Age of Ash

Kithamar is an ancient city of trade and wealth, with a long and bloody past and countless thousands living inside its walls. Alys is one of them, a petty thief from the slums of Longhill. When her brother is murdered, she sets out to learn who killed him and why.

The search turns up more than a killer. The more Alys finds out about her brother, the more she learns about herself, and the truths she uncovers are more dangerous than knives. Her inquiries draw her into an intrigue as deep as the roots of the city, where the secrets of the lowest born can sometimes topple thrones.

This is epic fantasy, set entirely within one city. Every resident has a story, and the fate of Kithamar is woven from all of them. Alys's is the one told here, and the choices she makes in it carry real weight for the city around her.

The book opens a trilogy. It reads as a mystery with two threads running together: the killing of her brother, and the question of who Alys herself turns out to be. Expect an atmospheric, patient telling, rooted in the streets and slums of a single place rather than in a far-flung quest.