WHEN THE WOLVES ARE SILENT

When multiple murders rock the nobility of Regency England, an aristocratic sleuth steps in to solve them.

It’s 1816. The Right Honorable Bayard Wilcox, 13th Lord Wilcox, awakens in the middle of the night to the smell of smoke and a fuzzy memory on London’s Primrose Hill. After he barely escapes the fire that engulfs the body he presumes to belong to Marcus Toole, son of the eminent Sir Samuel Toole, Bayard turns to his uncle, Sebastian St. Cyr, for help. Fortuitously, Sebastian, aka Viscount Devlin, is an esteemed and experienced investigator. Both familial duty and deep curiosity fuel Sebastian’s probe. Instead of dallying to wait for confirmation of the corpse’s identity, he wonders whether there’s a link to the recent death of another nobleman, Gilbert Keebles, two weeks ago. St. Cyr’s 21st case is brimming with members of the nobility, so many of them suspects that readers may feel challenged just to keep them all straight. The investigation spreads a wide net, featuring interviews by both Sebastian and his best friend, Sir Henry Lovejoy; Lovejoy’s wife, Hero; and others. Harris’ style and deeply researched details give her whodunit a sense of historical authenticity that’s bolstered by a culminating historical note. The location of the fatal fire, Primrose Hill—north of Regent’s Park in present-day London—figures prominently in Druidic practices, and the novel offers a deep dive into Celtic legends figured by the wolves of the title.

A gracefully written period mystery packed with interesting historical background.