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The grisly murder of a West Indies slave owner and the reappearance of a dangerous enemy from Sebastian St. Cyr’s past combine to put C. S. Harris’s “troubled but compelling antihero” (Booklist) to the ultimate test in this taut, thrilling mystery.
London, 1813. The vicious decapitation of Stanley Preston, a wealthy, socially ambitious plantation owner, at Bloody Bridge draws Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, into a macabre and increasingly perilous investigation. The discovery near the body of an aged lead coffin strap bearing the inscription King Charles, 1648 suggests a link between this killing and the beheading of the deposed seventeenth-century Stuart monarch. Equally troubling, the victim’s kinship to the current Home Secretary draws the notice of Sebastian’s powerful father-in-law, Lord Jarvis, who will exploit any means to pursue his own clandestine ends.
Working in concert with his fiercely independent wife, Hero, Sebastian finds his inquiries taking him from the wretched back alleys of Fish Street Hill to the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair as he amasses a list of suspects who range from an eccentric Chelsea curiosity collector to the brother of an unassuming but brilliantly observant spinster named Jane Austen.
But as one brutal murder follows another, it is the connection between the victims and ruthless former army officer Sinclair, Lord Oliphant, that dramatically raises the stakes. Once, Oliphant nearly destroyed Sebastian in a horrific wartime act of carnage and betrayal. Now the vindictive former colonel might well pose a threat not only to Sebastian but to everything—and everyone—Sebastian holds most dear.
C.S. Harris is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than a dozen novels including the Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery Series, the new C.S. Graham thriller series co-written with Steven Harris, and seven historical romances. She is also the author of a nonfiction historical study of the French revolution. Her books are available worldwide and have been translated into over twenty different languages. She will be on tour in March to promote WHO BURIES THE DEAD in New Orleans, Phoenix, Houston, Portland, and Seattle.
Praise for the Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery Series:
“Potential readers needn't worry about starting the series partway through. Harris skillfully inserts all the information needed to follow the plot into the story, and new readers will have no trouble following events.”—The St. Petersburg Times
Avid fans and new readers alike will be captivated by WHO BURIES THE DEAD: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery (Obsidian Mysteries; Hardcover; March 2014; 978-0-451-41756-5; $24.95), the tenth installment in the highly acclaimed series, where the grisly murder of a West Indies slave owner and the reappearance of a dangerous enemy from Sebastian’s past combine to put C. S. Harris’s “troubled but compelling antihero” (Booklist) to the ultimate test. While working in concert with his fiercely independent wife, Hero, Sebastian finds his inquiries taking him from the wretched back alleys of Fish Street Hill to the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair as he amasses a list of suspects for the vicious decapitation of Stanley Preston, a wealthy, socially ambitious plantation owner. The suspects range from an eccentric Chelsea curiosity collector to the brother of an unassuming but brilliantly observant spinster named Jane Austen.
Adding to the mystery, a coffin strap bearing the inscription “King Charles, 1648” was found near the body and suggests a link between the killings of Stanley Preston and King Charles. This connection between the victims and the ruthless former army officer Sinclair, Lord Oliphant, dramatically raise the stakes; he might well pose a threat not only to Sebastian but to everything—and everyone—Sebastian holds most dear.
In WHO BURIES THE DEAD, C.S. Harris has crafted another taut and thrilling historical mystery that proves why The Historical Novels Review has called her a “master of the genre.”
What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
I have a series of six very thick, detailed guidebooks to London written in the 19th century, and I sometimes sit and read them, looking for interesting places to set scenes or for story ideas. So one day I read about the rediscovery of Charles I’s tomb in the spring of 1813, and then a couple of hours later I came upon the tale of Cromwell’s head. A few hours after that I read about the head of Henri IV, and then, incredibly enough, about the head of the Duke of Suffolk. How could I ignore a coincidence like that?
