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    What Remains of Heaven
    What Remains of Heaven
    What Remains of Heaven
    Audiobook8 hours

    What Remains of Heaven

    Written by C. S. Harris

    Narrated by Davina Porter

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    London 1812.

    When the controversial reform-minded Bishop of London is found bludgeoned to death in an ancient crypt beside the corpse of an unidentified man murdered decades before, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, reluctantly agrees to help with the investigation.

    To Sebastian’s consternation, the last person to see the Bishop alive was Miss Hero Jarvis, a woman whose already strained relationship with St. Cyr has been complicated by a brief, unexpectedly passionate encounter. As his search for the killer leads him from the back alleys of Smithfield
    to the power corridors of Whitehall, Sebastian must confront the well-guarded secrets of his own family’s past, and a devastating truth that could ultimately force him to question who—and what—he really is.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateFeb 26, 2016
    ISBN9781490661803
    What Remains of Heaven
    Author

    C. S. Harris

    C. S. Harris is the national bestselling author of more than two dozen novels, including the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries. Under the pen name C. S. Graham, she co-authored a thriller series with former intelligence officer Steven Harris and, as Candice Proctor, wrote seven award-winning historical romances. A respected scholar with a PhD in nineteenth-century Europe, she is also the author of a nonfiction historical study of the French Revolution. She lives with her husband in New Orleans.

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    Reviews for What Remains of Heaven

    4/5

    242 ratings23 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Great book, but recorded Audio version was full of disruptions, interruptions, and skips, entirely missing crucial scenes resolving the mystery and subplots. Very disappointing.
    • 5/5
      4.5 stars rounded up. I think this series has really hit its stride in this book. There's great intrigue, and the drama was heaped upon itself without veering into ridiculous. I am attached to all the main characters and very curious how future events will play out. I am quite pleased.
    • 4/5
      Sebastian St Cyr is a Regency-era nobleman who, by this fifth novel in the series, has developed a reputation for solving murders. Instead of barging in where he’s not wanted, law enforcement now calls on him for the difficult cases. In this installment, a Bishop is found dead in a crypt. Not only is his death determined to be murder, but he was found near a second, much older and unidentified body. Sebastian successfully identifies this victim and then must solve both cases, which may or may not be connected. Along the way there are further developments in Sebastian’s personal life which raise more questions than answers and will undoubtedly continue to plague him in subsequent books.
    • 4/5
      I originally read the first volume of this series, and didn't like it. A friend of mine likes the series so much that I tried again. I still didn't liked the first volume, but this is not the only case where I grew to love a series after the first book was a bit of a dud -- I feel the same way about one of my favorite series: the Brother Cadfael mysteries.So I have been eagerly reading my way through the series until I finished this volume. I liked most of it, and I'm anxious to read the next to see how some of the subplots work out, and afraid to read it for the same reason. I was going to put in a hidden spoiler page, but I found the directions so opaque that I will have to hint at the problem.The previous volume pushed the Hero Jarvis subplot to the forefront. I'm pretty sure that I know what is going to happen, but anxious to see how it works out. I like the subplot with William Franklin. I find him an interesting and likable character, and I hope to see him again. I enjoyed the mystery that forms the main plot, and I really like some of the regular characters, and want to see them again.My main problem is that I have a terrible feeling about where one of the continuing subplots is going. I am wondering if Susan Elia MacNeal got her parental drama subplot from reading this series. I stopped reading the Maggie Hope series partly because of I so sick and tired of that subplot, which got a little hard to believe in the last couple of books, and was already annoying. My second problem is an overuse of subplots. I gave up on Kate Mosse's Burning Chambers series partly because she used the same rather implausible major subplot in both of the first two books. Harris uses the same subplot three times in this book. While I understand why, isn't this an awful overuse of coincidence?I am also beginning to wonder why it doesn't occur to Sebastian that he really needs to have some backup. At least in Ashley Gardner's Captain Lacey series, also set in the Regency, the her Lacey is often accompanied by his rather large footmen.I also wonder just how many people even a wealthy, powerful, and well-connected nobleman can kill in "self-defense" before the law, not to mention the ton, gets suspicious. The time frame here isn't terribly long: the first book was set in 1811, and this, the fifth volume, is in the middle of 1812. We know that he really was defending himself, but if his sister Amanda is worried that his involvement with murders will create a scandal that affects her daughter's marriage prospects, what if people start gossiping that he's a serial killer?A problem that series, and sometime individual books have, from my point of view, is that too much happens or it gets too extreme. I'm not a fan of thrillers. I don't like thinking that the only plot point that's missing is having the kitchen sink fall out of a third story window and kill someone.Still, I am anxious to read the next volume, and I'll see how it goes from their. The series is already far advanced from this point, so like Schroedinger's Cat, I don't know what has happened, but it's already happened.
    • 5/5
      WHAT REMAINS OF HEAVEN IS THE 5TH IN THE SEBASTIAN ST.CYR SERIES BY C.S.HARRIS. Sebastian,by request of his aunt and the Archbishop of Canterbury no less,looks into the death of Bishop Prescott as well as an unknown mummified corpse found in a crypt. How can one say no to ones aunt let alone the Archbishop ? Sebastian, who grows weary of the dead bodies piling up during his investigations,agrees to investigate. As usual the investigation forces St Cyr to face not only his enemy, Jarvis and his very stubborn daughter Hero. Sebastian also,during this investigation finds out that he is not really who he thinks he really is. It may sound confusing but its a really good read.I have gotten hooked on the series. It is chocked full of suspense,mysteries, and a dash of romance. St.Cyr has a sense of humor and honor that makes not only this book but the entire series a must read.
    • 5/5
      Better and better I think.

