"The dead man smelled like fish. Rotting fish. Pale, bloodless, and faceless, he lay on the stained granite slab in the center of Paul Gibson's ancient stone outbuilding, filling the small room with a foul stench. But then, bodies pulled from the Thames did have a nasty tendency to reek of fish. Fish, brine, tar, and-if it was warm and they'd been in the water long enough-decay. The outbuilding stood at the base of a newly planted garden that stretched out behind the medieval Tower Hill house where Gibson kept his surgery, and he paused now in the doorway to suck in one last breath of fresh, rose-scented air before entering the room. The morning was damp and chilly, the sky a low, menacing gray, the ache from Gibson's truncated left leg sharp enough that he winced as he limped forward. Irish by birth, he was thinner than he should have been and younger than he looked, his dark hair already heavily laced with gray, the long grooves that bracketed his mouth dug deep. Pain had a way of doing that to a man-pain and the opium he used to control it"--

Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. Sebastian St. Cyr must confront a savage killer and save his closest friend from the hangman's noose in this heart-pounding new historical mystery from the USA Todaybestselling author of When Blood Lies. June 1815. The people of London wait breathlessly for news as Napoléon and the forces united against him hurtle toward their final reckoning at Waterloo. Among them is Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, frustrated to find himself sidelined while recovering from a dangerous wound he recently received in Paris. When the mutilated corpse of Major Miles Sedgewick surfaces from the murky waters of the Thames, Sebastian is drawn into the murder investigation, which threatens one of his oldest and dearest friends, Irish surgeon Paul Gibson. Gibson's lover, Alexi Sauvage, was tricked into a bigamous marriage with the victim. But there are other women who may have wanted the cruel, faithless major dead. His mistress, his neglected wife, and their young governess whom he seduced all make for compelling suspects. Even more interesting to Sebastian is one of Sedgewick's fellow officers, a man who shared Sedgewick's macabre fascination with both old English folklore and the occult. And then there's the valuable list of Londoners who once spied for Napoléon that Sedgewick was said to be transporting to Charles, Lord Jarvis, the Regent's powerful cousin, who also happens to be Sebastian's father-in-law. The deeper Sebastian delves into Sedgewick's life, the more he learns about the major's many secrets, and the list of people who could have wanted him dead grows even longer. Soon others connected to Sedgewick begin to die strange, brutal deaths, and more evidence emerges that links Alexi to the crimes. Certain that Gibson will be implicated alongside Alexi, Sebastian finds himself in a desperate race against time to stop the killing and save his friends from the terror of the gall

When the mutilated corpse of Major Miles Sedgewick surfaces in the Thames, Sebastian St. Cyr, to prove the innocence of his oldest and dearest friend, Irish surgeon Paul Gibson, and Gibson's lover Alexi, delves into Sedgewick's life and finds the list of people who wanted him dead growing at every turn.

"June 1815. The people of London wait, breathlessly, for news as Napoleon and the forces united against him hurtle toward their final reckoning at Waterloo. Among them is Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, frustrated to find himself sidelined while recovering from a dangerous wound he recently received in Paris. When the mutilated corpse of Major Miles Sedgewick surfaces from the murky waters of the Thames, Sebastian is drawn into the investigation of a murder that threatens one of his oldest and dearest friends, Irish surgeon Paul Gibson. The deeper Sebastian delves into Sedgewick's life, the more he learns about the Major's many secrets and the list of people who could have wanted him dead grows long. Soon others connected to Sedgewick begin to die strange, brutal deaths. Certain that Gibson will be implicated alongside his lover Alexi Sauvage, who was tricked into a bigamous marriage with Sedgewick, Sebastian finds himself in a desperate race against time to stop the killings and save his friends from the terror of the gallows."--

June 1815. The people of London wait breathlessly for news of Napoleon and the forces united against him. Among them is Sebastian St Cyr, Viscount Devlin, frustrated to find himself sidelined while recovering from a dangerous wounds. When the mutilated corpse of Major Miles Sedgewick surfaces from the Thames, Sebastian is drawn into the investigation of a murder that threatens one of his oldest and dearest friends, Paul Gibson. Gibson's lover, Alexi Sauvage, was tricked into a bigamous marriage with the victim. But there are other women who may have wanted the cruel, faithless Major dead: his mistress, his neglected wife and their young governess. Even more interesting to Sebastian is one of Sedgewick's fellow officers, a man who shared Sedgewick's macabre interests. The deeper Sebastian delves into Sedgewick's life the list of people who could have wanted him dead grows even longer. Soon others connected to Sedgewick begin to die strange, brutal deaths. Certain that Gibson will be implicated alongside his lover, Sebastian finds himself in a desperate race against time to stop the killings and save his friends.

June 1815. The people of London wait breathlessly for news as Napoléon and the forces united against him hurtle toward their final reckoning at Waterloo. Among them is Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, frustrated to find himself sidelined while recovering from a dangerous wound he recently received in Paris. When the mutilated corpse of Major Miles Sedgewick surfaces from the murky waters of the Thames, Sebastian is drawn into the murder investigation, which threatens one of his oldest and dearest friends, Irish surgeon Paul Gibson.

-- June 1815. Gibsonâ??s lover, Alexi Sauvage, was tricked into a bigamous marriage with the victim. But there are other women who may have wanted the cruel, faithless Major dead. His mistress, his neglected wife, and their young governess who he seduced all make for compelling suspects. Even more interesting to Sebastian is one of Sedgewickâ??s fellow officers, a man who shared Sedgewickâ??s macabre interest in both old English folklore and the occult. And then thereâ??s a valuable list of Londoners who once spied for Napoleon that Sedgewick was said to be transporting to Charles, Lord Jarvis, the Regentâ??s powerful cousin who also happens to be Sebastianâ??s own father-in-law. The deeper Sebastian delves into Sedgewickâ??s life, the more he learns about the Majorâ??s many secrets and the list of people who could have wanted him dead grows even longer. Soon others connected to Sedgewick begin to die strange, brutal deaths and more evidence emerges that links Alexi to the crimes. Certain that Gibson will be implicated alongside his lover, Sebastian finds himself in a desperate race against time to stop the killings and save his friends from th

A gripping new historical mystery featuring Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin from the USA Today bestselling author of When Blood Lies.

June 1815. The people of London wait, breathlessly, for news as Napoleon and the forces united against him hurtle toward their final reckoning at Waterloo. Among them is Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, frustrated to find himself side-lined while recovering from a dangerous wound he recently received in Paris.

Booklist.Kirkus Reviews.