by Richard Swan
First published 2022
Sir Konrad Vonvalt rides into a provincial town with his protégé Helena Sedanka at his side. He is a Justice of the Order, which means he carries the Emperor's law into places where it barely holds. He has a sharp legal mind, a sword he knows how to use, and arcane abilities that make even powerful men nervous. Helena is younger, orphaned by the wars that built the Empire, and still learning what it costs to serve the law. Their assignment looks straightforward: investigate the murder of a local aristocrat. It is not straightforward. The threads they pull lead upward through layers of Imperial society, past rebels and heretics and patricians who have decided the throne is an obstacle rather than an authority. The Empire of the Wolf is already unstable. Vonvalt and Helena are the thin line the Order places between the law and open chaos. As the conspiracy grows larger and the danger turns personal, they face a question neither of them wanted to ask. The law they have sworn to uphold may not be enough to save the thing they swore to protect. Keeping faith with one might mean betraying the other.
Genres: adventure, mystery, fantasy, historical-fantasy, legal-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, gritty, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: conspiracy-unraveling, found-family, mentor-protg, moral-ambiguity
Setting: Empire of the Wolf, provincial town
464 pages · Paperback · Orbit
Content warnings: death, violence, war