Read Recently -- January 2014 -- Dancing Shadows
Where Shadows Dance: a Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery by C. S. Harris
Sequel to the other Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries.
St. Cyr's friend Paul Gibson is a doctor and, like all doctors of the era (1812) he has to get sample bodies to dissect, and the supply of those is limited. So, he turns to body-snatchers (the kind that take bodies out of graveyards, not the kind that replace you with a pod-person), and on this particular evening, he has put in a special order for a young man who recently died of heart failure. When he gets him on the table, though, he finds that in fact the young man died of a stiletto to the base of the skull. There is only one person Gibson can turn to: his friend, The Viscount Devlin, Sebastian St. Cyr. The investigation is immediately complicated by the fact that St. Cyr can't tell anyone why he suspects the poor corpse was murdered, lest Gibson be arrested.
Things then get more complicated, however, as the young man was employed at the Foreign Office, meaning he was involved in all sorts of intrigue. The matter has to be handled with utmost delicacy, so as not to create an international incident (not that one may not be brewing anyway; note the date). Also, Sebastian finds himself having to rather quickly arrange a wedding.
It's a good series still, with a strong mix of character, history, and action, with some unexpected humour. This one continues that mix. Recommended, though if you start the series here you are missing out on some good stuff. Start with What Angels Fear.
Sequel to the other Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries.
St. Cyr's friend Paul Gibson is a doctor and, like all doctors of the era (1812) he has to get sample bodies to dissect, and the supply of those is limited. So, he turns to body-snatchers (the kind that take bodies out of graveyards, not the kind that replace you with a pod-person), and on this particular evening, he has put in a special order for a young man who recently died of heart failure. When he gets him on the table, though, he finds that in fact the young man died of a stiletto to the base of the skull. There is only one person Gibson can turn to: his friend, The Viscount Devlin, Sebastian St. Cyr. The investigation is immediately complicated by the fact that St. Cyr can't tell anyone why he suspects the poor corpse was murdered, lest Gibson be arrested.
Things then get more complicated, however, as the young man was employed at the Foreign Office, meaning he was involved in all sorts of intrigue. The matter has to be handled with utmost delicacy, so as not to create an international incident (not that one may not be brewing anyway; note the date). Also, Sebastian finds himself having to rather quickly arrange a wedding.
It's a good series still, with a strong mix of character, history, and action, with some unexpected humour. This one continues that mix. Recommended, though if you start the series here you are missing out on some good stuff. Start with What Angels Fear.