Series Update
ConversazioniBook Discussion : Where Shadows Dance by C S Harris
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2Carol420
Overall series average up to book 5 - 4.57
Most Popular Book - Why Mermaids Sing
Least Popular Book - When Gods Die
Ratings thus far
What Angels Fear – 4.50
When Gods Die - 4.38
Why Mermaids Sing– 4.71
Where Serpents Sleep – 4.60
What Remains of Heaven - 4.64
Where Shadows Dance -
What Angels Fear - C.S. Harris
Sebastian St. Cyr series Book #1
It’s 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England.
A beautiful young woman is found raped and savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey.
A dueling pistol discovered at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.
Now a fugitive running for his life, Sebastian calls upon his skill as an agent during the war to catch the killer and prove his own innocence.
In the process, he accumulates a band of unlikely allies, including the beauty Kat Boleyn, who broke Sebastian's heart years ago and a street urchin, Tom.
In Sebastian's world of intrigue and espionage, nothing is as it seems. It will be another 50 0r 60 years before forensic science will offer the knowledge that could have proven the suspects guilt or innocence. So in the meantime Sebastian is on his own with the help of his little band of followers.
The truth…if it can ever be entirely found… may hold the key to the future of the British monarchy, as well as to Sebastian's own salvation.
There were 10 people participating in this discussion who gave the book rave reviews and a Overall average rating: 4.50
When Gods Die - C.S. Harris
Sebastian St, Cyr series Book #2
A historical crime fiction series set in 1811 Regency England, and featuring Sebastian St. Cyr, the twenty-eight year old Viscount Devlin
A crime has been committed at the highest levels of society.
An attractive young woman, the marchioness Guinevere Anglessey, is found murdered in the company of the George, the Prince Regent. Charles, Lord Jarvis, “the power behind the throne,” knows there are plots afoot against the crown, and suspects the murder has been staged to discredit the monarchy and bring about a coup d’état.
The war with France has been draining the economy and straining the loyalty of the populace and even of those in government. Jarvis asks Devlin, whose status as a peer gives him access to people that would be denied to the police, to find out who the real killer is.
There is more that intrigues Devlin in this case: the dead woman was wearing the very same unique necklace that Devlin’s mother wore when she was lost at sea when Devlin was eleven.
Devlin chases down two mysteries. He not only needed to discover why the marchioness was killed and by whom, but how did she get his mother’s necklace, when his mother was supposedly drowned at sea while wearing it?
Devlin is aided by his friend the surgeon Paul Gibson; his mistress, the beautiful but low-born actress Kat Boleyn (who refuses to marry him because Devlin’s father would disinherit him if they married); and the former street urchin Tom, who now serves as Devlin’s “tiger.”
There were 5 discussion participants
Overall Average : 4.38
Why Mermaids Sing - C.S. Harris
Sebastian St. Cyr series Book #3
This book, which takes place eight months after the first book,
Sebastian is approached by Sir Henry Lovejoy, the chief magistrate at Queen Square, with whom he has become friends. Lovejoy informs Devlin about a series of grisly murders in which the bodies of young men have been drained of blood, carved up, and left displayed in very public places, with odd items stuffed into their mouths.
Jurisdiction for investigation has been given to Bow Street that doesn’t stop Lovejoy and Sebastian from investigating.
Both Lovejoy and Devlin remain committed to solving the string of murders, and of course, Devlin eventually does, albeit as usual, at considerable risk to his own life.
As in previous books, Sebastian is aided by his “Watson,” the surgeon Paul Gibson; his mistress, the beautiful but low-born actress Kat Boleyn (who refuses to marry him because Devlin’s father would disinherit him if they married); and the former urchin Tom, who now serves as Devlin’s “tiger,” or handler of his horses.
This book reveals two very important surprises…Kat Boleyn’s parentage and the possible whereabouts of Sebastian’s long gone mother.
The circumstances surrounding this crime are much more interesting than the usual “serial killer” motif.
There were 7 participants in the discussion.
Overall average: 4.71
Where Serpents Sleep - C.S. Harris
Sebastian St. Cyr series Book #4
We find Sebastian right in the bowels of hell as he assists Hero Jarvis in helping to determine why 8 women were killed in a fire at the Magdalen House - a kind of refuge/home for prostitutes sponsored by the Society of Friends.
Hero was doing research at the house in her efforts to get a bill passed in Parliament for the relief of indigent females when the home is overrun by persons intent on doing harm to some of the residents.
Rose, the prostitute Hero is interviewing believes that they are there to kill her and she may be right.
Hero escapes, Rose is shot, the house is set on fire and 8 women are now dead.
Hero knows the fire was set to hide the fact that at least one woman was shot, she goes to Sebastian for assistance in determining why Rose was a target of murder.
Sebastian has had 8 months of wildness, drinking, riding to the hounds in his ongoing spiral toward destruction in his efforts to deal with his situation with Kat Boleyn.
Hero's intervention in his life to give Sebastian something to preoccupy his mind even if it is dealing with the dark world of crime and criminals
The storyline gives Sebastian and Hero a lot of time together and sets up their relationship for some interesting choices for their respective futures.
