Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Who Slays the Wicked is the 14th (!!) Regency murder mystery featuring Viscount Sebastian St. Cyr by author C.S. Harris. Released 2nd April 2019 by Penguin on their Berkley imprint, it's 349 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This series has been consistently strong from the first book. Although the actual mysteries are self contained, the characters and story arc develop throughout the series. Since the series itself is so well done and engaging, I recommend reading them in order. I can only think of a handful of series (in any genre) which have maintained my interest evenly throughout and this one is superlative.

The plotting and pacing are seamless with varying dramatic tension which kept me interested from the first paragraph. I love Sebastian's family and retinue and always enjoy seeing how his young coach-boy Tom is developing as well as visiting his dogsbody/valet Calhoun, and his redoubtable wife, Hero.

This is just a top quality historical murder mystery with meticulous background research and beautifully written. I highly recommend the series. It would make an admirable summer binge read. This installment might well be my favorite thus far.

Five stars for both the series as a whole and this, the 14th book.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Who Slays the Wicked
4 Stars

Sebastian St. Cyr is more than eager to assist Bow Street when his niece's malevolent husband is found brutally murdered in his own bed. Who besides Stephanie could have wanted to depraved cur dead?

A solid installment with some much-needed closure for Stephanie whose marriage to the diabolical Lord Ashworth was more than a little cringe-inducing. The details surrounding Stephanie's childhood add to her characterization and make her all the more sympathetic to the reader.

The mystery itself is intriguing and Harris once again skillfully incorporates historical figures and events into the plot. This time the focus is on the visit of Catherine Pavlovna, sister to Tsar Alexander I, to England and her antagonistic relationship with the Prince Regent. Despite several promising red-herrings, it is ultimately easy to guess the identity of the killer.

Unfortunately, there are still no developments in the ongoing arcs surrounding the question of Sebastian's biological father and the fate of his mother. There is some progress with regard to Hero's manipulative cousin Victoria, but not as much as one would like. These issues really need closure sooner rather than later as this reader, in particular, is getting a little angsty!

I was a bit devastated to get finish book 14 ... because I really didn't want to reach the end of these books. They've been so absorbing and Hero and Sebastian have become two of my favourite fictional characters.

As always, Harris writes a very compelling and fascinating novel and I love the way she weaves her stories into well-researched history. I never get the sense, as I do with with authors, that they've just dumped a bunch of historical research into the middle of their novel, Harris mingles the storyline with history very effortlessly. I have to say, I was almost in tears during Hero's interview with the elderly "pure finder" in this novel....

Weak 3, mainly in honor of the series as a whole then this one book (which would have probably gotten a 2 by itself).

This was a hard one for me to rate. Its better then a lot of historic mysteries, but I was a little bored throughout it. There was not a lot of action, it was mostly just Sebastian going around talking to people, then Jarvis comes to warn him off of investigating, then someone tries to kill him and he kills them instead, then Hero introduces him to one of the street people she interviews, then he figures out who the killer is. All of which we have seen before in other books in the series. We don't see a lot of Hero, who is awesome. One pro is that the apparently ubiquitous scene where he has to talk to Kat for no apparent reason was very short. She is just so useless and I roll my eyes every time he makes up a reason to go talk to her.

I was really wanting for Hero to finally have a confrontation with her father about her mothers death and him clearly sleeping with the cousin. I want to see Sebastian look for his real father. I want to see more of his and Hero's relationship. So, basically I was just a little annoyed at the lack of progress. I say this having loved Sebastian for so many books, but this series has been going on a long while, maybe its time to let it die if the mysteries are going to be so monotonous.

Glad I stuck with this series. The previous book felt a little flat but I enjoyed this one. Perhaps because there was more focus on family members, especially Hero.

I could see the ending but getting there was very good.

Lord Ashworth was a sadistic, women tourturing murderer. But who murdered him? Was is Sebastian, who vowed to destroy him? Was it Sebastian's niece, who ended up marrying the dasdardly lord? Or was it someone who was privy to his secrets that finally put him down.

The mystery was lively, and the final reveal of the killer was a bit suprising. I wasn't quite prepared for it in the end. With a little dash of Russian intrigue thrown in as well.

This was a great installment in the series, I just wish there was more for Hero to do. She was regulated to mainly side-kick duties in this one, and she is one of my favorite characters. I hope she gets more to do in further installments!

Really liked this one! I love Hero and Sebastian, and definitely was not sorry to see Ashworth as the victim here. Poor Stephanie. It was good to learn more about her. And, honestly, Amanda, can I punch you?

I am so impressed with the author’s research and the way she makes you feel completely immersed in London during the Regency.