Reviews

Who Slays the Wicked by C.S. Harris

dgrachel's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I love this series. Harris’s prose grabs the attention from the first chapter and keeps the reader hooked as Sebastian St Cyr, Viscount Devlin, solves another set of grizzly murders in Regency England. I’ve come to love the recurring cast of characters over the last 14 books, even the sinister Lord Jarvis. My only quibble with this is the ending felt rushed and too tidy. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse and Rape

priyastoric's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

3.0

catmom22's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

5.0

haylnomann's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

bponsford's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

iskanderjonesiv's review against another edition

4.0

The death of a fiendish nobleman strikes close to home as Sebastian St. Cyr
is tasked with finding the killer to save his young cousin from persecution in
this riveting new historical mystery from the USA Today bestselling author
of Why Kill the Innocent....

When the handsome but dissolute young gentleman Lord Ashworth is found
brutally murdered, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is called in by Bow
Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy to help catch the killer. Just seven
months before, Sebastian had suspected Ashworth of aiding one of his longtime
friends and companions in the kidnapping and murder of a string of vulnerable
street children. But Sebastian was never able to prove Ashworth's complicity.
Nor was he able to prevent his troubled, headstrong young niece Stephanie from
entering into a disastrous marriage with the dangerous nobleman.

Stephanie has survived the difficult birth of twin sons. But Sebastian soon
discovers that her marriage has quickly degenerated into a sham. Ashworth
abandoned his pregnant bride at his father's Park Street mansion and has
continued living an essentially bachelor existence. And mounting evidence--
ranging from a small bloody handprint to a woman's silk stocking--suggests
that Ashworth's killer was a woman. Sebastian is tasked with unraveling the
shocking nest of secrets surrounding Ashworth's life to keep Stephanie from
being punished for his death.

mamap's review

2.0

Someone has killed the husband of Sebastian’s niece. He must discover the killer even if he deserved death.

I miss the stories of past characters.

A good mystery, but finding the killer doesn’t fix everything- never does.

lindsy's review

dark reflective tense

4.25

genizah's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

2.5

All rich people are serial killers is not a bad thesis per se, but it's getting awfully repetitive.

annmaries's review against another edition

4.0

Each time I read (or re-read) an installment of this series, I'm blown away by how carefully Harris researches the context of her novels. It's one of my favorite things about them -- getting a glimpse into London in the early 1810s. Not always (rarely, to be honest) are they pretty, but I like that the lives of ordinary people aren't swept under the rug in her stories, unlike most Regency-era fiction, where the focus is almost entirely on the idle rich and their amusements. Harris gives us a peek at the cost of those amusements, while at the same time delivering gripping mystery and compelling characters. You can't go wrong with a Sebastian St. Cyr book.