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genizah's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
jvilches's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
annarborelle's review against another edition
5.0
I raced through this book - most enjoyable of all of them! Glad to start seeing some resolution among the characters, finally.
rclz's review against another edition
5.0
Good book with a great over all arc in Sebastian's personal life. I like the way it's intertwined with such a good mystery.
chadjames312's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
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ladyhighwayman's review against another edition
4.0
What Remains of Heaven is the fifth and latest installment in the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries, and is another winner.
It's 1812 and this time Sebastian is sought out by his own aunt to help in a murder case. Two corpses have been found in an ancient crypt - one fresh, one there for decades. Are the murders related or was it pure coincidence?
Sebastian again finds himself plunged into London's seedy underworld, coming across the lowest of the low. One unique suspect he comes across is a son of an American founding father. Another suspect is stalking Sebastian, sought out on revenge of an event from the past.
There isn't as much action as there is in the previous books, but once it finally pops up, boy is it good. That is one thing that is ace about these books: spectacular action sequences. Fantastically intense and exquisitely paced.
In the course of his investigation, Sebastian not only finds out long buried secrets connected to these two corpses, but secrets about his own family, that make him question his own existence. Events in this book will forever change Sebastian's life and I can not wait until the next book in the series is released!
It's 1812 and this time Sebastian is sought out by his own aunt to help in a murder case. Two corpses have been found in an ancient crypt - one fresh, one there for decades. Are the murders related or was it pure coincidence?
Sebastian again finds himself plunged into London's seedy underworld, coming across the lowest of the low. One unique suspect he comes across is a son of an American founding father. Another suspect is stalking Sebastian, sought out on revenge of an event from the past.
There isn't as much action as there is in the previous books, but once it finally pops up, boy is it good. That is one thing that is ace about these books: spectacular action sequences. Fantastically intense and exquisitely paced.
In the course of his investigation, Sebastian not only finds out long buried secrets connected to these two corpses, but secrets about his own family, that make him question his own existence. Events in this book will forever change Sebastian's life and I can not wait until the next book in the series is released!
cleheny's review against another edition
4.0
Harris' Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries are a combination of mystery and soap opera, although I have to admit Harris writes a good soap opera in addition to the mystery. The mystery is set up well--the Bishop of London is found murdered in a recently uncovered crypt, found by the body of a man killed 30 or more years before. Sebastian's aunt, a close friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury, asks him to investigate. What follows is a plot intertwined with Britain's final efforts to salvage the American colonies, treason, and long-hidden family secrets. The mystery is well-plotted, and Harris sets up credible red herrings. There is also, of course, the usual multiple threats to Sebastian's life. It is a wonder that he has both survived this long and not gone bankrupt from replacing all of the very expensive clothes that get destroyed when he defends his life.
Unsurprisingly, given the developments in the previous book, we see more of Hero Jarvis, who is becoming my favorite character. She's an intelligent woman who wants more from life than to be placed in the perilous dependency of a wife; her parents' difficult relationship--and her mother's vulnerability to her father--clearly left their mark on her. She's practical and, in some ways, quite unsentimental, but she demonstrates a capacity for great love and loyalty.
The developments in Sebastian's life increasingly resemble the travails of a roguish soap opera hero. Having only recently become aware that his family has lied to him for 18 years in connection with his mother's death, and then learning that his lover is also his half-sister, the next long-buried secret drops. It's a secret that's been increasingly obvious since our introduction to his sister Amanda in the first book, and was all but spilled at the end of the third, Why Mermaids Sing (). Another shoe drops as well, in classic soap opera fashion (). These are pretty cheap twists, though Harris does pull them off elegantly and engagingly, which is what keeps me reading. I just wish she didn't resort to such romantic melodrama to create conflict in Sebastian's life.
Unsurprisingly, given the developments in the previous book, we see more of Hero Jarvis, who is becoming my favorite character. She's an intelligent woman who wants more from life than to be placed in the perilous dependency of a wife; her parents' difficult relationship--and her mother's vulnerability to her father--clearly left their mark on her. She's practical and, in some ways, quite unsentimental, but she demonstrates a capacity for great love and loyalty.
The developments in Sebastian's life increasingly resemble the travails of a roguish soap opera hero. Having only recently become aware that his family has lied to him for 18 years in connection with his mother's death, and then learning that his lover is also his half-sister, the next long-buried secret drops. It's a secret that's been increasingly obvious since our introduction to his sister Amanda in the first book, and was all but spilled at the end of the third, Why Mermaids Sing (
Spoiler
the Earl of Hendon is not his biological father, Kat is not his half-sister, and he was irrevocably separated from the love of his life because of a lieSpoiler
Hero is pregnant based on their one-afternoon stand as they awaited what they believed to be certain death; in true soap opera fashion, one time (and Hero's first time, at that) is all it takesshomarq's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bee26's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0