I’ve been powering through the Saint of Steel series. And Paladin’s Hope is the latest in my progress. While this is the shortest, and maybe most contained, it has some of my favorite niche interests. Keep reading this book review of Paladin’s Hope for my full thoughts.
Summary
Piper is a lich-doctor, a physician who works among the dead, determining causes of death for the city guard’s investigations. It’s a peaceful, if solitary profession…until the day when he’s called to the river to examine the latest in a series of mysterious bodies, mangled by some unknown force.
Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane. He has long since given up on any hope of love. But when the two men and a brave gnole constable are drawn into the web of the mysterious killer, it’s Galen’s job to protect Piper from the traps that await them.
He’s just not sure if he can protect Piper from the most dangerous threat of all…
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I have always been obsessed with coroners. What can I say? So when I picked up Paladin’s Hope and Piper is responsible for saying cause of death, I was smitten. It’s a niche interest for a reason! Additionally, we’ve been hovering around Galen and it was satisfying to see his story play out. While Paladin’s Hope is the shortest, the kernel of the story feels the most contained. It’s very simple. They get trapped in a murderous escape room. I appreciated this forced proximity and the genius of coming up with the puzzles. However, it did make me wonder about their love and how quickly it evolved. So it was a bit of a mixed bag if I’m honest.
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Paladin’s Hope was an entertaining and quick read, but I wish we spent a bit more time with the characters. I’m not honestly sure how, maybe in more flashbacks or something, but I felt like we barely got a chance to know them individually before dumping them in this puzzle. I loved their brand of awkward and the gnole side characters. But I just wanted it to be a bit more developed. There was a whole bit about the discrimination against gnoles which is also a theme in Swordheart and I just wish Kingfisher went a bit further with that especially considering how many gnoles we got to see. Find Paladin’s Hope on Goodreads, Storygraph, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.