This book tells the story of Vân, a young scholar and teacher, and Sunless Woods, a mindship who is actually a master thief looking to retire. Their paths cross when a murder happens and they proceed to unravel the mystery, while also unraveling each of their secrets as they become entangled themselves.

Pretty interesting little book (only about 175 pages), with plenty of lyrical writing and some solid world building in such a short number of pages. I am particularly drawn to multi genre books, and this one flits from one (mystery) to another (romance) to another (crime), all the while set in an Asian influenced far far future.

There were some great lines and I wish I had been reading the ebook version so I could have highlighted them. Some powerfully romantic and some with serious insights. I loved how each of the protagonists had some deeply hidden secrets and how they ever so slowly became exposed. I can't wait to read more of this series.