This is great in ways I never anticipated for the first book. The initial installment in the series was very tied in to the terrain, and the race to the border through a beautiful and hostile environment. Now, the story is transplanted into a city, with all that entails. The real strength of the story is its use of plot machinations and twists to complicate the character motivations we've already gotten to know. Minor arcs come back with big impact, making it clear that even the less important characters are complete people. Antagonists, even when dramatically evil, follow their own internal logic. The presence of mind magic calls into existence questions about the nature of self. I found even characters with very clear alignments to be complex people.

To go along with the praise, I have two criticisms. First, in a very tightly woven cast, the answer to the mystery involves a character arc that the audience hasn't yet encountered, breaking from the pattern of not needing to rely on exposition because the first book covered everything one needs to know. Second, I love Cara's character, but given how far the author was willing to push the rest of the characters, her arc seemed a little underdone. I'm waiting for themes to attach themselves to her story, the way they've done for other major and minor players in this tale.