What the Devil Knows (Sebastian St. Cyr #16)
By: C.S. Harris
Published Year: 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 336
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): It's October 1814. The war with France is finally over and Europe's diplomats are convening in Vienna for a conference that will put their world back together. With peace finally at hand, London suddenly finds itself in the grip of a series of heinous murders eerily similar to the Ratcliffe Highway murders of three years before.
In 1811, two entire families were viciously murdered in their homes. A suspect--a young seaman named John Williams--was arrested. But before he could be brought to trial, Williams hanged himself in his cell. The murders ceased, and London slowly began to breathe easier. But when the lead investigator, Sir Edwin Pym, is killed in the same brutal way three years later and others possibly connected to the original case meet violent ends, the city is paralyzed with terror once more.
Was the wrong man arrested for the murders? Bow Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy turns to his friend Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for assistance. Pym's colleagues are convinced his manner of death is a coincidence, but Sebastian has his doubts. The more he looks into the three-year-old murders, the more certain he becomes that the hapless John Williams was not the real killer. Which begs the question--who was and why are they dead set on killing again?
First Impressions
I really like the red of this cover after the last few have been black and white and grey. I was excited to receive this book for review because I do enjoy this series.
What I thought
I was a little nervous about reading this book since I had been a bit bored by the last one in the series. However, I liked this one significantly more, so that was a pleasant surprise.
Sebastian St Cyr Vicsount Devlin has gotten himself involved in another murder. This time, they’re connected to a previous violent series of murder that occurred 3 years prior. The Ratcliffe Highway murders were violent and scared everyone in the area at the time. Now there are two new murders that resemble the old ones, there is doubt that the man who was accused of being a murderer (and died) was truly the murderer.
I don’t know if it was the fact that the murder in this story was a bit more gruesome and therefore exciting, or the fact that there was a bit more backstory about Sebastian’s family as well as some storyline with Hero and Jarvis.
I do appreciate that I can never quite figure out the mysteries from these stories. I don’t know if it’s because they occur in the early 1800s or the millions of names, but I wasn’t able to guess how this one would turn out. I thought it was interesting to find out how some of the taverns and brew houses worked back in 1814.
This book seemed to move a little quicker than the last one which I also appreciated it. similar to the other books in the series, this could be read as a standalone. However, it does have a little bit of backstory that I think is going to end up being essential to understanding certain events in the future.
This was a solid addition to the Sebastian St Cyr series. I liked the mystery storyline and I liked the secondary stories. I found the pacing of this one to work much better and I do like that it set up for some potential in future. I’d probably rank it closer to a 3.5, especially since the last one was a solid 3 for me.