What Remains of Heaven

What Remains of Heaven (2009) C.S. Harris

The Archbishop of Canterbury enlists the help of Sebastian St Cyr’s aunt to ask Sebastian to look into the death of the bishop of London, who’s body was found in an abandoned crypt. In the meantime, he is attempting to determine just how Hero Jarvis is doing, after their encounter months earlier, when they both became involved in a murder–a murder that almost cost them both their lives.

If I tell you that I purchased this book in hardback, that may give you and inkling of how much I like this series–and Sebastian St Cyr Viscount of Devlin.

I love historical mysteries–they don’t have to be set in London or England, but this series is, in the early 1800s. Although Sebastian is a Viscount–someone who would not normally be involved in something as sordid as a murder, as a younger son who joined the military and worked in the intelligence services gave him the skills to investigate murders in London–as well as a world view quite different from those of his peers.

Additionally, the reactions of his various family members–especially his sister–do reflect the values of the time, and the feelings of the upper class towards anything as tawdry as “work.”

Because much of the mystery is set in the past, Sebastian makes many unpleasant discoveries, and it is these discoveries that make the story such a page turner.

If you like historical mysteries, then I highly recommend the Sebastian St Cyr mysteries. Although you should be able to begin here in the series, as usual, I believe you’ll be well-rewarded by starting at the beginning of the series and moving forward.
Rating:9/10

published by Obsidian

• Browse the archives:
  
• The Wings of the Sphinx » »
• « « Changeling