Where Serpents Sleep: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery Kindle Edition

This book tops Why Mermaid Sings, primarly because the humanity it brings to the forgotten and because it heavily features Hero Jarvis-a character I have grown to like and respect.Like the character of Hero Jarvis, in this book, Harris puts a face on the forgotten and seemingly disposable women of the frail sisterhood. This is a welcome characterization from books of similar periods that treat the fallen with great indifference.But mostly I liked the mystery which was compelling, interesting and, for me, an enigma until the very end. I liked how Devlin solved the mystery based in events that apparently happened between the last book and this one. This made it difficult for the reader to solve the puzzle, but is did succeed in weaving a tapestry that is the world created by C.S. Harris.I learned a few things from reading this book. The first was the historical events depicted. I will not go into them here for fear of spoiling certain aspects of the story.The other thing I learned was that I must go back and read the earlier books before going on to What Remains of Heaven(great title, by the way). I can hardly wait.p.s: And Hero Jarvis. I just love this character and hope to see more of her in the coming books.

I usually do better research when I buy a mystery novel. For some reason unknown to myself I started this series with book number four. In some ways I'm sorry I did that, but in others I just can't be sorry about reading such a fine novel.Sebastian St. Cyr is one of those "gentleman" sleuths who wandered about Regency London in search of a puzzle to solve. Except that doesn't even begin to describe what actually happens in this story. C. S. Harris has written a wonderful novel with so many layers to her characters that I felt at times as if I had jumped in at the deep end of the pool. It probably would have been better to have started with the first book, just to get all the characters into their proper pigeonholes. Since I made a mistake and read the fourth book first I just had to try a little harder to catch up. And catch up I did. This book can be a stand-alone. Kat and Sebastian ended their relationship eight months previously. The revelation for why that relationship ended is something I've never encountered before in a period mystery. I was actually shocked when I first realized what had happened. Kat has married and Sebastian has been trying to drown his sorrows by staying drunk. When he is first presented with the question of whether or not to help Hero Jarvis uncover the reason for the brutal murders of the prostitutes in a safe house he doesn't want to become involved. However, the temptation to use any means possible to get back at Hero's father is just too tempting for him to resist. He will use the daughter to get to his sworn enemy.My main reason for giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 comes from the sheer number of victims. After a while I actually lost count of how many people died during the telling of this story. I love to read mystery stories, I especially love to read period mystery stories. This is a superb example of the genre. But, I found myself thinking, "Oh no, not another one!" This is not a mystery for the faint of heart, nor someone with a vivid imagination and a stomach easily made queasy. Yet, even after saying all of that I would highly recommend this book to a friend. I would just make sure they know it contains quite a bit of detail which might make them uncomfortable. The descriptions of the London streets and neighborhoods were vivid and colorful. I could almost smell the fish market, the alleyways. The prostitutes and other characters came alive in my imagination because of the word pictures painted by Ms Harris.This author took some chances. She dealt with two controversial subjects in this book and handled them both very well. Even though I know what caused the break up of Kat and Sebastian I will still go back and read the first three books. Now that is the sign of good writing!

This installment could be the most special book in the entire series for me. It was the beginning of Sebastian & Hero's love story ~ the story of true heart-mates. Their path wasn't going to run smoothly ~ but OMG! I'd fallen so crazy loving them both together beyond words.The mystery was epic. Sebastian and Hero were actively investigating the murder of just one prostitute ( spoiler!!!! a runaway granddaughter of a duke!!!! ) who was shot & died in Hero's arms. But by the end ~ the scope of the crime felt like a massacre when blood-lust armed professionals plowed through a village of innocent civilians.Sebastian and Hero were both chased ~ ambushed ~ trapped ~ and at one point ~ looking straight at Death in the eye! That moment had turned out to be the best turning point in their life ~ the heart-melting moment~ when they turned to each other for final comfort! So yeah ~ from Book 5 onward ~ there would be no other for Sebastian but Hero!And the signature epic scale of heart-pounding future mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat would absolutely captivate me for as long as "C.S. Harris" continues writing this out-of-this-world gorgeous series!

