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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
informative
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
Pretty good historical context, interesting protagonist- what's not to like, especially for me? These mysteries feel like the Lord John Grey books without the added level of dealing with homosexuality, which is still pretty good.
This was a promising start to this series. I really don't like the main-character-accused-of-the-crime-being-chased-the-whole-book-while-he-solves-the-mystery plot device, so that part of this story was a little annoying. Having said that, I enjoyed the characters and this mystery set in Regency England, so I'm going to give the next one a try.
While not quite as good as Caleb Carr's masterful The Alienist, Harris' first historical mystery is quite a page-turner, with plenty of interesting details and characters. Sebastian St. Cyr is a grand hero, and his allies in detection are fun and colourful. If you're a fan of historical mysteries that pay attention to detail and have some whisps of romance to them, the Sebastian St. Cyr series will be worth your time. 4/5 stars.
3.75 Falsely Accused Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed the intensity of this mystery and the many twists that had me guessing and second guessing. Whilst I felt an initial lack of connection with many the characters, even the main character Sebastian was two dimensional, until his interactions with others slowly shed light on his character. Kat Boleyn made for a very interesting character and I really liked Tom, and how he loyally assisted Sebastian.
I definitely want to read further into the series, and hope for more development and answers.
I thoroughly enjoyed the intensity of this mystery and the many twists that had me guessing and second guessing. Whilst I felt an initial lack of connection with many the characters, even the main character Sebastian was two dimensional, until his interactions with others slowly shed light on his character. Kat Boleyn made for a very interesting character and I really liked Tom, and how he loyally assisted Sebastian.
I definitely want to read further into the series, and hope for more development and answers.
I must admit, I'm a sucker for a gentleman sleuth and a good mystery that unravels piece by piece. St. Cyr is a nobleman who stands accused of murder, as you do, because a pistol with the St. Cyr crest was found on the body of a woman who was brutally murdered in an old church. St. Cyr is forced to get involved to clear his own name and to bring a murderer to justice.
I actually really liked St. Cyr as a character. He exemplifies a lot of what's wrong with noblemen, including the swagger and privilege, but he has a conscious. He's smart and witty and his insults are quite tongue-in-cheek, which I enjoyed, but he also spends a lot of time considering the world around him and his place in it. Aside from Sebastian, though, this story really falls down on characters, who end up feeling a lot like caricatures. The constables are bumbling idiots. In the very first part of the book, in fact, one stabs the other, and the chief magistrate, Henry Lovejoy, having seen none of it, turns around just in time to blame it on Sebastian, despite that making no sense at all.
This whole book has a case of shoddy detective work by everyone except Sebastian, to the point where I just found it really hard to buy at some point. Without going into spoilers, things that are presented as "evidence" are circumstantial at best, and there is no solid evidence to suggest Sebastian was the murderer. The wild accusations drove me crazy. There's also a pretty serious case of convenience. Things happen specifically just to implicate St. Cyr, it seems, and to make things more difficult for him. Instead of the challenges feeling natural, they felt contrived to me and obviously done in an attempt to give our good nobleman something to overcome and prove his brilliance.
Despite all that, I really did enjoy the book. I thought the mystery was well done, and there were just enough clues to keep me guessing but not enough where it was obvious from the start. I liked the way the reader pieces the mystery together with St. Cyr, bit by bit as facts are uncovered. The writing also invoked the time period. It was slow and slightly overbearing in some places, but feels authentic to the time period, so I really couldn't ask for more than that.
My biggest pet peeve is Bithil Disease. It's probably been beat to death, by other reviewers, but I'll say it again. Sebastian St. Cyr is special because he's got Bithil Disease, which gives him yellow eyes, sharp hearing, a heightened ability to see in the dark, keen eyesight, and quicker reflexes. All of which, except for the special eyes, could have simply been explained in a very realistic, very logical way by the fact that he spent years in a war, where these skills would have been coveted and necessary for survival and because of that, it would've been natural that he developed them. Perfectly good, realistic explanation for the character. Bithil Disease, as far as I can tell, doesn't exist, despite the author's claim that it does. Either that or it's a really well-kept secret. The author's discussed it several times, citing the fact that it's so rare and mostly affects the Welsh, so that explains why it's not online or discussed in the medical setting, even though she claims that her father, her daughter, and herself have it to some degree. Which is three generations of an extremely rare disease, which seems like a pretty astounding genetic feat which should be studied. Whether or not it's a real disease, the yellow eyes and seemingly "special" illness really pulled me out because it seemed extremely implausible and unlikely. Sebastian was a strong enough character that he could have stood on his own, without finding ways to make him special.
All that said, I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series. First books tend to be hit or miss for me, and while this one was good, where it really missed, in my opinion, was the realistic factor. Everything felt exaggerated and overblown, reduced to a level of unbelievability that I found hard to take seriously.
I actually really liked St. Cyr as a character. He exemplifies a lot of what's wrong with noblemen, including the swagger and privilege, but he has a conscious. He's smart and witty and his insults are quite tongue-in-cheek, which I enjoyed, but he also spends a lot of time considering the world around him and his place in it. Aside from Sebastian, though, this story really falls down on characters, who end up feeling a lot like caricatures. The constables are bumbling idiots. In the very first part of the book, in fact, one stabs the other, and the chief magistrate, Henry Lovejoy, having seen none of it, turns around just in time to blame it on Sebastian, despite that making no sense at all.
