Who Speaks for the Damned (Sebastian St. Cyr #15)

Who Speaks for the Damned is the 15th Sebastian St. Cyr mystery by C. S. Harris. Released 7th April 2020 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 336 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Despite being the 15th book in the series, the author manages to strike a fine balance between introducing new characters, new plot elements, and a twisty and engaging mystery, while still delivering a satisfying interlude with the characters readers know and love. The strength and intelligence and synergistic delight of seeing Hero, her husband Sebastian, manservant Calhoun, and even his carriage tiger, Tom interacting and growing together is worth the read alone, but the author has wrapped the heart of the characters inside a historical plot rife with xenophobia, political machinations, blackmail, murder, and the unforgiving rigidity of 19th century societal mores and the overall effect is deep and engaging.

This is one of my favorite ongoing historical mystery series and I always look forward to new installments with anticipation. Although it's the latest of 15 books in the series, it works quite well as a standalone and new readers won't have any trouble following the story.

Five stars, a worthy addition. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.