Petra was my dear friend and a dyed in the wool book nerd. She passed away this past November and I miss her terribly. I think of her any time I read one of these books because she recommended the first one and I’m sad that she’s not reading the series with me.
The Grief of Stones is the third book in the Goblin Emperor series and the second book in The Cemeteries of Amalo series by Katherine Addison. The Cemeteries series follows Celehar, a secondary character in the first Goblin Emperor book who played a pivotal role. Celehar serves as Amalo’s Witness for the Dead, which means he can detect the thoughts of the recently deceased. As you can imagine, this often leads him down some very dark roads.
Like its predecessor, The Grief of Stones doesn’t focus on just one mystery but multiple cases which sometimes connect in unexpected ways. It begins with the suspected murder of a Marquise, the investigation of which sends Celehar first to a local foundling home and then into the seedy underworld of Amalo. To add to this, Celehar has been given a prelate to train as a new Witness. This story takes a much more emotional toll on our protagonist. Fortunately, his once non-existent circle of friends is growing into a loyal support system.
If you haven’t read any of the books in either of these series, I highly recommend you pick up The Goblin Emperor and sink your high fantasy, court intrigue loving teeth into it. It’s one of those books that requires a map and a glossary. Having read it on audiobook I can’t say if it does or not. However listening on audiobook does have the advantage of not requiring the reader to stumble over the various names and titles.
