Why Mermaids Sing by C.S. Harris

Narrated by Davina Porter

C.S. Harris’ series of mysteries set in Regency England featuring aristocratic sleuth Sebastian St. Cyr is one I’ve been meaning to get around to reading for ages, but with the series now comprising eleven books with more on the way, I shifted it from my TBR to my TBL pile earlier this year. I enjoyed book one, What Angels Fear, a great deal and as a result, decided to carry on with the series in audio format.

I’m now up to book three, Why Mermaids Sing. While the central mystery in each book is self-contained and resolved by the end, there are plot threads and character relationships that are carried across from book to book, so there will undoubtedly be spoilers for books one and two in this review.

Sebastian St. Cyr is in his late twenties and was, up until recently, in the army fighting on the Continent. The youngest of the Earl of Hendon’s three sons, the deaths of his older brothers mean that he is now his father’s heir, Viscount Devlin, but the relationship between the two men is strained.

In the first book in the series (What Angels Fear), Sebastian was implicated in the death of a young actress/courtesan and had to go on the run so he would have the chance to prove his innocence. During the course of his investigations, he crossed swords (metaphorically) with the chief magistrate, Sir Henry Lovejoy, a man of shrewd intelligence with whom Sebastian has since struck up a friendship based on mutual respect. This friendship leads to Lovejoy’s asking Sebastian for his help in investigating the recent murder of a young gentleman whose body was severely mutilated and found to have a strange object stuffed in the mouth. Sebastian isn’t keen on the idea of being drawn into another murder inquiry – his previous involvements were down to personal necessity (What Angels Fear) and royal request (When Gods Die), and he wants to focus more on the search for his mother – whom he had believed dead – and on persuading his lover, Irish actress Kat Boleyn, to marry him.

But Sebastian’s innate sense of honour and justice soon sees him asking questions and discovering that the murder of young Alfred Stanton is linked to the murders of other, similarly well-heeled young men, all of whom were killed, mutilated and then had something placed in their mouths. In spite of lies and denials on the parts of the fathers of most of the victims, who become ever more desperate to throw him off the scent, Sebastian soon begins to uncover the connections between the deaths, the families, the mutilations and the seemingly random choice of the objects left behind. Once these connections are all established, it’s a race against time to work out the identity of the next potential victim and get to him before the killer does.

The mystery is a complex and intriguing one as Sebastian gradually pieces together the evidence to discover the identity of the killer and what is motivating him. The final reveal is quite shocking and probably not for the faint of heart; Ms. Harris’ descriptions of some very grizzly deeds are not in any way gratuitous, but they are sickening, nonetheless.

While Sebastian is pursuing his various lines of enquiry, the author also picks up the other major plotline which has appeared in all three books so far (and looks set to continue) – which concerns the truth lying behind his uncomfortable relationship with his father. It’s clear that Hendon is not especially pleased to have his youngest son as his heir, especially given Sebastian’s somewhat rakish reputation and reformist sympathies, but there is more to their animosity than either of those things. In the previous book, Sebastian discovered that his mother was still alive and now he is searching for her; he is sure his father is keeping other secrets, too. Another issue lying between them relates to the woman Sebastian loves, Kat Boleyn, whom he believed his father had paid off six years ago before he went to war. Upon his recent return to England, however, Sebastian discovered the truth – that Kat refused his father’s money – and they have rekindled their affair. But Kat steadfastly refuses Sebastian’s frequent proposals of marriage, well aware that the difference in their stations means she is not a suitable bride for a viscount and future earl. And that’s not the only reason, as those familiar with the previous books will know.

C.S. Harris has done a great job here of combining a self-contained mystery with the larger, overarching mystery Sebastian is trying to unravel surrounding his past. The setting of Regency London is depicted so well that it’s almost like another character in the book, and all the ‘regulars’ – Lovejoy, Gibson (the surgeon and Sebastian’s former comrade), Tom (Sebastian’s tiger), Lord Jarvis, Hendon and Kat – are so strongly characterised that even if you don’t like them, you can’t help waiting for them to appear! As with the previous books, my main criticism is to do with the relationship between Sebastian and Kat. I can’t call it a romance, because it isn’t; their relationship is established before book one even starts, and pretty much consists of his proposing and her turning him down. There isn’t any real chemistry between them, although I do enjoy the scenes where the two of them talk through some of the things Sebastian discovers. She is a good sounding board for him, but I can’t buy them as a romantic couple. That said, a revelation that comes fairly late on in the story spells the end of the road for Kat and Sebastian, and I confess that it hasn’t come too soon for this listener.

Davina Porter is a huge favourite with many audiobook listeners as well as with my fellow AudioGals, and she narrates all eleven books in this series. It should be noted that while all of them are now available in audiobook format, books one to five were recorded after books six to ten for some reason; when I get to book six, I’ll let you know if there are any significant differences! Ms. Porter’s performance here is excellent, with all the characters portrayed appropriately according to age and station. She delivers both narrative and dialogue at a pace that feels just right, and her differentiation is very good; males and females are easily distinguishable from one another, and she successfully employs a variety of different regional accents – mostly Irish ones in this story – where needed. On that subject, however, I noted that Kat’s Irish accent disappears part way into the book. It comes back a chapter or two later and then vanishes for the rest of it, which, considering that Ms. Porter is a highly accomplished and experienced narrator is rather a surprising continuity error. My favourite of her portrayals is that of Tom, the young lad from the streets whom Sebastian has made his tiger (a kind of groom) and who is often deployed to pick up useful information from some of London’s less than salubrious areas. She raises the pitch of her voice, gives him a convincing cockney accent and a wonderfully disarming earnestness that never fails to make me smile. And Sebastian sounds just as he should; attractively masculine with a hint of danger beneath his outward aristocratic hauteur.

If you’re a fan of historical mysteries and haven’t already discovered this series, then I can heartily recommend the Sebastian St. Cyr stories. Because of the recurring plotlines, the books really do need to be listened to in order, but that’s no hardship; each of the three I’ve listened to so far has been very enjoyable and I’m eagerly looking forward to the next one.

Caz

Narration: B+

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in (but at the very tame end)

Violence Rating: Fighting, and some graphic descriptions of body parts/murder victims

Genre: Historical Mystery

Publisher: Recorded Books [jwl-utmce-widget id=32435]