Set after the events of The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison‘s The Witness for the Dead (2021) and The Grief of Stones (2022), are, simply, delightful.
They most closely resemble the rambling murder mysteries associated with Sunday nights on PBS, but with elves. And goblins. And elf/goblin hybrid offspring.
The protagonist of both books is an individual with the ability to commune with the recently deceased. He is generally tasked with easing the grief of individuals in his community, a position made possible through his highly politically tenuous employ via a complicated ecclesiastical structure. But that is more background: closer to the surface are the challenges of unwinding a series of (seemingly) unrelated deaths, a budding romance against the backdrop of grand Elven opera, an undesired-yet-promising apprentice, and the dangerous assignment of quieting particularly ravenous undead spirits that arise when burial rites go awry.
All of this is punctuated by regular cups of tea, with insight into which varietals are superior, and walks across a city that is drawn with such depth and consistency that it immediately comes into full existence for the reader.
There are moments of intense adventure here, but only moments: these books are enjoyable in the way a slow walk is enjoyable. I like me some long walks, and I highly recommend these novels, to the point where I will sometime in 2025 dive into more of Addison’s output, with fairly high expectations.