We learn that Rose was from a genteel family but her situation and the dark happenings in her life led her to become a prostitute.
As always, Sebastian is there to poke and prod and aggravate people until he can get it all figured it out, but this time he has some remarkable assistance in the person of Hero, and she is truly amazing.
A big event takes place towards the end that will have personal repercussions for the rest of Sebastian's and Hero's lives.
There were 5 people in the discussion
Overall average : 4.60
What Remains of Heaven - C.S. Harris
Sebastian St, Cyr series Book #5
London 1812.
When the controversial reform-minded Bishop of London is found bludgeoned to death in an ancient crypt beside the corpse of an unidentified man murdered decades before, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, reluctantly agrees to investigate.
As his search for the killer leads him from the back alleys of Smithfield to the power corridors of Whitehall, Sebastian must confront the well-guarded secrets of his own family's past.
Seems he had had a run-in with William Franklin …a real historical figure and son of Benjamin Franklin,
William had been exiled to England for his support of the British during the American Revolution and there was apparently acrimony between the bishop and his nephew Peter Prescott, an old school chum of Sebastian’s.
Things get even murkier with the introduction of a subplot about a mysterious spy who had operated against the British during the revolution 30 years earlier; this thread ends up involving both Prescott’s family and Sebastian’s own
Sebastian has had no luck in his pursuit of Hero…the expectant mother of his unborn child who is now threatening to go to Australia and have the baby.
He will learn a devastating truth that will force him to question who…and what…he really is.
The man he called “father” for nearly 30 years…isn’t who he thought he was… and the woman he thought was his “half sister… but who had his heart none the less…May be lost to him forever.
There were 7 people in the discussion
Overall average : 4.64
Most Popular Book - Why Mermaids Sing
Least Popular Book - When Gods Die
Ratings thus far
What Angels Fear – 4.50
When Gods Die - 4.38
Why Mermaids Sing– 4.71
Where Serpents Sleep – 4.60
What Remains of Heaven - 4.64
Where Shadows Dance -
What Angels Fear - C.S. Harris
Sebastian St. Cyr series Book #1
It’s 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England.
A beautiful young woman is found raped and savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey.
A dueling pistol discovered at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.
Now a fugitive running for his life, Sebastian calls upon his skill as an agent during the war to catch the killer and prove his own innocence.
In the process, he accumulates a band of unlikely allies, including the beauty Kat Boleyn, who broke Sebastian's heart years ago and a street urchin, Tom.
In Sebastian's world of intrigue and espionage, nothing is as it seems. It will be another 50 0r 60 years before forensic science will offer the knowledge that could have proven the suspects guilt or innocence. So in the meantime Sebastian is on his own with the help of his little band of followers.
The truth…if it can ever be entirely found… may hold the key to the future of the British monarchy, as well as to Sebastian's own salvation.
There were 10 people participating in this discussion who gave the book rave reviews and a Overall average rating: 4.50
When Gods Die - C.S. Harris
Sebastian St, Cyr series Book #2
A historical crime fiction series set in 1811 Regency England, and featuring Sebastian St. Cyr, the twenty-eight year old Viscount Devlin
A crime has been committed at the highest levels of society.
An attractive young woman, the marchioness Guinevere Anglessey, is found murdered in the company of the George, the Prince Regent. Charles, Lord Jarvis, “the power behind the throne,” knows there are plots afoot against the crown, and suspects the murder has been staged to discredit the monarchy and bring about a coup d’état.
The war with France has been draining the economy and straining the loyalty of the populace and even of those in government. Jarvis asks Devlin, whose status as a peer gives him access to people that would be denied to the police, to find out who the real killer is.
There is more that intrigues Devlin in this case: the dead woman was wearing the very same unique necklace that Devlin’s mother wore when she was lost at sea when Devlin was eleven.
Devlin chases down two mysteries. He not only needed to discover why the marchioness was killed and by whom, but how did she get his mother’s necklace, when his mother was supposedly drowned at sea while wearing it?
Devlin is aided by his friend the surgeon Paul Gibson; his mistress, the beautiful but low-born actress Kat Boleyn (who refuses to marry him because Devlin’s father would disinherit him if they married); and the former street urchin Tom, who now serves as Devlin’s “tiger.”
There were 5 discussion participants
Overall Average : 4.38
Why Mermaids Sing - C.S. Harris
Sebastian St. Cyr series Book #3
This book, which takes place eight months after the first book,
Sebastian is approached by Sir Henry Lovejoy, the chief magistrate at Queen Square, with whom he has become friends. Lovejoy informs Devlin about a series of grisly murders in which the bodies of young men have been drained of blood, carved up, and left displayed in very public places, with odd items stuffed into their mouths.
Jurisdiction for investigation has been given to Bow Street that doesn’t stop Lovejoy and Sebastian from investigating.
Both Lovejoy and Devlin remain committed to solving the string of murders, and of course, Devlin eventually does, albeit as usual, at considerable risk to his own life.
