The Bone Palace

Starred review from October 25, 2010
In a spectacular freestanding sequel to 2009's The Drowning City, Downum jumps a few years forward to find forensic necromancer Isyllt Iskaldur investigating the death of Forsythia, a young prostitute with stolen royal jewelry sewn into her clothes, in the haunted city of Erisin. As Isyllt follows the trail of death and theft to the sewers and their vampiric inhabitants, Savedra Severos, the crown prince's beautiful transgender mistress, struggles to defeat assassins and unravel plots involving her own uncle and a demonic sorceress mysteriously allied with Isyllt's mentor and former lover, the spymaster Kiril. Finely drawn characters love and betray with enthralling passion and pain, and the taverns and gardens of plague-ridden Erisin and the titular ruined palace at its center make a dark and richly detailed background for this complex and bloody tale of sorcery, madness, and intrigue.

November 15, 2010

Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer for the Crown and bound by oaths of loyalty to her king, investigates the death of a prostitute who possessed a royal signet ring. Her search brings her into the dark world of the vrykoloi, vampires who dwell beneath the city, and into the dangerous ruins of the past. This sequel to The Drowning City delves into a past filled with intrigue as the fates of protectors and prostitutes, mages and monsters, royalty and rebels collide in a night of fiery terror and supernatural danger. Downum's sensual prose and vivid descriptions bring her characters and her world to life. VERDICT Fans of Tanith Lee, Storm Constantine, and Terry Goodkind will enjoy the storytelling and immediacy of this fantasy adventure.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2010
Several years have passed since the events chronicled in Drowning City (2009), the first volume in Downums Necromancer Chronicles. Issylt is now at home in Erisin and working as a Kings Investigator, though her necromancy skills mean she takes on the toughest caseslike finding the prostitute found dead clutching jewelry that was buried with the queen. Fortunately the king is on a campaign as he hasnt been all too rational since the queen died three years past, leaving Issylt a few weeks to uncover the tomb raiders, solve the dead girls murder, and deal with the entrenched and complex aristocracy jockeying for power. As Issylt digs deep into the history of the palace, of several prominent families, and of the city itself, she uncovers matters everyone else would prefer she leave alone. Downums second fantasy is as sharp and complex as the first, full of fascinating characters, from the transvestite mistress of the prince to his warrior wife. As the setting and many of the characters are new to the series, Bone Palace works fine as a good starting point for new readers. Suggest to fans of the equally dark and imaginative Nights of Villjamur (2010).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)