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    Where Serpents Sleep
    Where Serpents Sleep
    Where Serpents Sleep
    Audiobook9 hours

    Where Serpents Sleep

    Written by C. S. Harris

    Narrated by Davina Porter

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Fourth in the "moody and atmospheric" historical mystery series starring "a troubled but compelling antihero."(Booklist) London, 1812. The brutal slaughter of eight young prostitutes in a house of refuge near Covent Garden leaves only one survivor?and one witness: Hero Jarvis, reform-minded daughter of the Prince Regent's cousin, Lord Jarvis. When the Machiavellian powerbroker quashes any official inquiry that might reveal his daughter's unorthodox presence, Hero launches an investigation of her own and turns to Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for help. Working in an uneasy alliance, Hero and Sebastian follow a trail of clues leading from the seedy brothels and docksides of London's East End to the Mayfair mansions of a noble family with dark secrets to hide. Risking both their lives and their reputations, the two must race against time to stop a killer whose ominous plot threatens to shake the nation to its very core.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateNov 20, 2015
    ISBN9781490661797
    Where Serpents Sleep
    Author

    C. S. Harris

    C. S. Harris is the national bestselling author of more than two dozen novels, including the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries. Under the pen name C. S. Graham, she co-authored a thriller series with former intelligence officer Steven Harris and, as Candice Proctor, wrote seven award-winning historical romances. A respected scholar with a PhD in nineteenth-century Europe, she is also the author of a nonfiction historical study of the French Revolution. She lives with her husband in New Orleans.

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    Reviews for Where Serpents Sleep

    4/5

    233 ratings13 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This mystery was pretty good, but I'm definitely more invested in the overarching storylines with each book. There are little clever details that make the story more believable and that I really appreciate.
    • 4/5
      Book #4 of a seriesThis is my favourite book so far in the series. I'm always a fan of the "unconventional strong female for the times and her era" type of heroine. And I do think Hero Jarvis is indeed quite heroic. My major niggle with the plot is the episode in which she and Sebastian are lured to a place where they become trapped. It was a contrived situation to throw them together and the resulting scenario was quite out of character, at least as far as Hero is concerned.A minor annoyance throughout this series is Sebastian's pursuit of murderous people with absolutely no back up. He hares off to confront one person after another and deliberately baits them without any apparent consideration for having a partner scouting out the area to protect his inquiries from landing him in a life-threatening jam.Despite these criticisms, I still like the theme and the general rollicking narrative. Harris is a very likeable storyteller.
    • 5/5
      Okay, this is where I make a small confession: I read this one back in 2009 (not knowing at that time that it was part of a series and not a stand alone novel). Back then, I wasn't saving reviews here on LT (only ratings), so all I know is that I gave this one 4.5 stars back then. 11-years later, this one continues to captivate me. Why the bump up in the rating from the earlier books in the series? I really, really like Hero Jarvis. She is such a great character! A strong willed, determined, independent-thinking woman and the perfect match for Sebastian, IMO. The fact that she is the daughter of Lord Jarvis - cousin of the Prince Regent and Sebastian's arch nemesis (if we can say that such a character exists in this series) - makes Hero's decision to seek out Sebastian's help, to solve a murder she witnessed while engaging in her social welfare activities, and contrary to her father's wishes, all that more interesting. "So many deaths."That is the quick, three word summary for this installment, aptly provided by Hero. Yes, there is a rather high body count. Not surprising given the intricate mystery that starts at Covent Garden with the murders of prostitutes, only to be the tip of an ice burg as the mystery extends to the aristocracy and a more menacing threat to the English government in White Hall. As with previous installments, Lord Devlin continues to look into matters and conduct himself based on his own moral compass (and a good thing, too!). Thankfully, his "valet problem" has been resolved and we see Lord Devlin's household continuing to employee individuals that are useful to Sebastian's rather socially frowned upon investigative endeavors. Overall, a series I continue to be enthralled with.
    • 5/5
      This series has produced some very interesting characters...some charming and some less charming, but all very human and believable in their behavior. This one has Sebastian and Hero Jarvis spending a lot of time together. I see it as setting up their relationship for some interesting choices for their individual futures as well as the future of this marvelous series. I like Hero but I find her a little too cold and bull headed. In spite of my likes and dislikes I think we will see a lot of Sebastian and Hero in the future in a new kind of "togetherness".
    • 5/5
      Where Serpents Sleep
      5 Stars

      ***Warning***: This review contains minor spoilers for the first three books.

      During her visit to a local house sheltering former prostitutes, Hero Jarvis is witness to a horrific crime. Dissuaded from investigating by her father, the powerful force behind the Regent, Hero seeks the aid of Sebastian St. Cyr, who has no difficulty sticking his aristocratic nose into matters that do not concern him. As Sebastian and Hero begin to unravel the sordid details behind the deaths at the shelter, they put themselves in the path of a ruthless assassin who will stop at nothing to achieve his aims.

      A fantastic addition to what is rapidly becoming my favorite historical mystery series.

      As with the previous installments, the historical background is excellent and once again the politics of the time are involved as the mystery is connected to a little known historical event, namely the only assassination of a British Prime Minister in the history of the United Kingdom. There are also vivid descriptions of the slums of the East End as well as insight into the social conditions of a time in which prostitutes were perceived as “soiled doves” who resorted to prostitution due to their loose morals rather than desperation and necessity.

