I enjoyed this installment even more this time around. Davina Porter has been Reread/listened to the audiobook March'2023:
5 stars - Historical Mystery
I enjoyed this installment even more this time around. Davina Porter has been the audiobook narrator for all of the previous books in the series, and she's phenomenal. There's a different narrator for this book, Jenny Sterlin, and she did a good job. But I really missed Davina Porter's voice, especially her vocal characterization of Sebastian.
Original rating/review April'2022:
4-4.5 stars - Historical Mystery
This is one of my all-time favorite series. I love the characters and the way the author weaves real historical events, people, and places into the storyline and mystery. This time around, Sebastian and Hero are in Paris, and they end up trying to solve his mother's murder that seems connected to the political intrigue and machinations of the Bourbon court and Napoleon's potential return to Paris from his exile in Elba.
I've been so eager to read this book. I really liked it, but it's not one of my favorites of the series. The story dragged a bit at times, especially since some of the historical context, information, and details were extensive and seemed more like a French history lesson rather than being necessary for the story. I also missed the rest of the characters back in England.
My biggest issue/frustration is with the cliffhanger ending. The murder was solved, but(view spoiler)[ we don't know if Sebastian and Hero will get back to England. (hide spoiler)] I also think the author is dragging out the (view spoiler)[reveal of Sebastian's father. Potential possibilities have been given, but we still don't know who Sebastian's father is. When is Sebastian going to confront McClellan? (hide spoiler)]
Even though it wasn't one of my favorites of the series, When Blood Lies is still an intriguing mystery with characters I love, and C.S. Harris is a brilliant writer. I just wish the next book was coming out much sooner because it's going to be really hard waiting a year to find out what happens next.
When I read this series, I'm always amazed at how relevant and reminiscent the history is to current day. It's as if we've truly learned nothing.
"Who was it said that the periods of greatest happiness are the missing pages in our history books?"
"But in the end, the differences between a king and an emperor are not so great, hmm? Not great enough to die for. Both take money from the poor to buy fine gowns and jewels for their women and to accumulate more horses, carriages, and grand chateaus than anyone has need of. And both send the sons of the poor off to fight and die in their wars."
"But then I remember what France was like before the Revolution, the way they used to dash through the streets in their gilded carriages without a thought to the poor people they so often killed or maimed with impunity. The way they dressed in silks and velvets and wore diamond buckles on their shoes while tens of thousands of women and children starved to death. And I think, They could have done something to avert it all. They could have, except they were too selfish to share any of their massive wealth and power, and too arrogant to believe the people could ever rise up and take it from them. And because of their hubris and their greed, millions died. Millions."...more
I love this remarkable series so much that I wanted to almost immediately restarReread rating/review January'2021
5 stars - Historical Mystery/Thriller
I love this remarkable series so much that I wanted to almost immediately restart and reread all the books again from the beginning. I enjoyed this even more the second time around! 5 stars!
Original rating/review November'2020
4.5 stars - Historical Mystery/Thriller
This is a great historical mystery with a couple of gruesome murders and lots of twists and turns. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is such an intriguing character. I'm looking forward to more of this series!...more
I love this series so much! Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin is one of my all-time favorite book heroes! What the Devi4.5 stars - Historical Mystery
I love this series so much! Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin is one of my all-time favorite book heroes! What the Devil Knows is a dark, complex, and intriguing mystery. I found it confusing at times because there are a lot of characters to keep up with.
I listened to the audiobook format, and Davina Porter's narration is absolutely fantastic! She gives each character their own accent and personality and truly brings the story and Regency London to life. Davina Porter's narration makes it feel like watching a movie, so I highly recommend the audiobooks for this series!
Even though this latest mystery is solved, there are still a lot of questions that need answering in terms of the overall, ongoing series arc.
(view spoiler)[When will we (and Hero and Sebastian) find out what really happened to Hero's mother? When will Sebastian find answers about his mother and real father? Will Dr. Gibson beat his opium addiction? (hide spoiler)]
The ending left me wanting more, and I can't wait for the next book to come out!...more
I love this series, and Who Speaks for the Damned is another complex, intriguing mystReread/listened to audiobook Feb'2023
5 stars - Historical Mystery
I love this series, and Who Speaks for the Damned is another complex, intriguing mystery. Davina Porter's audiobook narration is amazing.
Original rating/review Dec'2020
5 stars - Historical Mystery
I've been completely engrossed in this series for the last six weeks. I've listened to all 15 books narrated fabulously by Davina Porter, and they're without a doubt some of the absolute best audiobooks I've had the pleasure of listening to. Every book in this series is fantastic, and I'm going to be in major withdrawal waiting for What the Devil Knows to come out in April! They're all truly excellent, brilliant reads!...more
This series is absolutely fantastic and one of my top favorites. Davina PortReread/listened to audiobook 1/20/23:
5 stars - Historical Mystery/Thriller
This series is absolutely fantastic and one of my top favorites. Davina Porter's narration is phenomenal.
Original rating/review Dec'20:
5 stars - Historical Mystery/Thriller
Some of the most powerful moments in this series are when it reveals the ugly cruelties of such an unfair and unjust society. The scene where Hero interviewed a “pure finder” woman who collects dog feces from the streets of London to try and sell to tanners for her livelihood had me in tears because her life was so horribly sad.
And the scene where Sebastian and Dr. Gibson are looking over the murdered body of a very young girl who had to prostitute herself just to eat and survive was also heartbreakingly tragic.
Sebastian: “What the bloody hell is wrong with us? What kind of society turns its back on the neediest amongst them? They call themselves Christians. They smugly go to church every Sunday and pat themselves on the back for being so damn holy. And then they allow this?”
