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con_bonus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
orinoco450's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jmorr290's review against another edition
4.0
3 1/2 stars. Very good historical mystery - liked the main character, well developed. Did not like his live interest , Kat Boleyn - lets hope she does not appear in future episodes. Well researched . Will continue with the series
thunguyen's review against another edition
5.0
The series had me at its 3-word titles. I want to read them all but not sure if I have the stamina to read all 18 books (number standing in 2021).
The introducing book was done in such a clever way to start a string of character developments. Viscount Devlin, hellish rake, disinterested heir, traumatized ex-soldier, brokenhearted lover, accused murderer and fugitive. While tagging along him through the murder investigation, we also learn about his past, his view of society and justice, his relationship with his father and sister, the last 2 members of his family. His romance with Kat Boleyn also plays a major part in this book. Spoiler alert, it's not a HEA. The romance trope is one of forbidden love and has a lot of pain and sadness to it.
The murder mystery itself is complicated with many twists and turns. Though the identity of the killer did cross my mind at first. The book kept me guessing until the moment the author chose to reveal it.
The introducing book was done in such a clever way to start a string of character developments. Viscount Devlin, hellish rake, disinterested heir, traumatized ex-soldier, brokenhearted lover, accused murderer and fugitive. While tagging along him through the murder investigation, we also learn about his past, his view of society and justice, his relationship with his father and sister, the last 2 members of his family. His romance with Kat Boleyn also plays a major part in this book. Spoiler alert, it's not a HEA. The romance trope is one of forbidden love and has a lot of pain and sadness to it.
The murder mystery itself is complicated with many twists and turns. Though the identity of the killer did cross my mind at first. The book kept me guessing until the moment the author chose to reveal it.
zoemaja's review against another edition
5.0
bought for kindle. Love, love love! I haven't read a real murder mystery in ages and this one was perfectly gripping. Love the characters, can't wait to see what happens to them next.
roshk99's review against another edition
4.0
Fantastic book. The character of Sebastion is fantastic and he seems very realistic but also likeable as the main character. The plot is complex enough to keep the reader's attention but not incomprehensible. All in all a great historical mystery
majkia's review against another edition
4.0
This was a re-read for me, from many years ago. I hadn't realized it until I was a couple of chapters in, then I just kept reading it. Good period mystery set in an interesting time of history, and with likable characters.
attytheresa's review against another edition
4.0
This book takes us into the dark underbelly of Regency England, from royalty to the most impovershed. Even the brief visits to a masquerade ball and Hyde Park are dark, quite the contrast to all those regency romances, espionage thrillers, and historical mysteries. What little romance is present breathes hopelessness.
On a cold damp January day in 1811, while an acrid yellow fog seeps through the streets of London, a beautiful young actress lights candles in the Lady's Chapel of an out of the way church as she waited for a rendez-vous she had arranged. The next morning, her body was found on the altar steps in a sea of blood, having been raped and beheaded. Evidence points to an aristocrat, the heir of King George III's Chancellor of the Exchequer, one Viscount Devlin, Sebastian St. Cyr. Meanwhile King George III has been declared mad and the Prince is to be appointed Regent to govern in his stead within days. The war with Napoleon is draining away England's coffers causing the poor to get poorer while the rich to get richer off the war in one way or another. The end result is not only a powder keg of potential social unrest during this weak period in the monarchy, but political machinations occuring deep in the seats of government and the closed doors of the nobility are attempting to ensure new Prince Regent either appoints a new Whig government backing social reforms and peace with France, or retaining the Tory government status quo in support of the monarchy and the war which is enriching all the Tories. Magistrate Lovejoy is informed within hours of the body being found that St Cyr is to be arrested and brought to justice immediately based on the evidence found with the body.
Add in an espionage ring supplying information to Napoleon, and you have a powder keg against which the only person who seems to be interested in finding out who is the real murderer is the accused Sebastian St. Cyr. St. Cyr undertakes to investigate while dodging arrest with the help of former lover, the actress Kat Boleyn, an urchin named Tom, and a surgeon who served with St. Cyr in the Peninsular Wars. These are all well-rounded characters that I suspect will be regulars in the rest of the series.
The plot takes many twists and turns, with layer upon layer having to be peeled away before the final revelation of the murderer and quite the climactic scene. There are many hints of dark family secrets in the St. Cyr family tree that are likely to be disclosed in future books in the series. In fact, one thing I'd suspected since about a 3rd into the book if not sooner was in a sense confirmed at the end by a comment made during a confrontation. The book ends a few days after it starts with the investiture of the Regency.
