 4 stars.
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