Title: Why Kings Confess Series: Sebastian St. Cyr #9
Author: C.S. Harris
Published: March 4, 2014
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller
Page Count: 340
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Regency England, January 1813: When a badly injured Frenchwoman is found beside the mutilated body of Dr. Damion Pelletan in one of London’s worst slums, Sebastian finds himself caught in a high-stakes tangle of murder and revenge. Although the woman, Alexi Sauvage, has no memory of the attack, Sebastian knows her all too well from an incident in his past—an act of wartime brutality and betrayal that nearly destroyed him.
As the search for the killer leads Sebastian into a treacherous web of duplicity, he discovers that Pelletan was part of a secret delegation sent by Napoleon to investigate the possibility of peace with Britain. Despite his powerful father-in-law’s warnings, Sebastian plunges deep into the mystery of the "Lost Dauphin”, the boy prince who disappeared in the darkest days of the French Revolution, and soon finds himself at lethal odds with the Dauphin’s sister—the imperious, ruthless daughter of Marie Antoinette—who is determined to retake the French crown at any cost.
With the murderer striking ever closer, Sebastian must battle new fears about Hero’s health and that of their soon-to-be born child. When he realizes the key to their survival may lie in the hands of an old enemy, he must finally face the truth about his own guilt in a past he has found too terrible to consider....
There are very few “sure thing” authors in my life. Authors whose books I know, prior to reading, that I will love. Actually, there’s only one author I can count on: C.S. Harris. There is really no explanation for my sticking with this series through 9 installments (and counting) unless I truly loved these books—everyone knows I hate series. I’m also probably not much of a mystery person, honestly. In any case, I knew before I even picked it up that I was going to love Why Kings Confess, and, surprise surprise…I loved it!
The set-up for the book is all pretty typical. You have Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, and his super awesome wife, Hero (currently 9 months pregnant). Sebastian stumbles onto a murder, decides to investigate, gets caught up in nefarious goings-on, etc. The Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries always have a “primary” mystery, which is supplemented by a “secondary” mystery that might be a bit more personal, a plot related to Sebastian’s private life, or both (usually both).
The main mystery in Why Kings Confess has to do with the exiled Bourbon family and the “Lost Dauphin” who may or may not have been smuggled out of Temple prison and be used to overthrow Napoleon and so on. The murdered man is a French doctor whose heart was strangely removed after he was stabbed. There was a young woman with the French doctor who…dun dun dun, knew Sebastian when he was a soldier in Iberia. Her reappearance brings up a lot of old memories for Sebastian, who already has enough on his plate because, in case you didn’t know, his wife is going to have their baby any second
Okay, now, see. Hero and Sebastian did-the-thing waaaay back in book 4. Hero found out that she was pregnant in book 5. Why Kings Confess is book 9. Essentially, we have been dealing with a pregnancy for 5 consecutive installments. It was waaaaaaaaay past time for the baby to make its appearance. Which it did. In the very last chapter. Oy vey.
On the other hand, I’m excited about what this baby means for future installments, because so often we like to pretend that a woman’s life ends once she starts popping out kids. Which is ridiculous. Harris is super excellent with her female characterization, though, and Hero has already established herself to be ultra-radical and progressive. I totally have a crush on her, let’s be honest.
While things did happen concerning Sebastian’s private life, as ever, I wasn’t wildly impressed by the mystery side of Why Kings Confess. I actually guessed within the first 100 pages or so, and I was proven correct. That does not happen often. Or ever. C.S. Harris does write really good, engaging mysteries, though, and my enjoyments wasn’t necessarily lessened because I’d guessed about some aspects in the early stages.
So. Why Kings Confess is pretty dang good book. The Sebastian St. Cyr novels are still my favorite series, Hero is still my favorite female lead ever, and the long-awaited Devlin baby finally made its appearance. And there was stuff about the Bourbons. All in all, a solid addition to the series.