This whole book has a case of shoddy detective work by everyone except Sebastian, to the point where I just found it really hard to buy at some point. Without going into spoilers, things that are presented as "evidence" are circumstantial at best, and there is no solid evidence to suggest Sebastian was the murderer. The wild accusations drove me crazy. There's also a pretty serious case of convenience. Things happen specifically just to implicate St. Cyr, it seems, and to make things more difficult for him. Instead of the challenges feeling natural, they felt contrived to me and obviously done in an attempt to give our good nobleman something to overcome and prove his brilliance.
Despite all that, I really did enjoy the book. I thought the mystery was well done, and there were just enough clues to keep me guessing but not enough where it was obvious from the start. I liked the way the reader pieces the mystery together with St. Cyr, bit by bit as facts are uncovered. The writing also invoked the time period. It was slow and slightly overbearing in some places, but feels authentic to the time period, so I really couldn't ask for more than that.
My biggest pet peeve is Bithil Disease. It's probably been beat to death, by other reviewers, but I'll say it again. Sebastian St. Cyr is special because he's got Bithil Disease, which gives him yellow eyes, sharp hearing, a heightened ability to see in the dark, keen eyesight, and quicker reflexes. All of which, except for the special eyes, could have simply been explained in a very realistic, very logical way by the fact that he spent years in a war, where these skills would have been coveted and necessary for survival and because of that, it would've been natural that he developed them. Perfectly good, realistic explanation for the character. Bithil Disease, as far as I can tell, doesn't exist, despite the author's claim that it does. Either that or it's a really well-kept secret. The author's discussed it several times, citing the fact that it's so rare and mostly affects the Welsh, so that explains why it's not online or discussed in the medical setting, even though she claims that her father, her daughter, and herself have it to some degree. Which is three generations of an extremely rare disease, which seems like a pretty astounding genetic feat which should be studied. Whether or not it's a real disease, the yellow eyes and seemingly "special" illness really pulled me out because it seemed extremely implausible and unlikely. Sebastian was a strong enough character that he could have stood on his own, without finding ways to make him special.
All that said, I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series. First books tend to be hit or miss for me, and while this one was good, where it really missed, in my opinion, was the realistic factor. Everything felt exaggerated and overblown, reduced to a level of unbelievability that I found hard to take seriously.
This was well-written with interesting characters. The Regency London scene described sufficiently without being wordy. The plot was fairly simple and drawn out by, perhaps, 75 pages. It was tiresome the constant re-interviewing the same suspects to reveal more info each time. This book doesn't portray the early 1800s British justice system favorably. Overall, the author's writing skill will prompt me to look at her other titles.
I struugled some days with this book - it did not always hold my attention, thus the 3 stars. I did like it and will read the next in the series. I think it may have been my mood and distractability. Anyway - I call it a good historical mystery if you like this genre.
Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is charged with murder when a young actress if found mutilated in an old church and a gun marked with his name is found on the body. Smelling a setup, Sebastian runs from the authorities and decides to find the killer himself. In the process he hooks up with another actress named Kat Boleyn, a woman he once loved who ended up breaking his heart. The story was really good and it was difficult to deduce the killer, but with good reason -- the author didn't share all the information that the protagonist knew. That was a minor quibble, but the problem I really had were the characters themselves. The main character of Sebastian is the rakehell gentleman who is secretly sensitive, wounded and misunderstood. Then there is Kat, the prostitute with the heart of gold, and the very clever and intelligent street urchin. Sound familiar? The characters are cookie-cutter with nothing original to contribute. Although I enjoyed reading the book, the lack of originality will keep me from continuing the series.
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There may be some spoilers ahead!
A young actress is brutally murdered in a church at night near Westminster Abbey, and a pistol thought to belong to the Earl of Hendon's son, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin was discovered near her body. But he's innocent, and he intends to prove it, no matter what.
C.S. Harris writes an interesting murder mystery full of suspicion and conspiracy set in England in 1811. That being said, I really enjoyed the story, though it took me longer than usual to finish mainly because I've been busy with upcoming finals and a number of papers due.
The Good:
The characters were certainly interesting. I really enjoyed Kat's character. She was interesting in a mysterious way. Along with Sebastian and Tom. Tom's character surprised me, especially how he trusted Sebastian quite quickly.
The story was also addicting, even with a small couple of annoyances.
The Bad:
There were some parts that were entirely repetitive and drove me entirely insane. I was getting slightly annoyed continually reading parts that I felt I had already read.
There were also a handful of proofreading errors that drove me nuts. Even one of the character's names had been spelt wrong.
Other than that, I definitely want to check out the next book in the series!
There may be some spoilers ahead!
A young actress is brutally murdered in a church at night near Westminster Abbey, and a pistol thought to belong to the Earl of Hendon's son, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin was discovered near her body. But he's innocent, and he intends to prove it, no matter what.
C.S. Harris writes an interesting murder mystery full of suspicion and conspiracy set in England in 1811. That being said, I really enjoyed the story, though it took me longer than usual to finish mainly because I've been busy with upcoming finals and a number of papers due.
The Good:
The characters were certainly interesting. I really enjoyed Kat's character. She was interesting in a mysterious way. Along with Sebastian and Tom. Tom's character surprised me, especially how he trusted Sebastian quite quickly.
The story was also addicting, even with a small couple of annoyances.
The Bad:
There were some parts that were entirely repetitive and drove me entirely insane. I was getting slightly annoyed continually reading parts that I felt I had already read.
There were also a handful of proofreading errors that drove me nuts. Even one of the character's names had been spelt wrong.
Other than that, I definitely want to check out the next book in the series!