Who Speaks for the Damned (Sebastian St. Cyr #15)
By: C.S. Harris
Published Year: 2020
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pages: 336
I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): It's June 1814, and the royal families of Austria, Russia, and the German states have gathered in London at the Prince Regent's invitation to celebrate the defeat of Napoléon and the restoration of monarchical control throughout Europe. But the festive atmosphere is marred one warm summer evening by the brutal murder of a disgraced British nobleman long thought dead.
Eighteen years before, Nicholas Hayes, the third son of the late Earl of Seaford, was accused of killing a beautiful young French émigré and transported to Botany Bay for life. Even before his conviction, Hayes had been disowned by his father. Few in London were surprised when they heard the ne'er-do-well had died in New South Wales in 1799. But those reports were obviously wrong. Recently Hayes returned to London with a mysterious young boy in tow--a child who vanishes shortly after Nicholas's body is discovered.
Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is drawn into the investigation by his valet, Jules Calhoun. With Calhoun's help, Sebastian begins to piece together the shattered life of the late Earl's ill-fated youngest son. Why did Nicholas risk his life and freedom by returning to England? And why did he bring the now-missing young boy with him? Several nervous Londoners had reason to fear that Nicholas Hayes had returned to kill them. One of them might have decided to kill him first.
First Impression
If you’re an OG reader, this series is the first one I was sent for review. Since then, I have received the newest book in the season, until 2020. I think that is got lost in the COVID void, so when I was sent the 16th book (released in 2021), they also included this one to read. I was excited because it had felt weird to not read it last year. I will continue to stand by the fact that these covers look like something supernatural should be happening, but I do like how they all go together.
What I thought
In this novel, an Earl’s son is found dead. However, this Earl’s son was believed dead for years when he was sent away to work and never return after he was accused of murdering a French noblewoman. Devlin (Sebastian St. Cyr.. whichever of his million names we are currently choosing to use) is intrigued because why would a man who was wanted and sentenced to death if he ever returned to England, return to England? Only to be murdered?
While I did still enjoy this story, it wasn’t my favorite that I’ve read so far. The mystery itself was interesting but overall a bit boring. There was not much going on in regards to side storylines. In fact, this story might be the most murder-centric one that I’ve read.
Sometimes I do feel like these stories can have too much going on in terms of storylines which can be confusing and then make me frustrated because I just want to solve the mystery. But this one almost went too far in the opposite direction. I still like Sebastian/Devlin and that he wants to figure out what is going on, but this book had zero character growth and could 100% be a standalone.
Unfortunately, I don’t have much to say without giving the mystery away. I liked the mystery, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t feel like I needed to read this one before moving forward with the series. It’s an enjoyable mystery story on its own, but when I compare it to the others it’s not one of my favorites.