This book was...solidly three stars. Definitely not-bad and almost reaching good at certain points.
Wow, I don't think I meant to damn it with faint praise quite that much. I had been interested in this book for the past few months, mostly because the premise intrigued me and I appreciate a good premise. Overall, the book delivers a interesting plot and some pretty good characters, but it falls down in three very specific ways.

1) The writing is...adequate (I nearly said tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me). It gets the story out, it conveys emotions. Sometimes, in the fight scenes especially, it rises to the level of really good, but most of the time, it's just kinda there. I got the sense that Jackson was putting together this book like a puzzle rather than, say, with the skill and attention to detail that a craftsman would use on a carving - this piece of exposition fits in here and this conversation about the past goes there. I noticed him doing it and found myself thinking "No one thinks about their past this conveniently for the reader".

2) Elements of the mystery worked because the main character held the Idiot Ball for too long (see the TV Tropes entry on Idiot Ball for more details). He should have figured certain things out faster. He should have remembered things sooner. The first half of the book consisted of him barking up the wrong tree because he was not using the information he had. There are ways to write the slow reveals of the mystery novel and it requires a bit more finesse than was shown here.

Speaking of barking, I forgive you for the dog, but I nearly put the book down then until I realized that Ethan Kaille was grieving as well

3) I am disappointed in any alternative universe that includes magic and works as hard as possible to make sure that the world is exactly the way it was otherwise (Harry Potter gets a pass because of how it creates a world within worlds). If there are "conjurers" and actual witchcraft, witch-hunting would have happened differently. It might be a small point, but it annoyed me to no end. Alternate history means taking into account the repercussions of your changes, not trying to make everything happen just as would have otherwise.

I'm not sure if I liked it enough to actively seek out the next book in the series, though I might pick it up if I come across it. A lot of what this book suffers from is first novel syndrome (even though it's not a first novel, it's the first for this author in this genre) and if Jackson has managed to find his voice and style by the second, I could definitely see myself enjoying it far more.