The political maneuverings in this are fascinating and add a great deal to the mystery. It is a very violent, depraved, and bloody crime and side of the regency era that is described, which will not be to everyone's tastes. I liked this a great deal and will certainly be reading more of the series. I did knock off a star for a number of plot points relating to criminal investigation that i thought just too unlikely as they were just illogical, which did not fit the character presented of Magistrate Lovejoy.
On a cold damp January day in 1811, while an acrid yellow fog seeps through the streets of London, a beautiful young actress lights candles in the Lady's Chapel of an out of the way church as she waited for a rendez-vous she had arranged. The next morning, her body was found on the altar steps in a sea of blood, having been raped and beheaded. Evidence points to an aristocrat, the heir of King George III's Chancellor of the Exchequer, one Viscount Devlin, Sebastian St. Cyr. Meanwhile King George III has been declared mad and the Prince is to be appointed Regent to govern in his stead within days. The war with Napoleon is draining away England's coffers causing the poor to get poorer while the rich to get richer off the war in one way or another. The end result is not only a powder keg of potential social unrest during this weak period in the monarchy, but political machinations occuring deep in the seats of government and the closed doors of the nobility are attempting to ensure new Prince Regent either appoints a new Whig government backing social reforms and peace with France, or retaining the Tory government status quo in support of the monarchy and the war which is enriching all the Tories. Magistrate Lovejoy is informed within hours of the body being found that St Cyr is to be arrested and brought to justice immediately based on the evidence found with the body.
Add in an espionage ring supplying information to Napoleon, and you have a powder keg against which the only person who seems to be interested in finding out who is the real murderer is the accused Sebastian St. Cyr. St. Cyr undertakes to investigate while dodging arrest with the help of former lover, the actress Kat Boleyn, an urchin named Tom, and a surgeon who served with St. Cyr in the Peninsular Wars. These are all well-rounded characters that I suspect will be regulars in the rest of the series.
The plot takes many twists and turns, with layer upon layer having to be peeled away before the final revelation of the murderer and quite the climactic scene. There are many hints of dark family secrets in the St. Cyr family tree that are likely to be disclosed in future books in the series. In fact, one thing I'd suspected since about a 3rd into the book if not sooner was in a sense confirmed at the end by a comment made during a confrontation. The book ends a few days after it starts with the investiture of the Regency.
The political maneuverings in this are fascinating and add a great deal to the mystery. It is a very violent, depraved, and bloody crime and side of the regency era that is described, which will not be to everyone's tastes. I liked this a great deal and will certainly be reading more of the series. I did knock off a star for a number of plot points relating to criminal investigation that i thought just too unlikely as they were just illogical, which did not fit the character presented of Magistrate Lovejoy.
thepolybrary's review against another edition
5.0
~*Check out all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!*~
What Angels Fear is the first in C.S. Harris’ Regency mystery series, which as of this writing is at fourteen books. STOP THE PRESSES! I’ve found a new favorite historical series! Ok, so I’ve only read the first one but I am completely head over heels and am spending WAY too much time searching for a copy of the out-of-print hardcover. Ahem.
Feels
Creepy, atmospheric, complicated, and even a little bit sexy! So many red herrings, so many things going on…and people with so many different layers to them. Holy cow. The murder mystery here is gruesome and horrible, and through the course of the book I really came to care about the victim and desperately wanted some justice for her. The overall tone was very gothic and at times creepy but not overly so.
Characters
Sebastian is SUCH an intriguing person. I love heroes and heroines that are somewhat morally gray, and he definitely falls into that category. He’s 28 years old, has never had a happy home life (though his family has always been gentry and he’s never wanted for creature comforts), and endured things during the war (possibly DID things during the war) that no human being should ever have to go through. Not all of his story is revealed in this book, and I’m looking forward to finding out more about him and his very strange family in the next installments. OH! He has some rather different physical abilities, that had me doing some serious side-eyeing when I first started reading…but what do you know, the author actually based them on an real genetic syndrome found most often in people of Welsh descent. AWESOMESAUCE.
Kat – an Irish-born actress with whom Sebastian has a history – is an equally fascinating character, and I really hope she appears more in the later books. I love how she’s made her own way in the world, regardless of what society says about her or how she should conduct herself. She really seems to have a heart of solid gold and is someone I would love to get to know better.
Tom is a street urchin who basically adopts Sebastian despite his best efforts to dislodge the boy. Convinced that Sebastian won’t last a day on the streets (being gentry, after all) without his help, Tom quickly endeared himself. I just want to scoop him up and hug him. And feed him.
