What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris

What Angels Fear was exactly what I needed after finishing the last Julian Kestrel book; a rich, intricately-plotted tale with heroes who aren't heroes, ladies who take care of themselves, family secret after family secret, and at least five books in this series. (The last one might be my favorite part.)

Set in 1811, King George is soon to be replaced by the Prince of Wales. Powerful men make and break deals with powerful men. Bored soldiers, rakes, married men, and gamblers make their nights as amusing as they can by gambling away fortunes, fighting duels at dawn, and framing each other for murder.

Framed for the murder of a beautiful, young actress--who had more secrets than she did roles on stage--Sebastian St. Cyr eludes the constable in a desperate attempt to find out who framed him for murder. His search for the truth will take him from the London stage to masked balls, from political maneuvers to French spies, from secret to secret, until the truth is discovered. From family to friends, pickpockets and old lovers, nothing with stop Sebastian from finding out who framed him.

All in all, it was a fantastic story, I didn't see "it" coming, and I can not wait to read the next book in this series.