4.5 stars rounded up. I think this series has really hit its stride in this book. There's great intrigue, and the drama was heaped upon itself without veering into ridiculous. I am attached to all the main characters and very curious how future events will play out. I am quite pleased. ( )

Sebastian St Cyr is a Regency-era nobleman who, by this fifth novel in the series, has developed a reputation for solving murders. Instead of barging in where he’s not wanted, law enforcement now calls on him for the difficult cases. In this installment, a Bishop is found dead in a crypt. Not only is his death determined to be murder, but he was found near a second, much older and unidentified body. Sebastian successfully identifies this victim and then must solve both cases, which may or may not be connected. Along the way there are further developments in Sebastian’s personal life which raise more questions than answers and will undoubtedly continue to plague him in subsequent books. ( )

I originally read the first volume of this series, and didn't like it. A friend of mine likes the series so much that I tried again. I still didn't liked the first volume, but this is not the only case where I grew to love a series after the first book was a bit of a dud -- I feel the same way about one of my favorite series: the Brother Cadfael mysteries.

So I have been eagerly reading my way through the series until I finished this volume. I liked most of it, and I'm anxious to read the next to see how some of the subplots work out, and afraid to read it for the same reason. I was going to put in a hidden spoiler page, but I found the directions so opaque that I will have to hint at the problem.

The previous volume pushed the Hero Jarvis subplot to the forefront. I'm pretty sure that I know what is going to happen, but anxious to see how it works out. I like the subplot with William Franklin. I find him an interesting and likable character, and I hope to see him again. I enjoyed the mystery that forms the main plot, and I really like some of the regular characters, and want to see them again.

My main problem is that I have a terrible feeling about where one of the continuing subplots is going. I am wondering if Susan Elia MacNeal got her parental drama subplot from reading this series. I stopped reading the Maggie Hope series partly because of I so sick and tired of that subplot, which got a little hard to believe in the last couple of books, and was already annoying.

My second problem is an overuse of subplots. I gave up on Kate Mosse's Burning Chambers series partly because she used the same rather implausible major subplot in both of the first two books. Harris uses the same subplot three times in this book. While I understand why, isn't this an awful overuse of coincidence?

I am also beginning to wonder why it doesn't occur to Sebastian that he really needs to have some backup. At least in Ashley Gardner's Captain Lacey series, also set in the Regency, the her Lacey is often accompanied by his rather large footmen.

I also wonder just how many people even a wealthy, powerful, and well-connected nobleman can kill in "self-defense" before the law, not to mention the ton, gets suspicious. The time frame here isn't terribly long: the first book was set in 1811, and this, the fifth volume, is in the middle of 1812. We know that he really was defending himself, but if his sister Amanda is worried that his involvement with murders will create a scandal that affects her daughter's marriage prospects, what if people start gossiping that he's a serial killer?

A problem that series, and sometime individual books have, from my point of view, is that too much happens or it gets too extreme. I'm not a fan of thrillers. I don't like thinking that the only plot point that's missing is having the kitchen sink fall out of a third story window and kill someone.

Still, I am anxious to read the next volume, and I'll see how it goes from their. The series is already far advanced from this point, so like Schroedinger's Cat, I don't know what has happened, but it's already happened. ( )

WHAT REMAINS OF HEAVEN IS THE 5TH IN THE SEBASTIAN ST.CYR SERIES BY C.S.HARRIS.

Sebastian,by request of his aunt and the Archbishop of Canterbury no less,looks into the death of Bishop Prescott as well as an unknown mummified corpse found in a crypt. How can one say no to ones aunt let alone the Archbishop ? Sebastian, who grows weary of the dead bodies piling up during his investigations,agrees to investigate. As usual the investigation forces St Cyr to face not only his enemy, Jarvis and his very stubborn daughter Hero. Sebastian also,during this investigation finds out that he is not really who he thinks he really is. It may sound confusing but its a really good read.

I have gotten hooked on the series. It is chocked full of suspense,mysteries, and a dash of romance. St.Cyr has a sense of humor and honor that makes not only this book but the entire series a must read. ( )

The Library Overdrive summary:
Sebastian St. Cyr's search for the killer of the controversial Bishop of London leads him from the back alleys of Smithfield to the power corridors of Whitehall to the well-guarded secrets of his own family's past.

I found this continuing saga of Sebastian's involvement in solving murders as engaging as ever. That his participation in solving crimes which reach into the aristocracy is a creative theme in Harris' St. Cyr mysteries. This particular book was a wonderful development in the complex relationship between Hero Jarvis and Sebastian. Both Hero and her mother are wonderfully drawn individuals. ( )