I must admit it’s a bizarre story impetus—all those heads! And because the book is set right after the publication of Pride and Prejudice, it seemed like Jane Austen should be in there, too. Ironically, it was her books—including the slave owning family in Mansfield Park—that gave me the idea for much of the story.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Oh, that’s hard. This is now the tenth book in the series, and I am very fond of all of my characters, for different reasons. Sebastian, obviously, is the focus of the series and my first love. But I also love Hero, who is in many ways the woman I’d like to be—strong, self-assured, and tall. I also enjoy her father, Jarvis, who is such a complex, amoral character that he’s a lot of fun to write about. And I find the opium-addicted Irish surgeon, Paul Gibson, a rich, compelling character. I’ve been writing this series for so long now that they’re all like old friends.
Which came first, the title or the novel?
I seem to go one of two ways with a book: either the title comes easily when I’m first developing the idea, or I have a really, really hard time finding something that fits. Fortunately with this book I did have the title very early.
The titles in this series all begin with either who, what, where, when, or why, which can sometimes be tricky. I tried to call one of the earlier books Who Bells the Cat, but they didn’t like it, so it was nice to finally get a “who” title.
What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
One of the suspects in this murder is a banker named Henry Austen, who is of course the brother of Jane Austen, and Jane herself plays a significant role in the story. It is set right after the publication of Pride and Prejudice, and the plot plays with some of the romances and characters from both that book and Sense and Sensibility, as well as Emma, which hadn’t been written yet in 1813. But I was nervous about portraying a historical figure as iconic as Jane, so in an effort to be true to her and to capture her voice, I reread her novels, along with a bunch of biographies and her surviving letters. So I guess if I had to pick one thing, I’d say I’m most proud of that—of being true to her. It was a lot of work, but it was also very fun.
Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
I’ve often thought that I should have kept a notebook and written down all my ah-ha! moments over the years. I’ve been doing this for so long that I sometimes forget them and find I must learn certain lessons all over again. But I think my biggest breakthrough as a writer came when I was working on my second book, THE BEQUEST, and read Dwight Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Writer. He really helped me understand story structure. It was one of those “when the student is ready a teacher will appear” moments. The book is quite dense, and I’m not sure I’d have truly understood what he was saying if I’d read him earlier.
What do you like most about the cover of the book?
Beginning with the ninth book in Sebastian St. Cyr series, WHY KINGS CONFESS, they started giving me these covers with a dynamic male figure against a moody background. I love the way they capture the books’ sense of danger. And the art department has started making a real effort to get the historical details right, which they didn’t always do earlier on. They’ve now gone back and redone the cover of the first book in the series, WHAT ANGELS FEAR, and we’re hoping they’ll eventually redo all of them to give them the same look.
What new release book are you looking most forward to in 2015?
Oh, dear; I’m still trying to catch up with the books I have stacked up from the last several years. I haven’t read John Connolly’s latest, or James Lee Burke’s, or—or— I don’t want to even think about what’s coming out this year!
What was your favorite book in 2014?
I find I’m disappointed in a lot of books I read, particularly when they’re “hit” books, which is why I didn’t read Gone Girl until late last year. I was expecting to be let down and instead I was blown away and left in awe of Flynn’s ability to create believable, nuanced characters. I know everyone goes on about the twist, but the use of an unreliable narrator is hardly unique. Her real gift lies in her breathtaking insight into people.
What’s up next for you?
I’ve just finished the eleventh book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series, WHEN FALCONS FALL (that was one book that was definitely an example of a novel in search of a title: the manuscript was in my editor’s hands and they were getting ready to put it into their 2016 sales catalogue, and it still didn’t have a title). I’m now starting the twelfth book, WHERE THE DEAD LIE. I’m envisioning a total of 18-20 books in the series.
Is there anything that you would like to add?
Although this is the tenth book in the series, you don’t need to have read the earlier books to read this one; each mystery is very much a stand alone. That said, one of the aspects of this series that isn’t often talked about is the fact that it has an overarching story. This is something that is common in, for instance, a fantasy series, or a series like Downton Abbey, but it’s actually unique for a mystery series. As well as being the story of Sebastian’s redemption, the series also has an central mystery that has been there from book one and gradually unfolds as the series progresses. I had a very clear idea of where I was going with both that feature and the interpersonal relationships of the characters when I started the series more than ten years ago, so writing it has been a real adventure.
Berkley/NAL Publicity
Penguin Random House
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