Ahoy there me mateys!  The Penric and Desdemona novellas take place in the World of the Five Gods from the trilogy of that name.  Book one of the trilogy, curse of the chalion, is one of the best fantasy books I have ever read and I really enjoyed the remaining two.  Penric, a sorcerer, and Desdemona, his chaos demon, are a fantastic duo that I ADORE.

I normally read in publishing order but have to admit that I strongly feel this series should be an exception if ye be new to it.  I recommend the omnibuses.  The first omnibus contains novellas 1 - 3 in the internal chronological order not publishing order.  The second set has novellas 5 - 7 and the third has 4, 8-9.

Knot of shadows is number 11 in the series.  No surprise that this is another wonderful addition.  Penric and Desdemona are called on to visit a drowned man who seemingly comes back to life.  Of course things are more complicated then they first appear.  The darling duo are tasked with solving a murder, dealing with forbidden magic, and looking for a missing child along the way.  Unlike other Penric novellas, this one ends with a rather sad conclusion even though everything is technically solved satisfactorily.  It is always lovely to see how various characters' lives are progressing.  Recommended to Penric fans.  Arrrrr!