Who Cries for the Lost by C.S. Harris
Sebastian St. Cyr #18
Historial Mystery
04/18/2023 by Berkley
ARC
Review by Angela
Who Cries for the Lost picks up right after the events of When Blood Lies, Sebastian and Hero are back in London, breathlessly waiting for news from France. Napolean sits on the throne and England is on the verge of war. Sebastian is recovering from his leg injury suffered while in France and is frustrated with the injury at a time when so many young men are poised to join the battlefield. Readers will recognize the buildup to Waterloo.
This book brings back several familiar faces, Gibson, Alexi, and Kat Boleyn. When a body is fished out of the Thames, mutilated and unrecognizable, only one person can identify the body and that’s Alexi Sauvage, Gibson’s lover, and the dead man’s bigamous wife. Sebastian is called in to investigate and as he slowly uncovers Major Miles Sedgewick’s past, he must decipher if his death was because of his secretive dealings on behalf of the government, his lecherous behavior, or something else.
As always, this newest release in a much beloved historical mystery series moves the plot along at a steady clip. Readers discover more of Alexi’s backstory, which has been a mystery up to this point. Her experiences in wartime and what led her to move to London. Gibson is still struggling with his opium addiction, but there seems to be light at the end of that tunnel, with his willingness at the end to let Alexi try some of her experimental therapies.
As Sebastian investigates he quickly realizes that there are more bodies showing up in Gibson’s surgery, and that they may be associated with Miles Sedgewick’s death. He just has to piece together how. It’s a plot with many threads, and it was fascinating watching them all come together as the killer is revealed.
It was nice reconnecting with Kat, although I would like to learn more about her current circumstances and relationships. The little timeouts with Hero and Sebastian are always lovely. Hero does help in this investigation, maybe not as much as in teh previous book, but she remains a constant, steady helpmate and partner.
Who Cries for the Lost is another solid, well-researched installment in this series. Now that Napolean is dethroned once again, and the war is over, I wonder where Sebastian’s story will take him next. Will we learn more about his father? How will Hero’s new pregnancy affect the family and her research? Will Sebastian’s best friend Gibson finally find peace? I look forward to finding out.
Grade- B
I have been looking forward to this book. I have listened to the entire series so far in audio. The first 16 books were narrated by Davina Porter, who is fantastic, but they had someone new for the last book. I see the new person is doing this book as well. I found I didn’t enjoy the last book as much, but I don’t know if that is because the story was so sad, the new narrator, or just the fact that after so many books, most series tend to diminish a little.