The tension and suspense were masterfully conveyed. Honestly, in most books, I can sometimes see the plot laid out before me and figure out where the lines lead. I did not, in fact, figure out anything until the big reveal which was a delight! Excellent blend of fantasy and sleuthing. ( )

Not only was the first line as good as the cover blurb promised, but the rest of the book lived up to it. Tightly written; everything is a clue - but knowing that isn't a spoiler either as I went through several very plausible theories on the way to the truth being proven.

What may be more of a spoiler is that it did get a little didactic about 3/4 of the way through as we pause for Jovan to get a history lesson, and then the "but we're the *good* oppressors" trope gets subverted really self-consciously. I'm not entirely convinced by his love interest (like the character, but as a love interest? I dunno).

But mostly I just really loved Jovan and especially Kalina. Will definitely look for the next. ( )

It was so close to being perfect, but I'll settle for very good.

A city-wide closed room murder mystery, but where all of the protagonists are just super duper nice and well-meaning people. It was great to show the different kinds of people (with physical and mental disabilities), how human they were, and how frustrated they were with how they got treated. And how they all still cared for each other.

I also really liked all of the world-building, and how carefully it was explored to heighten the mystery. I love it when authors remember to include the cruelties and oddities of life. Making the book a mystery meant a lot of time to explore the universe, which was a good choice.

My only complaints were that the conveniently-timed interruptions wore thin near the middle of the book (it got better), and Jov's bit of self-destructive tendencies that appeared near the climax - the last one is a personal dislike and not necessarily a flaw with the book. ( )

This was an entertaining read, with lots of twists towards the end. Looking forward to the sequel as I want to know what happens to certain characters, and the city/world in general! ( )

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3434439.html

I rather enjoyed it. It's a big fantasy tale, but the story is tightly focussed on a brother and sister, where the brother is a master of poison (the poison theme is run rather well through the book) and the sister has a chronic and unspecified health problem. There's a tight intersection between palace politics and territorial politics, some impressive plot twists and just enough supernatural for it to qualify as fantasy. A bit long, but I did find myself turning the pages enthusiastically. ( )