"The boom of a second shot echoed up the alleyway. Hero imagined she could feel its passing like the whisper of a ghost beside her cheek." (quote from the book)This book was dark and deeply disturbing but completely amazing. Like the three previous books before it, I was captured in a vise-like grip from the first chapter. And best of all, we get more of Hero Jarvis.Here is a young woman, daughter of the powerful Lord Jarvis, who has a strong sense of justice and wants to prove society wrong. She is researching why woman become prostitutes in order to present a bill in Parliament to prove they are not innately morally depraved. So when she is interviewing Rose at the Quaker run Magdalene House, a group of men storm it...searching for one but killing all within and burning it to the ground. Hero helps Rose to escape with her, but someone shoots at them. Only Hero survives. Hero vows to bring justice for Rose."You are not responsible for society. Yes, I am. We all are in our own small way." (quotes from the book)Sebastian St. Cyr, Lord Devlin is still fighting his demons over the departure of Kat Boleyn in the previous book. He has been out drinking, gambling and riding to hounds as if he is courting death. He has not helped, or been interested in helping, any investigations for the past eight months. That is until Hero approaches him. She lures him into wanting to help...he is intrigued."It's the oddest thing, but I've realized that none of my acquaintances have much experience with murder. So naturally, I thought of you." (quote from the book)There are many suspects, as usual. Red herrings that have to be investigated, questioned and pondered over for they were just as culpable. There is the inescapable push/pull of dealing with Hero and keeping her safe. Even her father admires her but doesn't forbid her, only bargains with her. More is at stake than any of them realize as the body count climbs. And in this one, I didn't realize who was behind it all until Sebastian did!"If she'd been born a boy, then he would have been proud of her, proud of her powerful will and her undeniable intelligence." (quote from the book)There is one chapter in this book that brought me to tears. It was emotionally compelling and struck at the core of Sebastian and Hero. I am so invested in this series, and I am so glad I only just finished book four. I have nine more to go and hope that Ms. Harris keeps on going!I highly recommend this well researched historical Regency mystery series!

The book received is old. Pages are yellow and heavily stained.

I enjoyed the read. Once again Lord Devilin to the rescue ! I enjoy the mix of historical fact and fiction.

Hero Jarvis, reform-minded daughter of the Prince Regent's cousin, enlists Sebastian St. Cyr's help in investigating the brutal murders of eight prostitutes.Following a trail of clues from London's seedy East End to the Mayfair mansions of a noble family, the two must race against time to stop a killer whose ominous plot threatens to shake the nation to its very core?Another beautiful crafted Sebastian St. Cyr mystery by C. S. Harris.If you have never read any of the Sebastian St. Cry mysteries, you are missing out.They are well crafted, plotted, with a great set of characters set in the historical Regency London.

Ich gehöre zu denen, die bereits in der Jugend mit dem " Georgette - Heyer - Virus " infiziert worden sind und habe seitdem einem Faible für Bücher , die im Regency spielen. Jeder in der gleichen Lage weiß, dass man dabei schreckliche Enttäuschungen erleben kann. Diese Reihe, aus der dieses Buch der 4. Band ist, wird nicht enttäuschen! Es ist allerdings keine Romanze, sondern eher ein Krimi. Es ist sehr spannend, sehr gut recherchiert und zeigt auf, dass die Verfasserin die Zeit sehr gut verstanden hat. Es beschränkt sich aber nicht nur auf den " Zuckerguß " dieser Zeit, obwohl die Hauptpersonen sehr wohl zum Hochadel gehören, aber auch einfache Menschen spielen ihre Rollen und nicht nur als Kammerdiener. Die sozialen und politischen Probleme werden ebenfalls nicht ausgeblendet, sondern sind im Gegenteil wichtig für die gesamte Geschichte. Die Hauptpersonen sind sehr differenziert gezeichnet und entwickeln sich in der Serie sehr stark, sodass ungedingt zu empfehlen ist, die Bücher auch in der richtigen Reihenfolge zu lesen. Auch ich freue mich schon auf den nächsten Band und muß glücklicherweise nicht darauf warten: er steht schon bereit.