Reviews

When Maidens Mourn by C.S. Harris

reikista's review against another edition

5.0

A friend of Hero’s is murdered and the two of them investigate, partially together, and partially on their own, as the lack of trust between them grows.

dawn_marie's review against another edition

3.0

aka Law and Order: Regency England is the seventh book of C.S. Harris’ Sebastian St. Cyr series. This installment finds Viscount Devlin investigating the murder of Gabrielle Tennyson, a historian investigating the possible location of mythical Camelot and a friend of his new wife Hero. While the mystery is simplistic (this is, after all a written procedural) the strength of the novel (the entire series actually) is Harris’ attention to detail, character development, and historical background. While not the best novel of the series, it is still enjoyable.

iskanderjonesiv's review against another edition

4.0

Regency England, August 1812. Sebastian's plans to escape the heat of London for a honeymoon are shattered when the murdered body of Hero's good friend, Gabrielle Tennyson, is discovered drifting in a battered boat at the site of a long-vanished castle known as Camlet Moat. A beautiful young antiquarian, Miss Tennyson had recently provoked an uproar with her controversial identification of the island as the location of Camelot. Missing and presumed also dead are Gabrielle's two young cousins, nine-year-old George and three-year-old Alfred.

Still struggling to define the nature of their new marriage, Sebastian and Hero find themselves occasionally working at cross-purposes as their investigation leads from London's medieval Inns of Court to its seedy back alleys, and from grand country homes to rural enclaves where ancient Celtic beliefs still hold sway. As he probes deeper, Sebastian also discovers dark secrets at the heart of the Tennyson family, and an enigmatic young French lieutenant with a dangerous, mysterious secret of his own.

Racing to unmask a ruthless killer and unravel the puzzle of the missing children, Sebastian and Hero soon find both their lives and their growing love for each other at risk as their investigation leads to Hero's father, who is also Sebastian's long-time nemesis... and to a tall, dark stranger who may hold the key to Sebastian's own parentage.

mamap's review against another edition

4.0

The one with the murdered friend of Hero that had a French lover.

As they are trying to figure out their marraige.

ktaylor1164's review against another edition

4.0

Hero has become one of my favorite literary sleuths, despite the fact that she is not technically the protagonist. It's rare I like both partners in a husband and wife crime-fighting team, but I have high hopes for these two.

cassandra67b07's review against another edition

5.0

As with most historical mysteries, I’m reading more for the period and the relationships than the actual mystery, but this was a compelling one all around. Sebastian and Hero and their tangled relationships continue to fascinate and Harris has created a realistic and evocative look at Regency England’s class society at all levels. I’m going to breeze through this series pretty damn fast.

garnetofeden's review against another edition

4.0

I was inclined to like this book right from the get-go when I first read it several years ago. I’ve long been a fan of the Arthurian legend and the art and academics surrounding it, and before this book was first published, I was involved in the discussion regarding the cover art as part of the author’s blog community.

Now that I’ve finally had time to return to the series with more life experience, it only grows better. I just love the character of Hero. I admire her self-possession and practicality. Sebastian’s awareness of the hidden gem she is continues to grow. As they’re still navigating that awkward newlywed stage of adjusting your life to have another person in it, along with the circumstances bringing them together in the first place, I have high hopes that their teamwork will only continue to grow as I reread the next volume and then move on to the books in the series I haven’t read yet.

Rating reviewed 12/26/2022.

constantreader471's review against another edition

4.0

4 stars for another well done historical fiction book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series. Sebastian and his wife Hero(married in the previous book) are about to go on a honeymoon when they are notified that Hero's friend Gabrielle Tennyson has been found murdered. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, agrees to help solve the murder at the request of his friend Sir Henry Lovejoy, the Bow Street magistrate in charge of the investigation. Devlin has helped Lovejoy before and because he is an aristocrat and heir to the Earl of Hendon, he can ask questions of other aristocrats that Lovejoy can't in England of 1812..
There are some false leads, and Devlin is attacked several times(always miraculously surviving). But the murder is solved. Devlin's complicated relationship with his wife and her father are explored. Why they got married is explained in book 6. Devlin's loathing of Hero's father Lord Jarvis is also explained in previous books. To say more would be a spoiler for previous books.
Some quotes:
"No man in England was more powerful than Jarvis. His kinship with the King might be distant, but without Jarvis's ruthless brilliance and steady wisdom, the House of Hanover would have fallen long ago and the Hanovers knew it."
For the benefit of my GR friend Karla, I'm including a description of 1 of Hero's outfits:
"Today she wore an elegant carriage gown of emerald satin trimmed with rows of pintucks down the skirt and a spray of delicate yellow roses embroidered on each sleeve."
This was a library book.

con_bonus's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

maferg01's review against another edition

5.0

Once again a GREAT read. I stayed up an hour later than I should have last night finishing this. I really enjoy this series. Sabastian and Hero's story continues to develop (and I assume much more in books to come) amidst a mystery that I didn't see the resolution to until the end and quite a bit of action. This book also has a healthy cast of characters who hopefully will continue to make appearances (well at least those who didn't die) and leaves the reader guessing about a few things for the next in the series.