Why Kings Confess: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery (Book 9)

he grisly murder of French physician Damion Pelletan—found with his heart removed in a disreputable London neighborhood in 1813—is a puzzle that Sebastian St. Cyr finds increasingly intriguing. Palletan, recently arrived in London as part of a secret mission seeking peace between England and France, is the son of the doctor who briefly attended the Lost Dauphin, the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, during the boy’s imprisonment after the revolution, and later autopsied the boy, removing and keeping his heart. Pelletan’s sister, the physician Alexi Sauvage, badly injured while accompanying her brother when he was killed, is being stalked by the vengeful relative of a former patient. Solving the murder becomes secondary to St. Cyr’s concern for his beloved wife, Hero, as her delivery date approaches with the probability of a breech birth, which both mother and child rarely survived in the early nineteenth century. And although Sauvage is an accomplished accoucheur, St. Cyr’s history with her prevents his trusting her with treating Hero. This ninth St. Cyr outing offers a winning combination of the political and the personal with a tangled plot deftly handled in Harris’ trademark brisk prose. A compellingly readable addition to a solidly researched historical mystery series. --Michele Leber --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review



“Best historical thriller writer in the business!”—New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner



Praise for Why Kings Confess



“Harris's best Regency whodunit yet...[She] melds mystery and history as seamlessly as she integrates developments in her lead’s personal life into the plot.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)



“Harris’s novel shows an intimate knowledge of both the political and social history of Regency England.…The history, characters, mystery, and atmosphere all draw the reader in and don’t let go.”—RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)

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Product Details



Series: Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery (Book 9)

Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: NAL; Reissue edition (March 3, 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0451418115

ISBN-13: 978-0451418111