Who Speaks for the Damned by C. S. Harris

Who Speaks for the Damned by C. S. Harris ISBN-13: 9780399585685 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Berkley Books Released: April 7th 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from 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.


My Review:
Who Speaks for the Damned is a mystery set in June 1814 in London. This book is the 15th in a series, but you can understand it without having read the previous novels.

Historical information was woven into the story and provided a distinct feel of that specific time and place. The characters were interesting, complex, and acted in realistic ways. Both Hero and Sebastian were involved in the investigation, though Sebastian was the main investigator. He tracked down leads and asked pointed questions. There were several suspects who had a motive, and it could have been any (or several or all) of them until the final clues at the end.

Sex occurred between Hero and Sebastian, but it was only briefly described (not play-by-play, graphically-described 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.