When the Wolves Are Silent by C. S. Harris

When the Wolves Are Silent
by C. S. Harris

ISBN-13: 9780593953891
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: April 14, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
London, 1816: When a notorious young aristocrat is burned alive on a windswept hill popular with neo-Druids, former cavalry officer Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, finds himself plunged into a murder investigation shadowed by tales of ancient human sacrifices and long-buried secrets.

The victim, Marcus Toole, was the only son and heir of a prominent nobleman. His closest friend—Sebastian’s own nephew, Bayard—claims to have passed out drunk before the attack and remembers nothing. But when Sebastian and his brilliant wife, Hero, delve deeper into the sordid activities of Bayard and his friends, they come to realize that Bayard may not be as innocent as he pretends. Following a tangled trail that leads from a disaffected former soldier-turned-highwayman to a courageous journalist and a Jamaican-born fencing master with ties to a radical political movement, Sebastian begins to suspect that Bayard and his friends are being targeting in revenge, by victims who believe they have no other recourse.

Then two more of Bayard’s friends are killed, their murders staged to echo the ritual sacrifices of the ancient Celts. With the palace shaken by the fear of riots and one horrifying death following another, Sebastian must race to stop a ruthless plot that threatens the lives of innocents and could rip his troubled nation apart.


My Review:
When the Wolves Are Silent is a mystery set in 1816 in London. This book is the 21th in a series, but you can understand it without having read the previous novels. Interesting historical information was woven into the story without slowing the pacing. Vivid details created a distinct feeling of that specific time and place and helped bring the story alive in my imagination.

The characters were interesting, complex, and acted in realistic ways. Sebastian questioned suspects and witnesses, and Hero also helped gather information by questioning some people. Sebastian tracked down leads, coming up with a lot of potential motives before finally narrowing things down. However, I'm still not quite sure how Sebastian became so certain of whodunit, but he promptly acted to save the next victim even as they're attacked, which rather confirmed it.

There were no sex scenes. There was a fair amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting historical mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.