Who Slays the Wicked--Sebastian St Cyr Mystery

Who Slays the Wicked by C.S. Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Strange to start an author's series with its last installment, but that in no way made the plot difficult to follow nor the hero and his associates lacking in depth. As a matter of fact, unlike other series in which each subsequent book is taken up with a repetition of the history of the characters and their relationship, this one moves right into the mystery at hand with sure-footed ease. The reader doesn't need lots of personal backstory to see that the possibility that Sebastian's niece may have murdered her debauched husband gives him added impetus to find the murderer, whom he hopes is not she.

The victim, a nobleman who is infamous for his sexual tastes and lack of loyalty or regard to paying his debts, has racked up a goodly list of enemies. Among them, of course, his wife, recently delivered of twin boys and with whom he does not live. There is the cabinet maker whose bills have not been paid and who makes a public spectacle of accosting the victim and loudly berating him in public. This man's business has all but been destroyed. And there is the fortune teller, whose young, beautiful daughter was raped by the rogue and who, when discovering herself pregnant, commits suicide. These are just the suspects Sebastian has been able to unearth.

But, why would any of them kill the valet, too? And leave him naked in an alley. What does the parcel of blood-stained woman's clothing retrieved from the Thames have to do with the case? How is the lady-in-waiting to the sister of the Tsar of Russia involved? The more pieces that come to light in this puzzle the more puzzling it all becomes. Unfortunately, it also seems to look more and more as though the wife did it--at least the husband--she would have needed someone helping her, however, to manage the murder of the valet and the next victims that appear as Sebastian struggles to make sense of it all.

A frustrating page turner that has convinced this reader it is time to move to episode 1 and get to know Sebastian St Cyr a bit better. This review is of a Goodreads ARC provided for review.

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