One of the first “grown-up” books I ever received was The Complete Sherlock Holmes. Since then, I’ve had a love for mysteries set in Victorian or Regency England, which branched out to historical mysteries in general.

You may have noticed there are a lot of these mysteries on the shelves in the book stores. Some are good, some are terrible, but most fall in between. Because most historical mysteries fall into the in between category, I’m always delighted to find a series that stands out. I discovered several years ago that the Sebastian St. Cyr series by C.S. Harris is a mystery series I find to be consistently good.

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is a young aristocrat who went and fought in the Napoleonic War and came back a changed man–a bitter man with a sharp temper, yet still a strong sense of justice. When Sebastian is believe to be the perpetrator of a horrible rape and murder, his desire for justice is helped along my his desire to keep his neck out of the noose.

Sebastian believes himself to be a bitter, cynical man who doesn’t care what happens to anyone else, however, he isn’t really, and his desire for justice only strengthens over the course of the series.

One of the things I particularly like about this series is how Sebastian became a detective of sorts, and how those around him–especially his family–react to his investigations. C.S. Harris did a very good job of creating a background for Sebastian that all but forces him to continue to look into crimes, after he has cleared his own name.

Another strength is that characters are easily recognizable and not easily confused–they have distinct personalities that seem reasonable to their backgrounds and to the time. An example is Sebastian’s sister. She’s typically comes across and cold and calculating, however, when you consider the time in which she lives, and how heavy the opinion of society laid upon women of the time, her actions are understandable, even if they are completely foreign to a modern woman.

I also really like Kat, who sees far more clearly than Sebastian her place in society, and how his association with her affects him. She is one of the rare women of her time who made her own future, despite knowing what her place in society is supposed to be.

If you like historical mysteries, then I highly recommend the Sebastian St. Cyr series. It’s unusual, but it’s also very good.

What Angels Fear (2005), When Gods Die (2006), Why Mermaids Sing (2007), Where Serpents Sleep