This is one of those books - and they don't all include mysteries - that's like an interlocking puzzle box. I really like that type of structural uncertainty in fiction, and while a few of those pieces here are rather more telegraphed than they might be, I still enjoyed the many, many convolutions of the story. The imagery, too, was appealing, particularly the looming, encircling fog and all the insects stuck in it. 

It's a very well put-together book, and the genre elements of it are all fantastic. I am, it must be said, a little less convinced by the characterisation of the primary murder victim though. It's hard to talk about it here without giving too much away - I prefer not to spoil things in reviews like this! - but Niema's moral transformation didn't really convince me, given how clearly wedded to power she was for much of her life. I suppose all those quiet decades acting as teacher and leader made a difference, but she clearly had no problem with the perennial problem of treating people as things (thanks, Granny Weatherwax!) no matter how far along she was in her ethical development. I suppose such inconsistencies can be seen as realistic, in their way, as no one's fully of a piece in how they act, but still. In comparison to investigator Emory, whose characterisation was outstanding, Niema does come across as more a piece of movable plot than a character in her own right. 

It's compulsively readable, though. I finished it in a day. I don't think I've read anything from this author before, but I certainly want to now.