When the Wolves Are Silent by C.S. Harris
Sebastian St. Cyr #21
Historical Mystery
April 14, 2026- Berkley
ARC

Review by Angela

I kind of wondered when we would swing back around to Sebastian’s sister, Amanda, and his nephew, Bayard.

In the twenty-first installment of the Sebastian St. Cyr series, murder comes close to home as Bayard finds the body of a friend after a night of overindulgence. Horrified and scared Bayard immediately finds Sebastian and tells him of the scene, his friend’s body thrown on a fire and burned to death. And while that is shocking, Sebastian soon discovers that this is the second dead body associated with Bayard’s friend group. As he begins to investigate, he uncovers Bayard and friends have been acting in a brutal and cruel manner for years, and there are many, many people who might want them dead.

As with any book in this series, there are dark themes. In this installment we have murder, rape, arson, and violence. Compound that with the dark, dreary time period, 1816 and “the year without a summer”, and you have one seriously grim murder mystery. Sebastian. of course, sets out to solve the murder, and is kind of in a race against time as the home office, and his father-in-law, are ready to wrap it up quickly and find a revolutionary to hang.

This isn’t an easy investigation, as these men have repeatedly harmed, both physically and financially, a large number of people. Everyone knows it, but as they are part of the ton, even if they are considered bad ton, there is never any punishment or resolution for the people they’ve wronged. When two more of Bayard’s friends come up dead or missing, Sebastian slowly begins to unravel the many threads of the mystery, and he must wade through ancient Celtic practices, and the history of the American Revolutionary War and the slave trade, to finally find the answers he needs.

I’m always entranced when reading a new book in this series. The pacing is swift, with just enough dialogue and descriptives to keep the reader engaged. I always love seeing Hero and catching up with Sebastian’s family. Hero doesn’t play quite as big a role in this installment, but I’m always interested in the reality of the conditions for working people in this time period that her interviews shine a light on.

As always, a reminder, don’t forget to read the author’s note at the end. This is always one of my favorite parts of the books in this series and I learn something new with every book.

Final grade- B