Number 20 in the historical mystery series featuring Sebastian St. Cyr, Lord Devlin. Throughout the series, Harris has successfully embedded each volume in an historically accurate period — this one is no exception. It is set in London in August, 1816, the year that “had no summer.” Later historians promoted the cause as a large volcano explosion that blocked the sun causing weather abnormalities, floods, and massive crop failures leading inevitably to riots, strikes, apocalyptic fears, and the potential for revolution.
In this milieu, the body of a Lord is found in an abandoned chapel, hanging upside down with legs posed as depicted on a rare set of tarot cards (Le Pendu — the Fool). From here connections are made to French assassins, the Prince of Wales, friends made during the 1808-9 British retreat across Northern Spain (Battle of Corunna), and a particular (nasty) society called the Society for the Suppression of Vice.
I always like the characters in these books — representing multiple walks of life and varied ideas of morality. I particularly like the depiction of the members of the “ton” — a term for the fashionable members of upper class English society during the Regency period. As one might expect, those characters run the gamut from utterly selfish, corrupt, and “above the law” to considerate, moral, and obsessed with a fair justice. Always fun to guess which is which upon the first “meeting.”
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 25th, 2025.
Books to look forward to ... 