What Remains of Heaven

When the reform-minded Bishop of London is bludgeoned to death in an ancient crypt beside the much older skeleton of an unidentified man, Sebastian St. Cyr is called in by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The investigation leads from London's slums to the corridors of Whitehall and implicates figures close to the Prince Regent, while also forcing Sebastian to confront secrets about his own family that have been carefully hidden for decades. C.S. Harris's fifth Sebastian entry deepens the series' long-running investigation of Sebastian's origins.

Davina Porter has been the voice of Sebastian St. Cyr's world across the series' run, and the accumulating weight of the family mystery gives her narration here an unusual resonance. Her command of the Regency ensemble, from powerful politicians to Sebastian's sharp-tongued ally Hero Jarvis, remains absolute. At just under nine hours, this is a tighter entry than some in the series, and all the more propulsive for it.