As in previous books, Sebastian is aided by his “Watson,” the surgeon Paul Gibson; his mistress, the beautiful but low-born actress Kat Boleyn (who refuses to marry him because Devlin’s father would disinherit him if they married); and the former urchin Tom, who now serves as Devlin’s “tiger,” or handler of his horses.
This book reveals two very important surprises…Kat Boleyn’s parentage and the possible whereabouts of Sebastian’s long gone mother.
The circumstances surrounding this crime are much more interesting than the usual “serial killer” motif.
There were 7 participants in the discussion.
Overall average: 4.71
Where Serpents Sleep - C.S. Harris
Sebastian St. Cyr series Book #4
We find Sebastian right in the bowels of hell as he assists Hero Jarvis in helping to determine why 8 women were killed in a fire at the Magdalen House - a kind of refuge/home for prostitutes sponsored by the Society of Friends.
Hero was doing research at the house in her efforts to get a bill passed in Parliament for the relief of indigent females when the home is overrun by persons intent on doing harm to some of the residents.
Rose, the prostitute Hero is interviewing believes that they are there to kill her and she may be right.
Hero escapes, Rose is shot, the house is set on fire and 8 women are now dead.
Hero knows the fire was set to hide the fact that at least one woman was shot, she goes to Sebastian for assistance in determining why Rose was a target of murder.
Sebastian has had 8 months of wildness, drinking, riding to the hounds in his ongoing spiral toward destruction in his efforts to deal with his situation with Kat Boleyn.
Hero's intervention in his life to give Sebastian something to preoccupy his mind even if it is dealing with the dark world of crime and criminals
The storyline gives Sebastian and Hero a lot of time together and sets up their relationship for some interesting choices for their respective futures.
We learn that Rose was from a genteel family but her situation and the dark happenings in her life led her to become a prostitute.
As always, Sebastian is there to poke and prod and aggravate people until he can get it all figured it out, but this time he has some remarkable assistance in the person of Hero, and she is truly amazing.
A big event takes place towards the end that will have personal repercussions for the rest of Sebastian's and Hero's lives.
There were 5 people in the discussion
Overall average : 4.60
What Remains of Heaven - C.S. Harris
Sebastian St, Cyr series Book #5
London 1812.
When the controversial reform-minded Bishop of London is found bludgeoned to death in an ancient crypt beside the corpse of an unidentified man murdered decades before, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, reluctantly agrees to investigate.
As his search for the killer leads him from the back alleys of Smithfield to the power corridors of Whitehall, Sebastian must confront the well-guarded secrets of his own family's past.
Seems he had had a run-in with William Franklin …a real historical figure and son of Benjamin Franklin,
William had been exiled to England for his support of the British during the American Revolution and there was apparently acrimony between the bishop and his nephew Peter Prescott, an old school chum of Sebastian’s.
Things get even murkier with the introduction of a subplot about a mysterious spy who had operated against the British during the revolution 30 years earlier; this thread ends up involving both Prescott’s family and Sebastian’s own
Sebastian has had no luck in his pursuit of Hero…the expectant mother of his unborn child who is now threatening to go to Australia and have the baby.
He will learn a devastating truth that will force him to question who…and what…he really is.
The man he called “father” for nearly 30 years…isn’t who he thought he was… and the woman he thought was his “half sister… but who had his heart none the less…May be lost to him forever.
There were 7 people in the discussion
Overall average : 4.64
3Sergeirocks
Thanks, Carol - timely memory-jogger... 🙂
4Carol420
>3 Sergeirocks: Hi little meerkat! How have you been?
5Sergeirocks
>4 Carol420: Hi, Carol, 🙂.
I'm well, thank you. Settling into my reading a little bit better, this month - concentrating a bit better, despite covid being on the rise again.
I see your own reading remains unaffected - I do envy you, ☺️.
I'm well, thank you. Settling into my reading a little bit better, this month - concentrating a bit better, despite covid being on the rise again.
I see your own reading remains unaffected - I do envy you, ☺️.
6Carol420
>5 Sergeirocks: Glad to hear that you are...as my grandmother used to say when asked how she was..."On the right side of the grass and able to sit up and take nourishment":) I think the isolation associated with this virus has affected me less than anyone I know. As long as I have a book I can spend days without going out anywhere. I'm going to make my 300 book goal this year unless the library burns down or the electricity goes off and I can't read my ebooks:)
7Sergeirocks
>6 Carol420: Don't you love grandmas... 😉
9Carol420
>7 Sergeirocks: I had the best in the world. This great-grandmother was my grandfathers mother and she was Scottish from the very northern shores of the North Sea. She wasn't too trusting of modern "dodads" as she called them. We loved for her to come to visit because she brought such delight to all us kids when she told us horrific nightmare producing ghost stories that our parents would NEVER have let us hear otherwise.
11Olivermagnus
Thanks >2 Carol420:. This series is so popular with our group.
12Carol420
>11 Olivermagnus: Just shows that we are people of impactable tastes:)
13EadieB
Thanks >2 Carol420: Always great information.
14Andrew-theQM
Thanks Carol, let’s hope this one keeps up the standard.
