What Angels Fear

Sebastian St. Cyr, Book 1

By: C. S. Harris

Narrated by: Davina Porter

It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol found at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man - Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.

©2005 The Two Talers, LLC (P)2014 Recorded Books

Love C S Harris

I was excited when I found another CS Harris novel had been added to your selections. There have only been four books available for the longest time. I enjoy the series immensely and Davina Porter is one of the very best narrators. My first St Cyr book was chosen only because I was searching for Davina Porter. I got hooked immediately on the series and check regularly for new releases! Please make more available in Audible!!

Enjoyable!

Nicely told story - makes me want to get the next one in the series. A little gruesome/adult for listening in the car as I drove grandmama to visit her great grandson, but we were both mature about it.

Engaging...For a While

I like the time period of this novel and the protagonist, Sebastian St. Cyr, is an intriguing hero. In addition, as a straight whodunit, it works (the actual criminal was a nice surprise). But as there is very little subtext to the main characters and the narrative goes from one suspect to another to another, I found it less engaging as the book moved on to its conclusion.

While I like the way Davina Porter narrates the Outlander books, I wasn't wild about her narration of this novel. It was difficult to discern the male characters (and several times, I got them confused when they were conversing). I particularly didn't like the voicing of Sebastian, who came off as whiny and annoying when he should've sounded smart and dashing.

Okay historical mystery

This was my first read of the St. Cyr series and I found the book to be okay, but not great. I liked that the action kept going, and also the complex mystery. It felt at times like a TV police procedural with various suspects introduced and investigated only to have evidence come up to clear them. I disliked the generally thin characters. The only character that I developed a liking for was the young pickpocket that helps out Sebastian. For the rest, the characters seem underdeveloped. I also found that some of the action scenes got bogged down in excessive detail - almost like the author was writing up a screenplay for a movie. I will continue this series as I enjoy historical mysteries and I am curious how the character(s) might develop over time.

Take a deep breathe before entering this story!

I am following the narrator for my reading selections. Davina Porter has not steered me wrong.

one of my favorite series

this is one of my favorite series. enjoy listening to it even better than reading it.

What Angels Fear

The book was good until the end. There's no happy ending...no romantic joy or rejoicing. He loses the girl and Lord knows what happened to Tommy. Very disappointing!

An intriguing start to the series

This first book in the series introduces our hero, a former soldier whose wartime experiences continue to haunt his dreams and his waking moments. Now Viscount Devlin, he is the heir to the Earl of Hendon, Chancellor of the Exchequer, confidante of the Prime Minister and thus an extremely important figure in the government of the day. Father and son do not have an especially cordial relationship for a number of reasons, some of which are strongly hinted at in this story and which I am sure will play out in future books. Since his return, Sebastian has been reckless and has acquired himself a reputation as a bit of a ladies man, both of which annoy his father, who wants him to settle down and take a seat in Parliament.

As the story is a mystery, I’m not going to say much about the plot, save that it begins when a young woman – a beautiful actress named Rachel York – is discovered to have been raped and brutally murdered in the Lady Chapel of St. Matthew’s of the Fields church. Lying beside the body is a pistol that bears the insignia of Viscount Devlin, making him the prime suspect, and naturally the chief magistrate, Sir Henry Lovejoy wants to bring him in for questioning. A misadventure sees Sebastian having to run for his life and then determining that he needs to discover the identity of the killer in order to prove his innocence; while the authorites think he’s their man, they won’t bother to look at alternatives. With the help of a street-urchin named Tom, his friend, ex-army surgeon Paul Gibson and his former lover, actress Kat Boleyn, Sebastian utilises the skills gained as a spy during the war in order to interrogate witnesses, find clues and put the pieces of the puzzle together.

As the first in a series, there is a fair bit of setting up to be done, but C.S. Harris manages to do that without holding up the progress of the story or indulging in huge info-dumps. The story is well-paced and deliciously complex, weaving the murder investigation through a tapestry rich with historical detail and political intrigue. There’s sex, blackmail, grave-robbing and espionage, and the author does a splendid job of recreating the dingier, seedier side of Regency London, although I did have to remind myself at times that the book is set in 1811 rather than the 1840s or later, because some of the descriptions reminded me more of the London of Dickens or the Whitechapel murders. That said, Ms. Harris still succeeds in drawing an evocative picture that puts the reader/listener firmly on those dank, smelly streets, and gives her story a very strong sense of place.

Davina Porter’s narration is well-paced and expressive, and she differentiates effectively between all the characters. Her voice falls naturally into the contralto range, so she doesn’t have to lower the pitch overly much to portray the male characters, although sometimes there isn’t a lot of difference in register between the men and the women. Kat Boleyn, for example, is performed at more or less the same pitch as Sebastian, but is easy to identify because of the Irish lilt in her voice. It’s a good and nuanced performance overall, and fortunately she’s been retained to narrate the other books in the series, so I expect to be proceeding to the next book fairly soon.

pretty good. entertaining.

Good story. Entertaining but a bit confusing. Lots of different characters that I got mixed up.

Outstanding local color

Loved the 1811 time period which showed English time period and London city and the mores