What Cannot Be Said
A seemingly idyllic summer picnic ends in a macabre murder that echoes a pair of slayings fourteen years earlier in this rivetingnew historical mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Who Cries for the Lost.
July 1815: The Prince Regent’s grandiose plans to celebrate Napoléon’s recent defeat at Waterloo are thrown into turmoil when Lady McInnis and her daughter Emma are found brutally murdered in Richmond Park, their bodies posed in a chilling imitation of the stone effigies once found atop medieval tombs. Bow Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy immediately turns to his friend Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for help with the investigation. For as Devlin discovers, Lovejoy’s own wife and daughter were also murdered in Richmond Park, their bodies posed in the same bizarre postures. A traumatized ex-soldier was hanged for their killings. So is London now confronting a malicious copyist? Or did Lovejoy help send an innocent man to the gallows?
Aided by his wife, Hero, who knew Lady McInnis from her work with poor orphans, Devlin finds himself exploring a host of unsavory characters from a vicious chimney sweep to a smiling but decidedly lethal baby farmer. Also coming under increasing scrutiny is Sir Ivo McInnis himself, along with a wounded Waterloo veteran—who may or may not have been Laura McInnis’s lover—and a charismatic young violinist who moonlights as a fencing master and may have formed a dangerous relationship with Emma. But when Sebastian’s investigation turns toward man about townBasil Rhodes, he quickly draws the fury of the Palace, for Rhodes is well known as the Regent’s favorite illegitimate son.
Then Lady McInnis’s young niece and nephew are targeted by the killer, and two more women are discovered murdered and arranged in similar postures. With his own life increasingly in danger, Sebastian finds himself drawn inexorably toward a conclusion far darker and more horrific than anything he could have imagined.
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C. S. Harris
C.S. Harris, the pen name of Candice Proctor, has made a name for herself by blending history with mystery in ways that captivate both history buffs and crime fiction lovers. Known best for her Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery series, Harris’s books are far more than just whodunits set in Regency England. They are immersive explorations of a world filled with secrets, scandals, and the untold stories of its most intriguing characters.
Born into a military family, Harris’s childhood was steeped in travel and history. Her father’s Air Force career took the family to diverse locations, fueling her curiosity about the past and sparking a lifelong fascination with historical sites, particularly castles and cathedrals across Europe. With a deep academic foundation—earning degrees in Classics and history—Harris not only became a skilled storyteller but also an expert in the very histories she writes about. Her doctoral studies, combined with hands-on archaeological work in places like a Roman cemetery in England and a Cherokee village in Tennessee, gave her a unique understanding of historical contexts that richly inform her novels.
Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries
Step into the shadowy world of Regency England, where intrigue and danger lurk behind every gilded door and beneath the polished surfaces of high society. The Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries invites readers into the life of a brooding nobleman-turned-sleuth whose investigations reveal not just the criminal underworld of London but the hidden, often tragic stories of its people.
Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries consists of twenty-one books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
