By Penny A ParrisH for The Free Lance – Star
It takes an interesting hook and recap to make it jump in the middle of a series. The plot of this book did just that. Author CS Harris has written her 17th book with aristocratic detective Sebastian St. Cyr, who investigates crimes in Regency England.
In this case, Saint Cyr has “crossed the pond” to locate his mother, from whom he has been estranged for years. It is 1815, and the detective, his Hero’s wife and his young children are in Paris, the last known place of the beautiful Sophie. Plans are put into motion for the reunion, but instead of a love reunion, St. Cyr meets his mother after being attacked. Her last word is the name of her son.
Having missed the chance to atone for the breakup, the detective focuses on finding Sophie’s killer. Countless characters are introduced, all of whom could be involved. It is the time of King Louis XVIII, a Bourbon king back on the throne. Napoleon is in exile on Elba, but some forces in France want to see him escape and return to Paris. Napoleon’s former military generals have allegedly sworn allegiance to the king, but if his former commander returned, whose side would they be on? Helping with the murder case is Vidocq, a criminal turned homicide investigator (and a real person). He appears again and again in disguise in unexpected places. And then there are the friends, servants and commoners who knew Sophie and who might also be hiding the truth from her son.
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There are vivid scenes in Montmartre, which was very rural in that period. Also, the author takes us into the catacombs and explains how they came to be (that’s one tourist destination he always avoided).
The plot is clever and the feel of this period in history is real. The author really does the research for him. Sometimes you want me to describe people in ways other than noses, chins, and clothes, but generally it presents vivid characters. The relationship between S. Cyr and his wife Hero are wonderful, and ironic humor frequently appears in their dialogues.
The book is a fast read, hard to put down, and I plan on going to the library to get the first book in this series. I may be going down a slippery reading slope here.
Penny A Parrish is a freelance writer in Stafford County.
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