To be fair, it really wasn't my wife's fault.
Looking through my list of "to read" books in search of a gift for me, Liz seized on Who Cries for the Lost, a historical mystery by C.S. Harris. Thinking it was the latest entry in a series I enjoyed a few years back, she bought it as a Christmas gift.
It turns out Who Cries for the Lost is part of an entirely different series than the one Liz was thinking of, a series I had not even begun to read. And Who Cries for the Lost is the 18th novel in that set, not the first one. (In Liz’s defense, both authors have similar names.)
Undaunted by this after-purchase discovery, Liz tracked down a used copy of What Angels Fear, the debut novel in the C.S. Harris series, and gave it to me on Valentine’s Day. I’m here to testify that starting at the beginning was a very good idea.
The protagonist of What Angels Fear is Sebastian St. Cyr, a London-based Englishman and Napoleonic Wars veteran who happens to be a well-heeled viscount, the son of a prominent earl who holds a senior position in the British government.
It is 1811, and Sebastian is fresh from a duel in which he fired his pistol “across the arse” of his opponent, to avoid killing him. Shortly thereafter, Sebastian is arrested following the brutal murder of a a young actress. A pistol believed to be his was found at the scene of the crime. The victim, Rachel York, had indicated beforehand that she planned to meet someone named St. Cyr at the church where she was killed.
Compounding Sebastian’s problems, a constable is accidentally stabbed, possibly fatally, during Sebastian’s arrest when the constable trips and falls onto the knife of a fellow officer. The owner of the knife, who should not have been wielding it so carelessly, quickly accuses Sebastian of having stabbed the wounded man.
As Sebastian’s troubles mount, he escapes his captors and goes on the lam, realizing that he must either flee the country, which he refuses to do, or find Rachel’s killer in order to save himself. The case against him grows stronger, in the eyes of the police, when a woman spots him leaving the scene of a second murder.
The elder St. Cyr eventually confesses to Rachel’s murder, but the lead investigator quickly decides that the earl is lying to protect his son. Other, more credible, suspects emerge, including an actor whom Rachel dumped following an affair, a French émigré (and possible Napoleonic spymaster) and an Italian painter living in London. There’s also the distinct possibility that Rachel was murdered at random, by a complete stranger. If so, Sebastian stands little to no chance of finding the killer.
Sebastian’s desperate quest to clear his name while he remains in hiding plays out against a high-stakes political backdrop. The mental health of King George III, which has been problematic for some time, continues to deteriorate, setting the stage for his son, George, Prince of Wales, to rule the kingdom as regent.
Sebastian discovers that the prominent nobleman who is likely to become prime minister during the regency is a closeted gay man — a career killer in that time and place — who regularly visited Rachel at her home before her death. This at a time when Rachel was spying for the French.
In this introduction to the St. Cyr series, Harris builds suspense at a steady clip as Sebastian narrowly avoids or escapes capture over and over again while trying to clear his name. The killer’s identity and fate, when they finally are revealed, come as a shock, but a satisfying one.
What Angels Fear gives readers a believable and disconcerting glimpse of life in Regency London, a metropolis of extremes: the wealthy and the impoverished, the politically connected and the hopelessly downtrodden. And it introduces a compelling protagonist who has unusually quick reflexes, especailly keen eyesight and hearing, and a well-developed moral code.
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