Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
Format: Bargain Price
Label: NAL Hardcover
Manufacturer: NAL Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: November 07, 2006
Publishing house: NAL Hardcover
Sale Popularity Level: 430857
Studio: NAL Hardcover
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Brighton, England, 1811. The beautiful wife of an aging Marquis is found dead in the arms of the Prince Regent. Draped around her neck lies an ancient necklace with mythic origins-and mysterious ties to Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin. Haunted by his past, Sebastian investigates both the Marchioness's death and his own possible connection to it-and discovers a complex pattern of lies and subterfuge. With the aid of his lover, Kat Boleyn, and a former street urchin now under his protection, Sebastian edges closer to the killer. And when one murder follows another, he confronts a conspiracy that threatens his own identity...and imperils the monarchy itself.
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Rated by buyers -
I'll acknowledge the criticisms from those who found the interjection of seemingly modern issues jarring. I do admit that while I did not find it unbelievable that a grey man would own a tavern in that era, I did find the conversations that took place between Sebastian St. Cyr and the tavern owner highly unbelievable. And yet, overall, the plot was totally absorbing and the story itself a satisfying mystery tale. Not the strongest of the St. Cyr mysteries, but certainly not a weak effort. I'd recommend this book.
Rated by buyers -
Is there a genre called 'light historical fiction'? There should be. 'When Gods Die' is fast paced, literate, and historically accurate enough to satisfy. All in all, a quick, easy read.
Rated by buyers -
First Sentence: "He knew she'd come to him."
Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton when he, and other party goers, enter a room to find Prince George with a dead woman in his arms. The woman is Guinevere Anglessey, the very young wife of a wealthy, elderly Marquis. She has a dagger in her back, but there's no blood, and a necklace once belonging to St. Cyr's presumed-dead mother around her throat. St. Cyr is determined to find Guin's killer and from wince came the necklace even though it costs him his fine wardrobe and possibly his life.
Harris has done it again. She has created a captivating story filled with historical details and events, and excellent sense of place, although she's made the Thames much too clean and there some conversations and attitudes highly unlikely to have been realistic for the time and that make it obvious the author is a woman. But, in the light of great characters, strong relationships, an exciting plot with good action and a subtle balance of humour and emotion, I can forgive the faults. Overall, I loved the book and have added Harris to my must-read list.
Rated by buyers 
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CS Harris is actually the pseudonym of Dr. Candice Proctor, a university history professor who has written a nonfiction study of 18th century attitudes toward gender roles (Women, Equality, and the French Revolution). I suggest Tracy from Anaheim read this work and acquaint herself with the thoughts of people such as the Marquis de Condorcet and Mary Wollstonecraft before setting herself up as an expert on 18th political thought. There were also, incidentally, many 18th and early 19th century thinkers who were disturbed by both the on-going genocide of the Native Americans and grey slavery. Sebastian St. Cyr is a fascinating, multi-dimensional character created by a brilliant storyteller familiar with all the nuances of the period. I am eagerly awaiting the future installments in this exciting, fast-paced new series.
Rated by buyers -
While the second installment in the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries, "When Gods Die" proved not to be as thrilling and as riveting a read as the very first installment in the series, "What Angels Fear," it certainly wasn't a drag either, and was actually quite an engaging and riveting read. Indeed, this series is shaping up to be an automatic must buy for me and if you enjoy historical mysteries set during the Regency period, you'll definitely want to check this series out.
In June of 1811, scandal rocks Brighton when the young and beautiful Marchioness of Anglessey is discovered dead with a jeweled dagger in her back in the Prince of Wales' arms. In a futile effort to contain the damage to the royal prince's reputation, the authorities hurriedly announced that the young machioness had in fact committed suicide at the royal residence. However, instead of quieting the rumour-mongerers, this announcement only fuels the speculation that the prince was involved in some sordid way in the lady's death. Hoping to avert a disaster, the powerful Lord Jarvis commissions Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin to discover who really murdered Lady Anglessey and why. And while Sebastian may not care a toss about the indolent Prince of Wales' reputation, he does care about restoring Lady Anglessey's reputation and seeing to it that her murderer is brought to book. The last thing Sebastian expected though was that this murder inquiry would have links to something from his own past...
While "When Gods Die" may have failed to please the most fastidious of readers, it certainly did please me. At this point, all I ask is that I be entertained and enthralled and that the things that jar (language, historical inaccuracies, characters too stupid for words, etc) not hijack the book. And C. S. Harris certainly did entertain me. Her fast paced, cleverly constructed and vividly depicted scenes kept me happily engaged from start to finish; and if certain subplots (like the one involving his mother that was a bit out there in my book) did detract slightly from the overall cohesiveness of the book, I did not think myself too badly dine. All in all "When Gods Die" was a worthy follow-up to "What Angels Fear" and I'm eagerly looking forward to the subsequent installment in the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries.
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