By George, I think she's (almost) got it. C.S. Harris has finally hit her stride in the third installment her Sebastian St. Cyr series. This one finds Sebastian, still reeling with the news of his mother's non-death, faced with the great plot mover and shaker known as The Serial Killer. Someone is butchering young men in England, slitting their throats and hacking the flesh from their bones. Nothing appears to link them except for a series of bizarre objects left in the mouths of their corpses. And, of course, no one will talk. In fact, the bereaved fathers of these young victims are decidedly put out when Sebastian starts asking questions...and terrified. What secret could be so terrible that they will allow their children to be slaughtered rather than reveal it?

Joining forces with Sebastian is the now familiar Scooby Gang: his devoted young tiger Tom (making use of his pickpocket's ability to flit in and out of all kinds of places), retired army surgeon Paul Gibson, the earnest if beleaguered magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy, and Sebastian's mistress Kat Boleyn (whose role and character acquire more dimensions...some of them game-changing). The sinister Lord Jarvis also makes his requisite appearance, though he is not so easily pigeonholed as Villain this time around.

After struggling with pacing in the first two novels, Harris delivers a taught thriller that, towards the end, I couldn't put down. Perhaps it was Sir MacGuffen MacMurderer, the ever-threatening serial killer who could Strike Again at Any Time(!), but I'm more inclined to credit Harris's growth as a writer. She managed only three or four references to Sebastian's "feral eyes" this time and I hope that she'll soon lose that trope for good. Her characters are slowly ceasing to be types and her plots are becoming organic. A complex and supremely absorbing mystery, I'm glad I decided to stick with her through the growing pains. More, please!