The second in the series in publishing order. I should be clear about this, like the works of CJ Cherry (for example) Brust kind of jumps all over his timeline and publishing order is not chronological order for the characters. This is actually quite deliberate given some of the reveals in later books. For this re-read I have chosen to go with publishing order (unlike last year's Cherryh re-read) as there is actually no real consensus on chronological order. Brust himself cheerily admits he has no clue (or particularly cares, I think). This one is set approximately one year before the debut, chronlogically. This one is, twisty. Each novel is named after a 'house' in Brust's fantasy society. Each house has certain characteristics for which they are known. Yendi are known to like elaborate plots. Thus, Brust establishes one of the central pillars of his storytelling. A fondness for baroque and labytrinthe scheming as the engine to drive his plots. However, as he does not indulge in fantasy doorstop type page lengths this never becomes over bearing. This is just a fun caper to blast through. You are definitely kept guessing a bit (even on a re-read!) and I just inhaled this in one sitting. Brust also starts to develop the sensibilities of his characters. For example, he is not going to let his protagonist remain an uncaring mafioso for 17 books. That would just be dull to read (and write). It's a lens, to make some points about society as whole. The first inklings of that are seen in this book. Highly enjoyable, 4.5 star stuff. Recommended.