Dr. Paul Gibson: “For I was hungered, and you gave me no meat,” quoted Gibson softly. “I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink.” “I was a stranger and you took me not in.”...more
Sebastian St. Cyr is one of my all-time favorite series, and this is a terrific Reread/listened to audiobook Feb'2023:
5 stars - Historical Mystery
Sebastian St. Cyr is one of my all-time favorite series, and this is a terrific installment with a complex, compelling, and tragic mystery. As always, Davina Porter's audiobook narration is fantastic and riveting, and she truly brings the characters and setting to life.
My favorite thing about this series is the way each book manages to demonstrate the ways the monarchy and wealthy, titled, aristocratic upper class systematically brutalize and dehumanize women and the lower classes and poor members of society. Every book makes you feel the injustices and suffering of the Regency era. I also find the books very relevant to today, especially given the vast disparity between the wealthy 1% and the poor in our society.
The title Why Kill the Innocent is very fitting as Sebastian is trying to solve the murder of a beautiful, innocent young woman. And Sebastian's wife, Hero, and her friend, Alexi, are also trying to help, futilely, a poor, innocent young girl named Amy who has been arrested for stealing a ham to feed herself so she can care for her newborn baby after her husband was forced into a press gang (impressment of free men into forced military service) and killed.
“My baby's gonna die, isn't she? Without me to feed her and hold her and take care of her, Hannah's gonna die.”
“I always used to believe in God,” the girl was saying. “But I don’t no more. Why would a God who’s truly good and kind let that press gang take my Jeremy away from me like that? We were so happy. We thought we had our whole lives ahead of us.” Tears began to slide down the girl’s dirty cheeks, but a rush of what looked like raw anger now glittered in her eyes and hardened her features. “I don’t care what the chaplain says. I won’t pray to God and ask him to forgive me. For what? For trying to keep my baby alive? Why should I have to ask God’s forgiveness for that? If there is a God and he did this to us—to my Jeremy, to my Hannah—then I don’t want to see him. I don’t want to go to heaven and live with somebody who’s that cruel and uncaring.”
Hero and Alexi attend Amy's public hanging so that she at least has someone who cares for her in the crowd, and the scene is absolutely heartbreaking and gutwrenching.
“It's barbarism,” said Alexi, her accent unusually heavy. “How can anyone think this is right? To kill a starving seventeen-year-old girl for stealing a ham? A ham!”
This is my favorite book of one of my all-time favorite series. But it's sReread/listened to audiobook 1/19/23:
5++ stars - Historical Mystery/Thriller
This is my favorite book of one of my all-time favorite series. But it's so devastating and heartbreaking. I have an almost 10-year-old son, and if anyone did to him what was done to the children in this book, I would have razed London's aristocracy to the ground.
Original rating/review Dec'2020:
5+ stars - Historical Mystery/Thriller
I have so many thoughts about this exceptional book, and I know I won’t be able to do it justice. It’s an incredibly well-written, fantastic mystery and another testament to Sebastian’s steadfast determination for seeking justice. The book description does a good job, so I won’t go into detail about the plot. The subject matter and murders in this are probably the darkest and most brutal, disturbing, and heartbreaking in the series. The story of victimized children was distressing and gut-wrenching, but this is my favorite St. Cyr book to date.
This series does a consistently brilliant job presenting the hypocrisy, elitism, and brutality of Regency England and detailing the various unjust ways the monarchy and wealthy, titled, aristocratic upper class systematically dehumanize the lower classes and poor members of society. Devlin refuses to turn a blind eye to the brutality and demands justice for those the wealthy and powerful abuse and ignore and who cannot fight for themselves.
“How do you convince a boy born to a deadly combination of poverty and the endless scorn of those labeled his betters that his real worth is infinitely above that of the savage, twisted spawn of kings? How do you explain a world that gifts evil men with privilege and wealth and looks the other way while they torment and abuse the weakest members of society?”
I’ve been binge-listening to this excellent series for the past month (12 books in 30 days) and Davina Porter’s audiobook narration is absolutely amazing! She portrays each character with their own distinctive voice, accent, tone, and personality and truly brings the series to life. They are all highly enjoyable reads! Big 5 stars for this one!
Here are a few random thoughts about the book. (I’d love to discuss these points with someone who has read the book!)
**Spoiler Warning** (view spoiler)[ -I was upset that vile Lord Ashworth got away with his evil, but I see that he gets murdered in Who Slays the Wicked.
-I didn’t like that Devlin didn’t tell Hero about Lord Jarvis’s death threats against him or that Jarvis knew about and protected the sadistic killers. I hope Devlin tells Hero the truth at some point and that Hero confronts Jarvis about it.
-I’m very suspicious of cousin Victoria. I think she killed Hero’s mother. My guess is that she poisoned her. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Jarvis was in on it. I hope the author addresses this in a future book. (hide spoiler)]...more
This is a compelling, complex mystery and another terrific installment in the seriesReread/listened to audiobook Feb'2023:
5 stars - Historical Mystery
This is a compelling, complex mystery and another terrific installment in the series with phenomenal audiobook narration by the immensely talented Davina Porter.
I've listened to the audiobooks for the first six books in this series consecutively. The audiobook narrator, Davina Porte5 stars - Historical Mystery
I've listened to the audiobooks for the first six books in this series consecutively. The audiobook narrator, Davina Porter, is fantastic! Here's my ranking for the series, so far.
1st place/favorite -- Why Mermaids Sing, #3 -- 5+ stars 2nd place -- Where Serpents Sleep, #4 -- 5 stars 3rd place -- Where Shadows Dance, #6 5 stars 4th place -- What Angels Fear, #1 -- 5 stars 5th place -- When Gods Die, #2 -- 4 stars 6th place -- What Remains of Heaven, #5 -- 4 stars
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