It's 1811, and the threat of revolution haunts the upper classes of King George III's England. Then a beautiful young woman is found raped and savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A duelling pistol discovered at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.
Now a fugitive running for his life, Sebastian calls upon his skill as an agent during the war to catch the killer and prove his own innocence. In the process, he accumulates a band of unlikely allies, including the enigmatic beauty Kat Boleyn, who broke Sebastian's heart years ago. In Sebastian's world of intrigue and espionage, nothing is as it seems, yet the truth may hold the key to the future of the British monarchy, as well as to Sebastian's own salvation.
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[Sebastian could hear the tolling of the city's church bells, counting out the hour; dull echoes of sound muffled by distance and the acrid fog that, even here, hugged the open ground and shrouded the bare, reaching branches of the stand of elms that grew at the edge of the field]***
(@BerkleyPub, 3 October 2006, first published November 2005, 410 pages, paperback, #popsugarreadingchallenge 2019, a book featuring an amateur detective, bought from @AmazonUK)
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I don't often read historical fiction but when I do I tend to lean more towards the crime genre that any other kind. I chose this because I wanted to read something outside my comfort zone for this category. I was not disappointed. This is an engrossing book, well written and full of vivid, rich detail. I love mystery books as well so enjoyed this element of What Angels Fear. I got a real sense of place with this book and the characters are fleshed out and believable. I may read the rest of the series because I did really enjoy this book.
