A neat little mystery wrapped up in a fantasy world of Death, Death Gods and their servants, spirits and vengeance.

Konrad Savast is the Malykant, the servant of the Malykt, the Death God. In serving his God, he is required to seek justice for souls that suffered particularly gruesome deaths that fouls the very air. Hiding his true identity as the Malykant, Konrad has to play at being a rich and idle man with too much time on his hands and who plays at being an amateur sleuth to the world. He is assisted by two serpent spirits who also serve the Malykt.

I found the world building quite good even for a book as short as this. There was a very visceral feel to the dark and shadows of the world, and the prose of Charlotte English carries the tale well.

Konrad is an interesting character and his spirit guides, the apothecary Iriananda who helps him, the police and the society of Ekamet are all brought to life with in the pages.

If you love mysteries, magic, vengeance and morally grey characters doing what needs to be done, you will enjoy this book. The pacing was quite good and the descriptions vivid. The characters stood out to me and I am eager to delve into the rest of the series with Konrad and Nanda.