Testimony of Mute Things

Penric and Desdemona (Publication order) #15

by Lois McMaster Bujold

A contentious Temple conclave brings sorcerer Learned Penric and his demon Desdemona, in support of his superior Princess-Archdivine Llewen of Martensbridge, to the disputed Carpagamon border town of Occo. There, the uncanny pair will tangle with dangerous new intrigues and old histories, that will test their magical skills, their wits, and their hearts.


The internal chronological order of the Penric & Desdemona tales is

“Penric’s Demon”
“Penric and the Shaman”
“Penric’s Fox”
“Testimony of Mute Things”
“Masquerade in Lodi”
“Penric’s Mission”
“Mira’s Last Dance”
“The Prisoner of Limnos”
“The Orphans of Raspay”
“The Physicians of Vilnoc”
“The Assassins of Thasalon”
“Knot of Shadows”
“Demon Daughter”
“Penric and the Bandit”
“The Adventure of the Demonic Ox”


“A superb craftsman and stylist, Ms. Bujold is well on her way to becoming one of the great voices of speculative fiction.”
- Rave Reviews

“Bujold has a gift.”
- Chicago Sun Times

“Best-selling author Bujold follows her Hugo-nominated “Penric and the Shaman” (2017) with another adventure featuring the sorcerer Penric and his resident 200-year-old chaos demon, Desdemona. ... Series fans will be delighted with this tale, which begs for continuation.”
- Booklist on “Penric's Mission”

"Bujold follows 'Penric's Demon' with another brief tale set in her World of the Five Gods, this time combining supernatural sleuthing with finely drawn characters and a panoply of emotions... This is a wonderful expansion of her World of the Five Gods."
- Publisher's Weekly *Starred Review* on "Penric and the Shaman"

"Series fans and fantasy readers who seek well-drawn characters will love this tale."
- Publisher's Weekly on "Mira's Last Dance"

"Bujold's delightful latest tale of Penric ... is another winner in Bujold's already strong series."
- Publisher's Weekly *Starred Review* on "The Prisoner of Limnos"

"A deft and accomplished novella, fans of Penric and Desdemona will find much to enjoy."
-Locus Magazine on "The Adventure of the Demonic Ox"

Genres: Fantasy, Novella, Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Gods, Demons

151 pages, ebook

First published October 23, 2025

About the author

Lois McMaster Bujold was born in 1949, the daughter of an engineering professor at Ohio State University, from whom she picked up her early interest in science fiction. She now lives in Minneapolis, and has two grown children.

Her fantasy from HarperCollins includes the award-winning Chalion series and the Sharing Knife tetralogy; her science fiction from Baen Books features the perennially bestselling Vorkosigan Saga. Her work has been translated into over twenty languages.

Questions regarding foreign rights, film/tv subrights, and other business matters should be directed to Spectrum Literary Agency, spectrumliteraryagency.com

A listing of her awards and nominations may be seen here:

http://www.sfadb.com/Lois_McMaster_Bu...

A listing of her interviews is here:

http://vorkosigan.wikia.com/wiki/Auth...

An older fan-run site devoted to her work, The Bujold Nexus, is here:

http://www.dendarii.com/

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

I glommed this entire novella sequence in a few days earlier this autumn. I glommed this. I will glom anything Bujold wishes to write in this series. That is all.

(Please do not recommend that I should start other Bujold series, as I actually need to earn money, eat etc rather than spending all day going through her books like a cartoon chipmunk.)

(I have Paladin of Souls queued for the holidays)

[William Schlesinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet again

The author's compassion comes through the details and texture of her words, with strays woven into her tales along with rich and evolving characters hinting at greater depths possibly to come.

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bujold goes back in time to give us an earlier Penric adventure. Penric and Desdemona have been together for 8 or 9 years and Penric is still in Martensbridge, in the household of Princess-Archdivine Llewen. They accompany the Princess-Archdivine to a church conclave, which has been convened in the border town of Occo.
Penric and Des expect a boring meeting; they get involved in a murder instead. Not only do they need to solve the crime, they need to find out why the victim was trying to see Llewen. What follows is a lovely, twisty, mystery involving financial shennanigans, and a surprise visitor from Desdemona's past.

