Why kings confess

Review Posted Online: Jan. No Comments Yet. More by C. Page Count: Publisher: Scribner. Review Posted Online: Dec. Show comments. More by Kathy Reichs.

A suspenseful, professional-grade north country procedural whose heroine, a deft mix of compassion and attitude, would be welcome to return and tie up the gaping loose end Box leaves.

The unrelenting cold makes this the perfect beach read. Betrayal on the Bowery. The Chuckling Fingers. Murder Most Fair. The Bloodless Boy. The Undertakers. The First Wave. Clark and Division. Silence in the Library. Death at the Crystal Palace.

Although the woman, Alexi Sauvage, has no memory of the attack, Sebastian knows her all too well from an incident in his past—an act of wartime brutality and betrayal that nearly destroyed him. As the search for the killer leads Sebastian into a treacherous web of duplicity, he discovers that Pelletan was part of a secret delegation sent by Napoleon to investigate the possibility of peace with Britain. When he realizes the key to their survival may lie in the hands of an old enemy, he must finally face the truth about his own guilt in a past he has found too terrible to consider….

It was fun to read how he sorted everything! I loved his moments with Hero! His love for her has grown very strong and while he's still keeping some secrets from her, he's also very tender and gentle. Nobody could doubt his feelings! The historical bits are very ineteresting too! For example, the facts about child delivering and the diet pregnant women were submitted to are so incredible! I'm in awe of the women of that time!

Their lives were really in peril with the idiots who thought themselves physicians! They' were charlatans who knew nothing aboout women! Ah, the afterword by the author are as interesing as the book itself! Another wonderful book! View all 6 comments. Cyr is greatly challenged with this most recent crime. French physician Damion Pelletan is found murdered in the alley of St. Katharines, a poor section of London. His mutilated body was discovered by Paul Gibson after first encountering Damion's unconscious companion, Alexandrie Sauvage, lying nearby.

The course of the investigation was pretty complicated as it was entangled with French history and politics, as well as English interests and Lord Jarvis. As usual, while there were Sebastian St. As usual, while there were many suspects, none seem to completely fit when other seemingly related murders entered the fray. I must admit it got too complicated and repetitive at times.

Meanwhile, Sebastian's relationship with Hero was a highlight of the story. They continue to be an interesting, well-suited couple who enliven the story. There's also a surprise development involving Paul that I found delightful. While the investigation felt a little protracted, the superior writing and historical elements still made this an outstanding story.

My memory is weak on Napoleonic history and the resurrection of the Bourbons so this was an interesting education. Be sure to read the author's notes at the end. This continues to be one of my favorite series. View all 9 comments. Jul 28, Blackjack rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorite-books.

This ninth book in the Sebastian St. Cyr stories is every bit as strong as previous ones, though I swear I liked it maybe even more than the preceding books. For one thing, Sebastian has a number of scenes that really highlight just how totally cool and deserving of his own series he is.

It also features some quite modern themes, including a very closeted transgender community, frank discussions of opioid addiction, as well as domestic violence.

Sebastian and his small cohort of like-minded fami This ninth book in the Sebastian St. Sebastian and his small cohort of like-minded family and friends stand out in this world Harris as constructed as progressive voices on issues that resonate as much today as they did more than two hundred years ago.

I really appreciate too the artfulness and subtlety on the author's part in depicting Sebastian as an open-minded and tolerant man of his age. All of these issues occur organically in the book without any preachy insertions. We simply observe Sebastian reacting with respect and fairness over and over in quiet and humble scenes.

Some of the scenes in this book are very moving. The book picks up eight months into Sebastian's and Hero's marriage with a very pregnant Hero awaiting the impending birth of their child.

Pregnancy complications create some genuine suspense and the resolution was a particularly happy note in what is otherwise a fairly bleak book about the murder of French exiles in London. I learned quite a lot about the dispersal of the French royal family following the Revolution, and the mystery of the child Dauphin.

We also learn more of Sebastian's past war traumas as well, which serves to illuminate more of what has shaped Sebastian into the man he is in present day.

Of particular note in this book is the addition of Alexi Sauvage, a love interest finally! She fits in so well with this tight community of people important to Sebastian and I look forward to reading more about her in the upcoming books. Finally, this is the book that presents Hero and Sebastian's child, and the baby's arrival offers a lovely ending to a fantastic book.

View 2 comments. I'm continuing to enjoy this excellent series of historical mysteries. The main characters, Sebastian St Cyr and Hero Jarvis continue to grow and their relationship is deepening as they become true friends and allies as well as soulmates. Sebastian continues his role of amateur investigator when a young French doctor is found killed in an alley with his heart removed.

