Review of “Where Serpents Sleep” by C. S. Harris

Note: There are necessarily spoilers for previous books in this series.

Background:

This is the fourth book in the historical crime fiction series set in Regency England, this one in 1812, and featuring Sebastian St. Cyr, the twenty-nine year old Viscount Devlin. In the first book, he was suspected of a murder he did not commit, and had to become something of a Sherlock Holmes to find the real murderer to save his own skin.

In subsequent books, he was consulted on murders that involved the nobility, because he had an entrée into the upper level of society that would have been denied to the regular police.

Devlin is aided by the counsel of his friend, the surgeon Paul Gibson, who serves as a Watson to St. Cyr’s Holmes, as well as by Sir Henry Lovejoy, Chief Magistrate at Queen Square, who has become a friend of Devlin’s. He also has his 13-year-old horse handler Tom, a former street urchin, do reconnaissance work for him.

You may also wish to consult my post on “An Introduction to the Regency Era.”

In this book, Devlin is approached by Hero Jarvis, the 25-year-old daughter of the formidable Lord Jarvis, the power behind the throne. She requests his help in finding out why a young prostitute named Rose was murdered. Hero was interviewing Rose when she was shot, and Rose died in her arms.

1787 cartoon on houses of prostitution: “Retailers not affected by the shop tax”

Devlin had spent the previous eight months on a self-destructive path, after finding out that he could no longer be with the love of his life, Kat Boleyn. But Hero manages to gain Devlin’s interest in pulling himself together to help her solve this case, which helps distract him from his sorrow.

Before long, there are other deaths among the “Cyprians,” or prostitutes, and Devlin and Hero form an unlikely partnership to figure out who is killing these women and why. They begin to suspect it may be related to the animosity between Britain and France. And in a riveting dénouement, they are thrown together in what seems like their certain death, and in circumstances that will have far-reaching consequences for the future.

Evaluation: The characters are not only appealing in these books, but interesting, beyond their involvement in the crimes they investigate. Hero is an especially good match for Devlin, although neither of them seem to realize it just yet. Both have similar sympathies, strengths, and intelligence.

I especially like the historical data the author includes in the background. In this book, she brings up the social unrest involving the Luddites, as well as the continuing conflicts with France and America.

This book is my favorite of the series thus far.

Rating: 4/5

Published by Obsidian, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group, 2008