I loved this, of course. There's humor, wisdom, and charity, all wrapped in Bujold's warm prose. A true comfort read. I am so happy that Bujold is not through with Penric and Desdemona; I hope for many more stories to come.


















































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[Brok3n · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Penric solves a murder mystery

Testimony of Mute Things is the 15th and (as of 6-Nov-2025) last novella in Lois McMaster Bujold's Penric and Desdemona series by publication order. By internal chronology, though, it is Number Four. What we have here is a relatively young Penric, who has not yet settled down with his wife-to-be Nikys. He has also not yet crashed catastrophically out of medical practice. In fact, he is serving as personal sorcerer -physician to princess-archdivine of Martensbridge, Llewen kin Stagthorne.

Princess Llewen has been called to the city of Carpagamo for a conclave. A war (one gets the impression more of a series of skirmishes than an all-out war) has just finished (more-or-less), and territories have changed hands between the Duchies of Carpagamo and Adria. This has left the inhabitants of several towns in those parts under new religious leadership. The purpose of the conclave is to settle arising disputes like civilized folk. Llewen is to be the chief judge. Pen is a kind of high-level factotum (Latin "do-everything").

During the night after Llewen's party arrives in Carpagamo, a woman dies. That day this woman had approached Penric desiring private speech with Llewen. Because Llewen was busy, Penric had put her off until the next morning, and she died before that interview could take place. Penric and Des investigate and quickly determine that she was murdered. So we have a fun little murder mystery.

The title, Testimony of Mute Things manages to sound mysterious but is not really that. In fact, almost every mystery you have ever read involves the testimony of mute things -- footprints, cigar ash (Sherlock Holmes loved this), possessions of the victims and murderers, etc. They are usually just called "clues." You might get the impression from the title that Pen and Des's solution of this mystery involves such clues particularly prominently, but this is not the case. Pen makes use of the testimony of many humans and even of not-mute inanimate things such as written documents.

If, like me, you're always eager to hear more about Pen and Des, you will read this and enjoy it. It is not, however, in the top ranks of the series.

Blog review.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series and LMB is a wordsmith. For some reason this one was hard for me to follow with all the titles and reasons for the big meeting. Conclave? What’s the word. Anyway, interesting backstory with Ruchias past and ‘shudders’ the murder weapon. Ick.

Pen’s life summed up here:

“Well,” said Penric diffidently, “some Someone might have sent me.”

Dena stopped and wheeled to stare at him a moment while she worked this out. “Does that happen? To you?”

“It’s happened before. And not necessarily just on behalf of my own god. They’ve been known to share me around the Family. Granted it’s hard to sort out the nudge of a god’s hand from random chance when one’s Patron is the god of chance.”

[aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always great to spend time in this universe with these characters.

Would still love some more stories with Llewellyn, there was simply not enough of her.

Thank you 👑 McMaster Bujold

[Ann Schwader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any new Penric novella is a treat for Bujold fans, but this one may be particularly welcome -- at least, to those of us who have longed for a bit more action / intrigue than her more recent family-oriented offerings have had. (Those are excellent, too, of course -- but in different ways.) Set between the action of Penric's Fox & Masquerade In Lodi, this adventure revolves around a murder case during a difficult Temple conclave.

Young Penric is attending as an assistant to his superior, Princess-Archdivine Llewen of Martensbridge. He's expecting a mundane, even dull few days -- but when he becomes entangled in the bizarre murder of a corrupt Temple official, it will take all his & his demon Desdemona's skills to find the solution. This one offers a deep dive into Bujold's Five Gods magic system, as well as plenty of focus on Desdemona herself.

As with most of the Penric novellas, it's best to begin at the beginning of the series. Testimony is decidedly not for first-timers, & relies at least a little on the reader's familiarity with past adventures. At 151 pp, it is also good value for a novella.

[Stephen Richter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This newest installment of the Penric & Desdemona takes place in the past and changes the reading order of the series. But if you are caught up with the series it will not matter much. A murder mystery at its heart, Penric becomes a detective, along with 5 other duties. Makes for a great new installment. It fits in chronologically after Penric’s Fox if you have not started this fabulous series.

[Promiscuous Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5
Это будет не самая моя любимая повесть про Пенрика и Дездемону, но объективно она ничуть не хуже остальных.

[Moira Mackinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, as always. Lois McMaster Bujold has long been one of my favourite authors. I came late to her fantasy novels, having originally been drawn to the science-fiction Vorkosigan saga, but have come to treasure them equally, particularly the Penric and Desdemona novellas and stories, and the Sharing Knife tetralogy.

[Yev · Rating 4 out of 5]

And so, with this, we fall back through time. Testimony of Mute things is the 15th published book and 4th chronologically. This is the odd series where it may be better to read it in internal chronological order rather than by publication. Going from Penric being 44 to 27 was a bit jarring, considering how much has happened over the course of those 17 years. Even so, this was a comfortable read and is more in line with the recent books than those published at the time, so there's also the argument to be made it's better to read them in the published order. Aside from this book, I've read this series by its internal chronological order and I don't regret it.

