When Blood Lies by C.S. Harris
(Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery Book 17)
Historical Mystery
April 5, 2022, by Berkely
ARC
Review by Angela
The newest Sebastian St. Cyr mystery takes readers to France during the time when the Bourbons have been restored to the throne and Napoleon is on Elba, right before the 100 days. Sebastian has come to France to track down his mother, who he has been searching for since finding out earlier in the series that she is very much alive.
I don’t think I’m spoiling much, because it happens very early on in the book, to say the mystery Sebastian has to solve is his own mother’s murder. When I tell you I was surprised that Sebastian had come so far and done so much to finally track her down only to lose her before they could connect, I’m not kidding. I was shocked.
Her murder leads to him learning much about her life over the last twenty years since she left England to be with her lover. Her sympathies toward the French people and their government, her tendency to collect friends with varied backgrounds, her love of gardening and roses, and exactly what type of person she was. As Sebastian tracks down her killer, he discovers she may have visited Napolean at Elba, he just can’t figure out what exactly her motives were.
Hero plays a big part this time around, using her tenacity and sharp mind to help her husband reason out the who, what, and why of his mother’s death. Quite a few of the main supporting characters are absent as the mystery takes place away from this couple’s normal household, but Jarvis and Hendon do have minor appearances. There were some new characters introduced and I wonder if they will pop up again in later installments.
There were a few surprising developments that I’m sure will feature prominently in the next book. Has Sebastian finally found out the identity of this father? And the last few paragraphs, with Napolean’s return and a secret that Hero has kept, has me excited to see what kind of mystery this author has in store for her readers next year.
All in all, another great mystery in one of my most beloved series.
Final grade- B
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