There is a slew of interesting side characters as well! I’m hopeful some of them may become more prominent in the later books.
Setting
First of all, while C.S. Harris actually has a Ph.D. in history and the telling of the story definitely feels like it drops you into historical London, some liberties have definitely been taken with the language. Also, the main female characters in this book have some VERY modern ideas of themselves and their rights – which I thoroughly enjoyed, but is probably not very historically accurate. I’m not a historian myself, by any means, but the rest seems fairly true to the time period. There are cramped alleys, injustice, starving children, and grave robbers.
Plot
There is a LOT going on here, no joke. Political intrigue, sex scandals, murders (yes, plural), family secrets, broken hearts…AHHH! I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Of course the main focus of this book is on the murder of the young woman found dead in front of a church altar, and Sebastian’s quest to prove that it was NOT him that killed her, but there are so many other threads woven through this book that are just as fascinating as the whodunit.
Flame Rating
3/5 flames! Sebastian and Kat still practically steam whenever they’re in a room together, and there are some sexy scenes (without being very detailed about specifics). They have chemistry and don’t want to admit it…until they do. Hah!
5/5 stars, and I can’t wait to get to the next one! See what happens when you start reading some backlist books? Highly recommend if you like historical fiction, a good whodunit, with a little sexual tension thrown in.
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What Angels Fear is the first in C.S. Harris’ Regency mystery series, which as of this writing is at fourteen books. STOP THE PRESSES! I’ve found a new favorite historical series! Ok, so I’ve only read the first one but I am completely head over heels and am spending WAY too much time searching for a copy of the out-of-print hardcover. Ahem.
“Life is full of scary things. The trick is to not let your fears get in the way of your LIVING.”
Feels
Creepy, atmospheric, complicated, and even a little bit sexy! So many red herrings, so many things going on…and people with so many different layers to them. Holy cow. The murder mystery here is gruesome and horrible, and through the course of the book I really came to care about the victim and desperately wanted some justice for her. The overall tone was very gothic and at times creepy but not overly so.
Characters
Sebastian is SUCH an intriguing person. I love heroes and heroines that are somewhat morally gray, and he definitely falls into that category. He’s 28 years old, has never had a happy home life (though his family has always been gentry and he’s never wanted for creature comforts), and endured things during the war (possibly DID things during the war) that no human being should ever have to go through. Not all of his story is revealed in this book, and I’m looking forward to finding out more about him and his very strange family in the next installments. OH! He has some rather different physical abilities, that had me doing some serious side-eyeing when I first started reading…but what do you know, the author actually based them on an real genetic syndrome found most often in people of Welsh descent. AWESOMESAUCE.
Kat – an Irish-born actress with whom Sebastian has a history – is an equally fascinating character, and I really hope she appears more in the later books. I love how she’s made her own way in the world, regardless of what society says about her or how she should conduct herself. She really seems to have a heart of solid gold and is someone I would love to get to know better.
Tom is a street urchin who basically adopts Sebastian despite his best efforts to dislodge the boy. Convinced that Sebastian won’t last a day on the streets (being gentry, after all) without his help, Tom quickly endeared himself. I just want to scoop him up and hug him. And feed him.
There is a slew of interesting side characters as well! I’m hopeful some of them may become more prominent in the later books.
Setting
First of all, while C.S. Harris actually has a Ph.D. in history and the telling of the story definitely feels like it drops you into historical London, some liberties have definitely been taken with the language. Also, the main female characters in this book have some VERY modern ideas of themselves and their rights – which I thoroughly enjoyed, but is probably not very historically accurate. I’m not a historian myself, by any means, but the rest seems fairly true to the time period. There are cramped alleys, injustice, starving children, and grave robbers.
Plot
There is a LOT going on here, no joke. Political intrigue, sex scandals, murders (yes, plural), family secrets, broken hearts…AHHH! I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Of course the main focus of this book is on the murder of the young woman found dead in front of a church altar, and Sebastian’s quest to prove that it was NOT him that killed her, but there are so many other threads woven through this book that are just as fascinating as the whodunit.
Flame Rating
3/5 flames! Sebastian and Kat still practically steam whenever they’re in a room together, and there are some sexy scenes (without being very detailed about specifics). They have chemistry and don’t want to admit it…until they do. Hah!
5/5 stars, and I can’t wait to get to the next one! See what happens when you start reading some backlist books? Highly recommend if you like historical fiction, a good whodunit, with a little sexual tension thrown in.
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