      No matter my reading mood, these keep me reading.
    • 4/5
      Book 5 in the series and Harris continues to provide an atmospheric story of murder, treachery and family secrets. Not the strongest story in the series. In fact, I found the mystery to be a bit on the weak, humdrum side. Still a decent enough mystery but I would say it is the relationship dynamics of the regular characters that kept my interest. Harris still gives the reader suspenseful moments (Sebastian really does have more lives than a cat) and continues to develop the characters, given us a glimpse into Hero, beneath her armour surface. The verbal sparing (and some interesting side-stepping) between Sebastian and Hero continues in full force and is my favorite part of the story. They are such a perfect match, if only they would see that. *sighs* As for family secrets, well, those just keep on popping up to the point where even I was left reeling with the latest revelation. It is no wonder Sebastian and the Earl of Hendon's relationship is a guarded one... Sebastian never knows when Hendon is telling the truth! Thank goodness for Sebastian's Aunt Henrietta, the Dowager Duchess of Claiborne and the St. Cyr family matriarch. A woman who knows all of society's gossip and is not afraid to speak her mind. As you have probably guessed, I continue to get a lot of enjoyment out of this series.
    • 4/5
      This one has Devlin solving a murder of a Bishop at the request of his aunt. The Bishop is found dead in a recently opened crypt and nearby is the body of his long lost missing brother also murdered but seemed to have been overlooked when the crypt was sealed many years ago. Hero is involved with this case as well as it turns out she had had several meetings with the Bishop in the weeks before his death. This is another great book in the series I really have been enjoying them.
    • 5/5
      Family secrets and treachery run rampant throughout this story. To make matters worse, Sebastian St. Cyr...Viscount Devlin...learns something that has the ability to turn his world upside down. The reader can't help but become involved as much with the characters as with the murder, although this one will keep you guessing until the very last chapter. I was partially right and still very much wrong...but hey...it was fun. I would recommend this series to anyone that enjoys a good murder mystery...a hero with outstanding character traits...and a good deal of history thrown into a delightful mix.
    • 4/5
      What Remains of Heaven
      4.5 Stars

      When the body of a Bishop is discovered in an ancient crypt, the Archbishop of Canterbury seeks the help of Sebastian St. Cyr to solve the mystery of his death as well as that of the other, decades old corpse whose identity is unknown. As Sebastian gathers clues and suspects, he is also forced to confront the ghosts of his own past and stumbles across a devastating family secret.

      While the mystery is well-crafted with smoothly interwoven historical detail and several exciting actions scenes, it is Sebastian’s character and his relationships with the people in his life that transform the story from merely enjoyable to truly fantastic.

      The twists and turns of the plot are evident both in Sebastian’s investigation, which leads him to a slew of likely and unlikely suspects, as well as in his personal life where he must come to terms with the truth of his paternity and the possibility of impending fatherhood.