This time it's a murder mystery, which is more in line with the earlier entries as well. As seen on the cover, someone put an asp in their chamber pot. A terrible and unexpected way to die. The question as usual is, who and why? As a mystery it's not all that much. What mattered more to me was the character interactions, which has been the case the entire time. There's the usual elaboration of the backstory for one of Desdemona's aspects and the helping of someone to set them on a better path.

One of the benefits in going back in time is that the future has already been written, so it's far easier to include foreshadowing of what's to come in the chronologically later books. There's a good bit of that here, which I appreciated, despite the next book chronologically being the one I've liked the least in the series.

This isn't anything that would win someone over into reading the series, but it doesn't have to be. It's a fine supplement to a wonderful series and that's all it needs to be for me.

Rating: 3.5/5

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great entry in this series

While only just published, this is chronologically the 4th in the series. The book is an interesting combination of mystery and fantasy. While it's possible to enjoy as a stand alone, it is much richer if at a minimum you have read the first in the series in order to fully appreciate the world building and fantastical elements if the religion.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An earlier adventure

Penric (during his healer days) goes with the princess-divine to help with some peace settlements, and gets caught up in a murder mystery. I have a feeling some of the folks here will show up again later…..

[Olga Godim · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
While this novella is #15 in the publication order, in the chronology of Penric's life, it would be #4, right after Penric’s Fox but before Penric’s Mission. Penric is still single, still at Martensbride, serving Princess-Archdivine Llewen. In her train, he and his demon Desdemona arrive in the town of Occo, discover a murder, and play detective.
The story is not as light as most Penric's stories. There are grim undertones here. The darkness seems encroaching, while the plot explores human ruthlessness and greed.
Overall: a solid murder mystery, with magic in the background, but it made me sad.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was a fascinating choice for the next story in the long-running Penric and Desdemona series because it takes place, not after the previous book, The Adventure of the Demonic Ox, but before it.

Way before it, in fact. So far before it that most of the characters in Ox aren’t even on Penric’s horizon in Testimony, the events of which occurred more than a decade before, between the books Penric’s Fox and Masquerade in Lodi. That’s how this series works. Some of the stories are told as Penric remembers them or as they become relevant to later events. Some of them are even told BY (yes, I meant told by) the memories of the demon who shares his body, as Masquerade in Lodi was, at least in part.

Which is where the World of the Five Gods makes its mark, because that word, “DEMON”, doesn’t mean anything you might think it means. Demons are spirits in this world, who begin with a spark of consciousness and gain more consciousness as they move up the evolutionary ladder – so to speak – into larger and larger animals with higher brain capacity – until they finally merge with a human and either become dedicated to the Fifth God, Lord Bastard, the “Master of all disasters out of season”, or they simply spread a whole bunch of the chaos that the Bastard so loves and get sent on to whatever comes next for them.

Learned Penric, Sorcerer-Divine in the service of the Bastard, BECAME a sorcerer-divine by accident, when he stopped to help an elderly woman on the road who was clearly in distress. That act of kindness, detailed in the first book in the series, Penric’s Demon, is just the beginning of Penric’s adventures with the demon he names Desdemona. (Penric’s Demon is also the only book in the series that needs to be read in order – meaning FIRST. The rest as the mood strikes or as they come out – neither of which is the internal chronological order and it doesn’t matter. They’re just good.)

Back to this story, which takes place fairly early on in the story that Penric and Desdemona currently share. The story here, which combines political machinations with criminal skullduggery of both the fatal and the fiscal kind, puts Penric in the awkward position of dealing with a whole lot of people who knew Desdemona in her previous incarnation (that elderly woman Penric assisted at the beginning of HIS adventures).

The shenanigans that then-Desdemona got up to with her colleagues and contemporaries back in that day are all coming back to haunt Penric – in more ways than one. In the midst of which, he has to solve a murder, protect some orphaned children, and dive deeply into some seriously rotten forensic accounting.

It’s fortunate for Desdemona that she can no longer be held to account – but Penric certainly can, whether by his currently “boss”, his godly patron, or the criminals whose scheme he is about to uncover.

Escape Rating A-: At first, I was just a bit confused, as the timeline for the series jumped back more than decade from the previously published book. Howsomever, I don’t actually care, I just needed to know.

