The Grief of Stones

Addison is really great. This is a direct follow-up to the last book, Witness For The Dead, with the same protagonist. I liked this more than that one, but not as much as The Goblin Emperor. I think part of why I liked it more than Witness is that I had a better idea of what I was getting into, whereas I thought Witness would be closer than it was to Goblin Emperor. The story doesn't have a lot of twists and turns, though, it's pretty straightforward.

This book was good, much better than the previous, I think it's because the main character had more development by this point and the mystery was better done. Celehar is also given an apprentice and the banter and character dynamics between the two is fun. This book is fun, and I would recommend it to people who want a mystery set in a fantasy setting.

I have reconciled with myself, after three books in this universe, that I just despise the names. I hate them. Sorry, Katherine Addison, they are needless complex and confusing. Especially listening to a mystery on audio, I just never have any concept of who any character is. Which is a problem for a mystery because reveals and twists mean nothing. “Oh wow, it's Belmforahingseringpolis!” but I don't remember who the hell Belmforahingseringpolis is or why that's surprising. So I will probably refrain from reading any books published in this world going forward, but I do think they're well written and entertaining.

7/10

I liked this more than the previous one. The plot was much tighter, with one main case clearly leading to the next. I also appreciate that, even for how obviously dense the world building is, the author just basically dumps you in and doesn't hold your hand or come off self congratulatory the way so many authors of fantasy books do nowadays.