      The character development is also outstanding as Sebastian comes to terms with the apparent (and hopefully permanent) end to his tedious romantic entanglement with Kat. Moreover, there is potential for an intriguing new relationship with Hero who is a particularly refreshing heroine. Intelligent, vivacious and honest to a fault, Hero is the complete antithesis to the manipulative and secretive Kat and her banter and interactions with Sebastian exhibit the chemistry that was so sorely lacking with his former lover.

      All in all, I love the new direction the story is going in and I look forward to more of Sebastian and hopefully Hero in subsequent books.
    • 4/5
      Note: There are necessarily spoilers for previous books in this series.Background:This is the fourth book in the historical crime fiction series set in Regency England, this one in 1812, and featuring Sebastian St. Cyr, the twenty-nine year old Viscount Devlin. In the first book, he was suspected of a murder he did not commit, and had to become something of a Sherlock Holmes to find the real murderer to save his own skin.In subsequent books, he was consulted on murders that involved the nobility, because he had an entrée into the upper level of society that would have been denied to the regular police. Devlin is aided by the counsel of his friend, the surgeon Paul Gibson, who serves as a Watson to St. Cyr’s Holmes, as well as by Sir Henry Lovejoy, Chief Magistrate at Queen Square, who has become a friend of Devlin’s. He also has his 13-year-old horse handler Tom, a former street urchin, do reconnaissance work for him.You may also wish to consult my post on "An Introduction to the Regency Era."In this book, Devlin is approached by Hero Jarvis, the 25-year-old daughter of the formidable Lord Jarvis, the power behind the throne. She requests his help in finding out why a young prostitute named Rose was murdered. Hero was interviewing Rose when she was shot, and Rose died in her arms.Devlin had spent the previous eight months on a self-destructive path, after finding out that he could no longer be with the love of his life, Kat Boleyn. But Hero manages to gain Devlin’s interest in pulling himself together to help her solve this case, which helps distract him from his sorrow.Before long, there are other deaths among the “Cyprians,” or prostitutes, and Devlin and Hero form an unlikely partnership to figure out who is killing these women and why. They begin to suspect it may be related to the animosity between Britain and France. And in a riveting dénouement, they are thrown together in what seems like their certain death, and in circumstances that will have far-reaching consequences for the future.Evaluation: The characters are not only appealing in these books, but interesting, beyond their involvement in the crimes they investigate. Hero is an especially good match for Devlin, although neither of them seem to realize it just yet. Both have similar sympathies, strengths, and intelligence. I especially like the historical data the author includes in the background. In this book, she brings up the social unrest involving the Luddites, as well as the continuing conflicts with France and America.This book is my favorite of the series thus far.
    • 4/5
      Sebastian's metaphorical return to life is the subject of this novel when he is drawn into another murder investigation. Trying to make sense of all the disparate attacks and murders makes for an intriguing mystery and I enjoyed the interaction between Hero and Sebastian.
    • 2/5
      Not sure what I had expected, but this series was getting rave reviews, so I picked it up. I don't mind mysteries (although they're not my favorite), but this was a little draggy for me.
    • 3/5
      I didn't think much of the first book in this series, so I skipped number 2. A couple of weeks ago I decided to give it another chance and read Why Mermaids Sing. Either the writing has improved, or I've become easier to please, because I enjoyed it a lot. In my opinion, Where Serpents Sleep was even better. It's not high-brow and I don't think that Ms Harris' use of Regency-era language rivals that of Georgette Heyer in her Regency romances, for example, but a good read nevertheless. Now I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series and I'm pleased to see that a sixth book is due out soon.
    • 5/5
      An excellent addition to the adventures of Sebastian St. Cyr, who I am growing to love. This time he's on the trail of why the granddaughter of a duke left her family and became a whore and why she was killed - and why it was made to look like an accident. This time, his sleuthing is at the behest of Hero Jarvis (I knew they'd wind up together - albeit not the way I imagined.) I found the book riveting, this is turning out to be such a great series! The last few paragraphs brought tears to my eyes, glad Sebastian did the right thing. Another beautiful cover too!
    • 4/5
      Sebastian St. Cyr is a dashing nineteenth-century nobleman with a dark past and the fourth mystery he investigates maintains the same interesting mix of characters, actions, and secrets that make for an engaging combination. Sebastian is called to investigate a fire which killed several prostitutes by Hero Jarvis, the independent and reform-minded daughter of Sebastian's sometime nemesis Lord Jarvis. Many of the same characters who have assisted Sebastian in the past return, although Kat plays a much smaller role, and the revelations of the last novel still hang over the characters.
    • 4/5
      This series keeps getting better. I had to wait a long time to get my hands on the book. My library allows only 3 holds which I always manage to fill. I had to wait until it was on the shelf. It was like a Christmas treat when I found it shelved and waiting for me.In this book, St. Cyr is reeling after learning the love of his life, the woman he planned to defy convention to marry, is actually his sister. He's well into many months of drinking and trying not to feel when he is drawn into a new investigation by Hero Jarvis, the daughter of his archenemy. They both begin to investigate independently, simulataneously sharing information and keeping bits to themselves until they must ultimately investigate together or be killed. Now, I know. Without reading it, the whole setup sound incredibly lame, like the author couldn't think of anything better than the long-lost-sibling angle. Or the daugter-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend. I'm the first to put a book down forever for such offenses. But the whole thing (series and latest installment) is good, start to finish. I am looking forward to the next in the series, simply because of a little twist in the end.
    • 4/5
      Fourth in the Sebastian St Cyr mysteries. Lively regency London setting, excellent characterisation and a twisty complex plot. A real page turner. Would have been five stars, but one star deducted for the rather cliched & melodramatic romantic interlude.