      The real strength of the book lies in Sebastian and Hero’s interactions and their growing attraction. She is a wonderful heroine who lights up the pages with her unique mix of intelligence, independence and vulnerability, and observing her attempts at thwarting Sebastian’s curiosity and driving him toward infinite exasperation is particularly entertaining.

      All in all, What Remains of Heaven is an excellent historical mystery and I will be reading the next book immediately, which is almost unheard of for me.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable series which I'll keep reading. Lots of mystery to still unravel about St Cyr's background.
    • 4/5
      Note: There are necessarily spoilers for previous books in this series.Background:This is the fifth book in the historical crime fiction series set in Regency England, now in 1812, and featuring Sebastian St. Cyr, the twenty-nine year old Viscount Devlin. In the first book, he was suspected of a murder he did not commit, and had to become something of a Sherlock Holmes to find the real murderer to save his own skin.In subsequent books, he was consulted on murders that involved the nobility, because he would have an entrée into the upper level of society that would be denied to the regular police.Devlin is aided by the counsel of his friend, the surgeon Paul Gibson, who serves as a Watson to St. Cyr’s Holmes, as well as by Sir Henry Lovejoy, a magistrate who has become a friend of Devlin’s. He also has his 13-year-old horse handler Tom, a former street urchin, do reconnaissance work for him.You may also wish to consult my post on "An Introduction to the Regency Era."This book picks up two months after the previous one. Bishop Prescott of London has been murdered while inside an ancient church crypt, and the Archbishop of Canterbury asks Devlin to assist the Bow Street magistrates with the investigation. One of the newest Bow Street magistrates, Sir Henry Lovejoy, formerly the Chief Magistrate at Queen Square, is Devlin’s friend. Although they are very different, they have deep mutual respect and a strong sense of trust in each other.As it happens, the bishop’s body was found on top of another murdered corpse, not of ancient lineage but from only some thirty years earlier. Devlin is convinced the two deaths are related, and as his investigation draws closer to the truth, other bodies pile up, and he himself is in danger.Meanwhile, he learns that Hero Jarvis, with whom he had a one-night stand in the previous book, is pregnant. Devlin offers to marry her, but Hero, an independent feminist, is opposed to the institution, and has been looking into other ways to deal with the pregnancy. Devlin, however, is determined not to see his child abandoned, especially as he learns more secrets about his own past.[Perhaps the most influential woman in this time period was the feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. She wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792, which inspired women on both sides of the Atlantic to think about their place in the world and what their rights should be.]In many ways, Hero takes after her father, Charles, Lord Jarvis, who is the power behind the throne, by virtue of his brilliance and strength of will. But whereas Jarvis is ruthless, Hero is compassionate, and a believer in at least some aspects of the reform movement. She and Devlin have more in common than they realize, especially since they rarely have civil conversations with one another.Evaluation: Once again, the author lards her story with plenty of historical data from the time period, including some background on The Hellfire Club, a secret society of people often high up in social and political circles, which met in the first half of the 18th Century in order to engage surreptitiously in socially perceived immoral acts. Although participation in the club was not revealed for obvious reasons, it was rumored that members included at one time the Prime Minister of England, the Lord Mayor of London, the Prince of Wales, and even Benjamin Franklin. And in fact, one of the characters in this book is William Franklin, the estranged loyalist son of Benjamin.In an Author’s Note, Harris informs us that the character of Bishop Prescott was based on the real Bishop Beilby Porteus, long-time Bishop of London, and an ardent reformer and abolitionist.
    • 4/5
      Dark and violent, What Remains of Heaven, twists and turns through a double mystery--one set in 19th Century England and the other in the 18th Century. The search for answers in the two murders leads to additional murders and an unexpected revelation in the life of St Cyr.
    • 4/5
      This is the 5th in the series and poor Lord Devlin. Just when he's recovering from a shocking discovery that almost destroyed his mental and physical health, he is dealt another blow when he learns of a deeply hidden family secret.While he's wrestling with all these emotions, he's asked to look into the murder of the Bishop of London, found bludgeoned to death in a crypt. But he's found fallen on top of a 30 year old corpse with a dagger in his back without identifying documents. The investigation leads him to a vicious hornets nest of blackmailers, murderers, spies, traitors and an old secret mission to America. In addition, he learns that a man he had recommended hanged during his time in the army has returned to England is out for revenge. His life is threatened on a number of occasions as he brushes too close to certain truths that someone will take all measures to keep secret and from one with only vengeance on his mind.
