Rating: Very Good
Source: Publisher
Description: In the newest mystery from the national bestselling author of Where the Dead Lie, a brutal murder draws Sebastian St. Cyr into the web of the royal court, where intrigue abounds and betrayal awaits.
London, 1814. As a cruel winter holds the city in its icy grip, the bloody body of a beautiful young musician is found half-buried in a snowdrift. Jane Ambrose's ties to Princess Charlotte, the only child of the Prince Regent and heir presumptive to the throne, panic the palace, which moves quickly to shut down any investigation into the death of the talented pianist. But Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, and his wife Hero refuse to allow Jane's murderer to escape justice.
Untangling the secrets of Jane's world leads Sebastian into a maze of dangerous treachery where each player has his or her own unsavory agenda and no one can be trusted. As the Thames freezes over and the people of London pour onto the ice for a Frost Fair, Sebastian and Hero find their investigation circling back to the palace and building to a chilling crescendo of deceit and death . . .
Genre: Mystery - Historical
Why I Picked This Book: I love a historical mystery and this one with ties to Princess Charlotte sounded intriguing.
My Impression: How have I not read any books in this series yet??? I do remember when the first couple came out thinking that they were tied to Caleb Carr's The Alienist. I think the covers might have been similar? Who knows. For whatever reason I never picked up any books in this series and the only thing that keeps me from being disappointed in myself is that I now have the pleasure of catching up with the previous 12 books.
The mystery is complicated but never convoluted as the plot is intricately developed. I enjoyed the development of the character of Jane Ambrose just as much as I enjoyed the hunt to solve her murder and the politics that surrounds the investigation. The book alternated between Sebastian and Hero and both characters bring a slightly different perspective to the investigation and I loved that they each valued the other's thoughts and view point.
I really enjoyed all the political tidbits surrounding Princess Charlotte and her father, the Prince Regent. It was fascinating and made me realize just how little I knew about the British monarchy pre-Victoria. I always feel that a historical mystery or fiction has been a success when I find myself wanting to dig into the nonfiction facts and that was definitely the case here.
This was a thoroughly entertaining historical mystery with a wonderfully done investigative team and a fascinating mystery. While this is book 13 in the series I didn't have any trouble understanding what was going on though I suspect I might have felt a deeper connection to Hero and Sebastian though this in now way impacted my enjoyment.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely! I'm really excited to catch up on the series.
Would I Recommend this Book? I think fans of Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series will really enjoy this one.
I have never jumped into a series without reading everything starting with book 1, but this book sounds really good! I'm glad you didn't feel like you had to read the first 12 books just to understand what's going on.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really good historical book. I know some about British monarchy but hadn't heard of Princess Charlotte, but... pretty typical of the monarchy or the people that surround them to close something unsavoury down I believe in the past anyway.
ReplyDeleteLook at you jumping in at book 13 and making me want to add 13 books to my tbr pile! I love when historical fiction weaves in actual historical tidbits and you get a mystery too!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that this was a series that would work jumping in this late in the series. Good to know! I am so glad that you enjoyed this one. It sounds great!
ReplyDeleteI love when I discover a series I love and there are so many books to read! This sounds fascinating. I love that it is set during the Regency!
ReplyDeleteSounds good and I'm glad you could dip in with #13 and not be lost.
ReplyDeleteglad that I read your post, thanks for this awesome review
ReplyDeleteI am so in love with this series. I found it when it was still back on book three, caught up and have been crazy impatient for each new release. :)
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