Where It's Six Bullseyes in a Row

Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This has become one of my all-time favorite series. Not a single miss so far, and it's long past time I stopped buying them one at a time.

In this novel, Sebastian becomes aware of a man who was almost certainly murdered, though his death was officially declared due to natural causes. His good friend, the doctor Paul Gibson, has discovered the fact while honing his surgical craft on a cadaver illegally obtained. To solve the case while protecting his friend, Sebastian has to put together leads without alerting the Bow Street Runners or other authorities that they've missed a crime. This becomes very difficult when he finds that the death is tied to high-stakes diplomacy between the UK and France, Sweden, Russia, Turkey, and the US.

As always, it's brilliantly plotted and researched, but it's the characters and their arcs that make it feel deeper, somehow, and more human. Sebastian is interesting and very sympathetic; his relationship with his father (not to mention other relatives) is complex and evolving; the love of his life, lost to him in marriage, still makes an appearance and a contribution; and his fiancé, the independent and confident Hero, becomes more and more important to him--and vice versa. The long arc of their love affair is so carefully done, so patiently done, I'm amazed and hooked. The long scene where Hero is endangered (I'll leave it at that to be only mildly spoilery) is one of my favorites. The author surprised me with how that worked out, and I liked it.

No clunkers here; nothing dumb; no eye rolls. I enjoyed it all the way through. So... recommended, of course.

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