CS Harris - Why Mermaids Sing

In 1811, murder has jarred London's elite. The sons of prominent families have been found at dawn in public places, their bodies mutilated and strange objects stuffed into their mouths. Although Sebastian St. Cyr is distracted by his seemingly doomed relationship with actress Kat Boleyn, the oddness of these murders nags at him-and he becomes determined to track down the assassin, even at the risk of his own life.

Comment: This is the third installment in the Sebastian St Cyr series by CS Harris, a series I'm following.

In this story Sebastian is investigating the deaths of , now, two young men, all sharing some sort of body interference, but it doesn't seem there isn't any particular connection between except in the way of their deaths. However, as he investigates, and as the police learns new information, it seems there is a connection after all. But why these men as targets is the question, and it seems as if others might be in danger as well, if the killer isn't caught. Sebastian keeps investigating, although he also has some personal issues to deal with, but will he identify the culprit in time?

Someone told me that these books get better after a while, because I didn't find the first one to be as wonderful as I thought it would be. Now, I suppose this might be correct after all, because this one was a little more captivating to me, and the plot way more intense, even a little creepier I'd say.

The case being investigated seems simple at first, in the sense that the young men who were killed didn't have any link, so the killer might have been someone preying on random but convenient victims. The issue is that they were killed and then something was done to their bodies. It turns out that another young man had already been killed in a similar way but only now did the police link the several cases. But why targeting them when they didn't even know each other... of course the police and Sebastian quickly learn their fathers had shared a very specific event in the past, when a ship had a mutiny on board...

From this information on, the investigation became a lot more interesting but I admit that it also took quite a turn into something a little creepy (to me) and I was both eager to know what had really happened and dreading confirming it. What a way for the author to develop this story... one really needs to acknowledge authors' skill in planning and writing something with so much detail and elements that have to fit.

It turns out that the identity of the killer and finding that person isn't really the most intriguing element in this book, although that is the supposed end goal. To me, the most interesting element here is do learn if certain events actually happened and how that affected the main characters involved. In this regard, this story was definitely a lot more fascinating that the previous ones had been.

The accumulation of  information and the tension it originated were well done in this book, because at the same time things intensify for the case, the more things become known, the higher the tension in regards to Sebastian and Kat, the woman he is in love with and whom he plans to marry, if only she were to accept. Personally, I would prefer a different direction to this element and the way things play out might be easier to solve than what I imagined but... but then something major happens pertaining this and I really hope Sebastian can overcome its consequences (because I bet one day, who knows how many books later, he will learn the truth) without too much damage.

I'd still do some things differently, though, and I still wish the personal relationships didn't have to be so complicated and, mostly, negative/challenging as they are presented. I would prefer the family relationships, at least, to be a steadier point in Sebastian's life... will this ever happen, considering what his father and sister aren't telling him? Not to speak of his missing mother...

As a whole, this was a really engaging book and I'm looking for to read the next one.

Grade: 7/10