    • 4/5
      My wife started on this series, but I've been blowing through it as I like both historical fiction and mysteries. This one had some nice spooky crypt scenes, and the development of the characters continues nicely.
    • 4/5
      Ms. Harris weaves another gripping tale of treason and murder. There's plenty of puzzling stuff going on, together with continuing revelations of Sebastian's own personal history that make for page-turning reading.
    • 3/5
      The year is 1812 and England is fighting many battles such as with France and with America. The English are tired of war and the terrible costs. In this novel, the murdered victims are not fallen women, but privileged men that prompt the services of Sebastian St Cyr. Hero Jarvis plays into the story as she realizes the consequences of her one brief moment of abandonment. Sebastian learns the truth of his birth and must come to accept what has happened. Harris weaves a tale of espionage and secrets in this sequel of Sebastian St Cyr and the conditions of England in the 1810's.
    • 3/5
      I wasn't particularly impressed with the first book in this series and as a consequence didn't read the second one. But I gave the series another go and have enjoyed numbers 3, 4 and 5. What Remains of Heaven is a good read, interesting and well-plotted. However, there are some aspects of Ms Harris' writing which I find irritating and I would have given this book 3 1/2 stars if that choice had been available to me. I accept that Ms Harris has researched the period in which the novels are set, but I do not think that she does as good a job of giving the reader a sense of being completely immersed in the Regency world as did Georgette Heyer, for example, in her novels. I think this is chiefly down to the language, which at times seems anachronistic. It is also, at times, repetitive. I don't know if "bloody hell" was a commonly used exclamation in Regency England. But even if it was, having almost every male character use the expression several times in every conversation (ok, I'm exaggerating!) gets tedious. Still, I enjoyed this novel enough to genuinely look forward to the next instalment.
    • 4/5
      Sebastian St. Cyr, nobleman and investigator of murder, continues his unseemly habit - in the eyes of society - of looking into mysterious deaths in this novel. What Remains of Heaven opens with the discovery of a murder victim in a crypt that was sealed for thirty years and the subsequent murder of a bishop in the same crypt. As Sebastian delves into the murder, he discovers long covered secrets, a few of which are significant to his own past. What Remains of Heaven is an enjoyable read, and I find I like this series more with each installment. I look forward to reading the next book about Sebastian and his murder investigations.
    • 5/5
      With the too-early death of author Kate Ross, who created Julian Kestrel, my favorite Regency sleuth, it's left to Ms. Harris to take up the mantle that so many others have faltered under. And she does this brilliantly, with the latest St. Cyr mystery. There's been many twists in St. Cyr's life through these five books, but although they are all standard plot devices, Ms. Harris handles them skillfully, and all her characters remain true and clear-cut. I'm glad to see St. Cyr paired up with Hero; she's more than a match for him, and much more interesting than Kat Boleyn.
    • 5/5
      What Remains of Heaven is my favorite Sebastian St. Cyr book to date. Fast paced and full of historical details, this mystery weaves together multiple storylines seamlessly. As with most mystery series, the installments are best read in sequential order. I will definitely be looking forward to the next release:)
    • 4/5
      Although perilously close to a romance, this historical mystery is saved by a firm grasp of history and good writing.
    • 5/5
      C.S. Harris is back on track with her latest Sebastian St.Cyr offering. As readers of the series know, most of the novels contain two major elements: the mystery, usually a death or two, to be solved within the pages of the novel, and the on-going complicated saga of Sebastian's life. Both are handled adroitly in "What Remains of Heaven." The murder element involves two corpses found in an ancient church crypt, both victims of violence; one belongs to the current Bishop of London, the other is a mysterious mummified gentleman with an Italian dagger protruding from his back. Are the deaths related? Is there one murderer or two? (I guessed one and missed on the other; Harris plays fair, the clues are there.) With regard to Sebastian's personal life, suffice it to say, his past is catching up with him in more ways than one. The sometimes soap opera-ish saga of his relationship with Kat, his father, and Miss Jarvis continues - much to this reader's satisfaction. Readers who haven't read the earlier books would be cheating themselves by starting with this one. By all means begin at the beginning and savor each one.