The Silverblood Promise

DEBUT After a murder strikes a little close to home, the young rogue Lukan Gardova is compelled to solve it. He’s spent years barely scraping by after his downfall, but this goal fills him with a new sense of purpose. As a hotheaded hero with nothing to lose, he sets off for the city of Saphrona, where he teams up with the straight-talking street kid Flea. Money rules in Saphrona, and Lukan and Flea are swiftly swept up in a conspiracy involving the criminal underworld, corrupt merchant princes, and the mystical relics of a dead civilization. Everything about this swashbuckling adventure is sharp and secretive, and the pages fly by with every nail-biting gambit. It’s a murder mystery in an epic fantasy setting, and Lukan’s loose tongue and quick wits repeatedly get him into and out of trouble. The endearing characters, with their easy banter, dry humor, and defiant spirits, are the heart and soul of this novel.