Where Hardly Anyone Cares about Justice

Who Speaks for the Damned by C.S. Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sebastian has four perfect suspects for the murder of a convicted felon who has secretly returned from Australia. But why would anyone murder him when they could just turn him in for illegally coming back?

One of the keys to this series is the concern for the forgotten and oppressed citizen, for the people suffering through no fault of their own. It tells us a lot about the time and place--Regency era, England--but it reveals a lot about our own time, too. It's not an essay; it's a murder mystery. But the feeling in it runs deep because injustice, when you're fully acquainted with it, feels so personal.

The victim, we learn, was a victim years before, being blamed for something he didn't do, the crime which sent him around the world. (Okay, that's a spoiler--but you will guess it, I think.) He has returned to England with a child, and that young person's life is in danger from whoever killed him. As is so often the case, the crime and the circumstances around it touch on the security of the nation. Empire has its own demands, and they are seldom aligned with the needs of individuals who live within it. (That tension informs the whole series. A crime is committed; someone must pay the price. Order must be maintained, or at least the illusion preserved.) The needs of university students and young lovers and orphans and widows are not given much weight in such a world.

The "damned" in the title refers to the murder victim. Everyone wants Sebastian to leave it alone, but he believes we owe the dead the truth. So many people want to hide the truth. The answer makes a lot of sense, but I won't lie--I didn't figure it out. (Other mystery readers and literary savants might have more luck.) :) Great pacing throughout with a satisfying ending.

This is a very successful novel, the 15th in a very successful series, and I highly recommend it for all mystery readers, along with those who enjoy this setting in related genres.

View all my reviews