When Falcons Fall by C.S. Harris

When Falcons Fall by C.S. Harris ISBN-13: 9780451471161 Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: NAL Released: March 1, 2016

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from NetGalley:
Ayleswick-on-Teme, 1813. Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, has come to this seemingly peaceful Shropshire village to honor a slain friend and on a quest to learn more about his own ancestry. But when the body of a lovely widow is found on the banks of the River Teme with a bottle of laudanum at her side, the village's inexperienced new magistrate turns to St. Cyr for help.

Sebastian agrees that Emma Chance did not take her own life. Less easy to discern is exactly how she died, and why. Emma was hiding her identity and reasons for traveling to Ayleswick. Sebastian's investigation takes on new urgency when he discovers that Emma was not the first beautiful young woman in the village to die under suspicious circumstances. Sebastian and Hero slowly uncover secrets that have festered among the villagers for decades.


My Review:
When Falcons Fall is a historical mystery set in 1813 in England. This is the eleventh book in a series. You don't need to read the previous novels to follow this one, and this book did not spoil any whodunits of the previous novels.

The author vividly described the setting and wove in historical details relating to politics and everyday life. The characters were interesting, varied, and acted realistically. Sebastian and Hero were observant and asked good questions. The mystery was complex and involved events going back for years as well as current events. It took a while for enough clues to pile up to have a chance at guessing whodunit correctly, and even then I didn't guess correctly. Whodunit made sense, though; it was simply that I'd made an incorrect assumption.

Sex occurred and past rape and adultery was referred to, but there were no play-by-play sex-related scenes. There was some bad language. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this well-written novel and would recommend it.


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.


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