If you start the Seranno/Suiza series with this book, you’ll be painfully aware you entered the story in the middle. About the only shape this novel has is that it starts and ends with superficially similar events. It really only makes sense if you’ve read the rest of the series. There are dozens of characters in this book, and perhaps a dozen plot lines, none of which really begin or end. If you consider the series as a single story, though, this one moves the various plots along quite a ways.
I suppose you could count this one as an “Esmay book,” but Esmay Suiza’s part isn’t really central. Heris Serrano makes only a cameo appearance, toward the end of the story.
That said: This was the first book I read in this series, and it caused me to hunt down the rest of them. The characters are convincing enough to get your attention, and you’ll quickly decide whether the intricate story interests or frustrates you.
This review was originally published on LibraryThing.