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Friday, July 08, 2011

Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris

Where Shadows Dance is the newest Sabastian St. Cyr mystery and my favorite so far.

This series is set in Regency London, and the date in which this one takes place is July, 1812.

When surgeon and anatomist Paul Gibson receives his latest corpse from the body snatchers, he is excited because he believes the body to be that of a young man who died in his sleep from a heart ailment, and Gibson is eager to learn more about the heart.  What he discovers instead is that Alexander Ross was murdered.  What to do?  He can't go to Bow Street because obtaining the corpse is a crime.

He realizes that he must turn to his friend Sebastian St. Cyr, who enjoys few things more than solving murders.  Although initially, Alexander Ross appears to have no enemies who would wish him dead, the more Sebastian digs, the deeper he finds the web of diplomatic intrigue.  The death of the well-liked young man may have much more far-reaching consequences than anyone thought.

When a second body turns up with the same cause of death, St. Cyr finds himself wondering just how much Lord Jarvis, his powerful and frequent opponent knows.  And how much his daughter knows as well.

I think this one is the best in the series so far, which doesn't mean there aren't a few flaws.  Some of the plot complications seem a bit labored, and Hero Jarvis' remarkable behavior in the latter part of the book was a bit over the top.  Not that it bothered me unduly as I like Hero so much better than Kat.  A fun romp and a bit of romance!

Fiction.  Mystery/Historical Fiction.  2011.  339 pages.

4 comments:

  1. I came in through your quilt blog and have to say I Love, Love, Love your work! I took a beginning quilting class and have two finished quilt tops and am wondering when they will ever be quilted! I love fabric art and only wish I had more free time.... As for St. Cyr--I have the first book or two of this series and look forward to reading it at some point--I love the Regency era. Have you read Imogen Robertson yet?

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  2. Danielle - Thanks! I've only recently started quilting again, just small quilts to donate to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Auction, which donates all proceeds to Alzheimer's research.

    Good for you for finishing two quilt tops! I mostly make small art and baby quilts that I can quilt myself with little trouble. Big ones can always be taken to someone with a longarm quilter.

    I've liked some of the St. Cyr series better than others. This is probably my favorite. I haven't read Imogen Robertson yet--thanks for the heads up!

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  3. I've read a couple in this series and really enjoy them so I'm glad to hear the series keeps getting better! I think I have the third book waiting for me on the shelves.

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  4. Iliana - I've enjoyed the series, although I admit that the relationship with Kat kind of grated on me after a while. I was glad to see that she doesn't feature prominently in this one--I like Hero better.

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