Sebastian must collect all the random pieces of this puzzle to determine if his death is this part of a current day political int I'm continuing to enjoy this excellent series of historical mysteries. Sebastian must collect all the random pieces of this puzzle to determine if his death is this part of a current day political intrigue involving a peace delegation from Paris or an older story that goes back many years involving the deposed French Royal family, the Bourbons, in exile in England.

What I really love about this series is not only the great writing in developing a really intriguing mystery and the ongoing development of the characters, but also the firm setting in history and the historical facts and explanations that the author includes in her epilogue.

I'm hoping C. Harris intends to make this a very long series with many more great books to come. View 1 comment. Dec 10, h o l l i s rated it it was amazing Shelves: reads , a-smattering-of-lols , overdrive , finished-in-december , crime-mystery , family-focused , grief-or-loss , all-the-feels , hist-fiction , lgbtqiap-content. I've been pretty stingy with my ratings regarding this series -- despite the obvious fun I'm having by doing nothing but read these damn books for days -- and so while this might not rank up with my other five star reads..

This is as close as we've come to perfect all series imo, obvs and so I'm awarding it top marks. This one put me through literally almost all the emotions. I need a nap. View all 10 comments. Mar 17, Lady Wesley rated it it was amazing Shelves: listened.

Possibly my favorite so far. View all 4 comments. Jan 29, Melanie A. This is my favorite installment yet! So much happened in this one I cannot recommend this series enough! Jun 27, Karen rated it it was amazing. And I'm so happy, I've been waiting for something good to happen for our favorite Irish surgeon. Sorry, can't tally here writing, on to book May 16, Emma rated it really liked it Shelves: historical-mystery , historical-fiction , british-hf , regency-hf.

Very good! Well it turns out a large chunk of them ended up as emigres in Britain and it is on this, that the plot Very good! Well it turns out a large chunk of them ended up as emigres in Britain and it is on this, that the plot of this book is based. Highly enjoyable plus informative read.

Recommended series. We seem to have moved forward in leaps and bounds past certain stupid issues. The mystery was Uber political with a sort of cheap shot explanation. That one relationship is aces. And this other one? I was excited that Sebastian opened up a little to us. Mar 22, eyes. Complex plot involving a French delegation from Napoleon exploring peace talks, the French royal family, French emigrees and a series of butchered bodies.

Hero is due any day and in true Hero fashion has chased out her fashionable doctor. Dr Paul Gibson finds himself looking after an injured French woman with a past. A past that impinges on Sebastian and has us learning more of the awful scenes he encountered during the war. Another stellar read! Cyr, Viscount Devlin, likes the following things: 1 his wife; 2 his house; 3 his cat. He also solves murders! And in this particular novel there is a variety pack of dead people and also a good chunk of the displaced French monarchy.

Hero fucking Devlin: smashing in bad dude's heads with a fire poker and assisting in putting out a corpse fire while NI Sebastian St. She was an unusually tall woman with large, clear gray eyes, an aquiline nose, and the kind of strong facial structure that was generally described as "handsome" rather than pretty.

He had disliked her intensely the first time he met her. Now he wondered how he could ever live without her. I was rather disappointed by the plot, actually. Some of the twists and turns felt a little overwrought; I suspected one of the Major Revelations very early on, was actually pleasantly surprised that the book wasn't bothering to go that cliche route, and then had to deal with it when the book actually DID go there.

I also thought some of the philosophizing over madness was a bit too on the nose, especially in light of the "cold calculations" of the major villain. It also is starting to bother me that Sebastian's confrontations with the murderers ends with the murderers dead.

Part of it is clearly that there is no true way to hold some of these particular killers accountable for the atrocities they committed in the landscape that was Regency England, but it does tend to become a somewhat rote ending: Sebastian figures it out!

He lets the villain monologue! They fight or flee , and die! The end. Sebastian's crawling fear that Hero won't survive childbirth is a god-damned revelation. Yet he'd never said these to her, never even whispered those three simple words, 'I love you. But lady doctors flirting with Gibson is good stuff and I approve. I also approve Hero Jarvis Devlin throwing out asshole doctors like nobody's business. Oct 03, Lauren rated it it was amazing Shelves: regency , bluestocking-heroine , historical-mystery , writer-heroine , pregnancy.

Why Kings Confess 4. Cyr becomes involved in a wicked web of political intrigue and murder when the body of a young French doctor is discovered in the slums of London. As Sebastian investigates, he discovers the victim's connection not only to a secret peace delegation sent by Napoleon, but also his link to the remaining French royals living in exile in England.