Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday that was hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
The Sebastian St. Cyr series is my favorite of the historical mystery genre. The historical fiction element is most educational and fascinating. And, Sebastian and wife Hero are a formidable couple on every level. It’s hard waiting a year for the next book.
Description
A seemingly idyllic summer picnic ends in a macabre murder that echoes a pair of slayings fourteen years earlier in this riveting new historical mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Who Cries for the Lost.July 1815: The Prince Regent’s grandiose plans to celebrate Napoléon’s recent defeat at Waterloo are thrown into turmoil when Lady McInnis and her daughter Emma are found brutally murdered in Richmond Park, their bodies posed in a chilling imitation of the stone effigies once found atop medieval tombs. Bow Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy immediately turns to his friend Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for help with the investigation. For as Devlin discovers, Lovejoy’s own wife and daughter were also murdered in Richmond Park, their bodies posed in the same bizarre postures. A traumatized ex-soldier was hanged for their killings. So is London now confronting a malicious copyist? Or did Lovejoy help send an innocent man to the gallows?
Aided by his wife, Hero, who knew Lady McInnis from her work with poor orphans, Devlin finds himself exploring a host of unsavory characters from a vicious chimney sweep to a smiling but decidedly lethal baby farmer. Also coming under increasing scrutiny is Sir Ivo McInnis himself, along with a wounded Waterloo veteran—who may or may not have been Laura McInnis’s lover—and a charismatic young violinist who moonlights as a fencing master and may have formed a dangerous relationship with Emma. But when Sebastian’s investigation turns toward man about town Basil Rhodes, he quickly draws the fury of the Palace, for Rhodes is well known as the Regent’s favorite illegitimate son.
Then Lady McInnis’s young niece and nephew are targeted by the killer, and two more women are discovered murdered and arranged in similar postures. With his own life increasingly in danger, Sebastian finds himself drawn inexorably toward a conclusion far darker and more horrific than anything he could have imagined.
Book Info
- Release Date: April 16, 2024
- Series: Sebastian St. Cyr #19
- Audiobook Narrator: Jenny Sterling
- Audio Length: ~12 hours, 15 minutes
- Print/Digital Page Numbers: 353
- Publishers: Berkley (print & digital); Recorded Books (audio)



I hope that you enjoy this one when you get the chance to read it Jonetta!
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Thanks, Jodie💜
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Hope April comes round quickly enough for you Jo!
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Thank you💜 I just got NetGalley approval so April came early!!!
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I do someday need to read some of Harris’s books.
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With your love of historical fiction? This is your series, Marialyce💜
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Gah and I’m only on book 5 they are so good I need to get back to them.
Anne – Books of My Heart
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Take your time because these stories should be savored, Anne💜
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Oh, I really like the sound of this one. Added it to my list!
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You’d love this series, Alexandra💜 The historical elements are amazing. I’m googling throughout each book to get more facts.
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I have the widget for this book but I haven’t taken it yet. It does sound very good!
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There’s a lot of history prior to this book given that it’s #19. You’d like it but miss the nuances of the character development that precedes it. That said, the historical elements are phenomenal as Harris is known for her research and period accuracy. I’ve read this series with a group of folks and we are die hard fans. Hope this helps!
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So. – don’t do it? (Just teasing) Truthfully, though, I probably won’t have time to add it in. Though it sounds like one you will love 💗
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No, I’d recommend you do it because you’re gonna want more. This series is extraordinary.
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I do hope to read this series eventually, but need time to fit it in.
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You’d love it, Carla💜
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