As a reader, I’m particularly fond of this earlier point in Penric’s life. He’s younger, so he has more to learn. He also has less authority and experience so he doesn’t have nearly as much political power as he will later – meaning that other people have the authority to get him into trouble. Which they absolutely do.

On my third hand – possibly one of Desdemona’s – a lot of the issues that he’s facing in stories like Ox require Penric to adult because he’s now responsible for others. He’s older and has a wife and children, and his children are themselves starting to flee the nest. Not that those stories aren’t also fun, but it’s a different fun that isn’t quite as much fun for this particular reader as the earlier stories like Testimony are.

There were a couple of things I really, really liked about this story, and many of the earlier (in the internal chronology) stories in the series. Testimony of Mute Things blends the cozy fantasy of the setting with the cozy mystery that arises out of both Penric’s and his patron deity’s tendencies to get into trouble and sow chaos. I love a good fantasy mystery, and the earlier stories in the series, like this one, are very much part of that.

The other fascinating thing in this story was that we get to see more of Desdemona, more of who she has been over her long history, and how her relationships work – and don’t – with the person whose body she’s currently sharing AND the people who knew the bodies she used to share. I feel the need to facepalm, but Desdemona is essentially a Trill like Jadzia Dax from Star Trek Deep Space 9, including the memories and the holdover affection and the difficulties of past friends and lovers to figure out how to relate to the current body of the person they once loved, or had adventures with or committed mildly criminal shenanigans with.

To make a not so long story short, as the Penric and Desdemona series consists entirely of novellas (not that I’d mind a full-length novel!) this series is great fun if you enjoy fantasy mystery and/or cozy fantasy. It’s not necessary AT ALL to read them in order – particularly as first you’d have to pick an order to follow. Just start with the first book, Penric’s Demon, then pluck from the rest of this marvelous series as the mood for a reading treat strikes!

Originally published at Reading Reality

[T.J. Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

While "Testimony of Mute Things" is not my favorite Pen and Des book (probably not even top 10), it is still A NEW PEN AND DES BOOK. This world is my happy place. These characters are my beloveds. Bujold is my SFF queen. Etc. So this was still an excellent reading experience. I actually really enjoyed being taken back to Pen's youth and early relationship with Des. And I thought Bujold did a great job of making their interactions feel different from the books where they are older and more in tune with each other. Des felt a little more sprightly and chaotic. Pen seemed less sure of himself. Their conversations didn't have the depth of intimacy that we see in the books set later in the chronological timeline. And that's the level of attention to detail and authenticity that I would expect from Bujold. She's so good at real, human emotions and believable characters.

"Testimony of Mute Things" is a smol murder mystery, and that was also fun, although I can't say that I fully understood all the details of the political wrangling that was going on behind the scenes. Des gets to read people's emotions and catch them in the middle of shenanigans because they don't understand how demons work. Pen uses his natural warmth and friendly charm to ally with constables, servants, and street urchins. So basically, they are both just doing their thing. 👌

Overall, this novella did not have the emotional resonance of some of the Pen and Des books, but it was breezy, entertaining, and comforting. And isn't "Testimony of Mute Things" an amazing, poetic title? It rolls so nicely off the tongue. I am so grateful that Bujold is still churning out Pen and Des books (two new ones this year alone)! I hope she keeps feeling so inspired! I would love for there to be a story that covers the time period when Pen was trying to become a sorcerer-physician and became so depressed. I am sure it would be very moving and poignant and give me that powerful punch of mingled hope and sadness that Bujold does so well.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pen&Des go sleuthing

In this novella, we go back to younger Penric. I had no idea I needed this, but apparently I did.

Penric and Desdemona, my favourite demon, travel to the town of Occo, part of a delegation sent to arbitrate in tricky political negotiations. Immediately upon arrival, there is a suspicious death. Is it a murder? Penric is ready to investigate, because can’t leave things alone. There is also justice. ”There was someone in Occo that he suddenly disliked very much.”

It is satisfying to come back to familiar characters and their world time and time again; in the company of a wonderful author who knows them much better than you do. How much can you love a series? This was a rhetorical question.

The mystery is interesting, but it is the characters and their interactions that shine. Pen&Des are being themselves:

”Oh, have you left me any masculine pride?”
”Now, now. Don’t pout.”
”Point demonstrated.”

”Pen wasn’t sure if she was trying to help, or stirring the pot towards maximum chaos and disorder.
”Can’t it be both?” Des said sweetly.”

I like how alive the supporting characters always are in Bujold. I reallly liked Moglian and Dena (the magistrate and the constable) and Sassu, one of the arbitrators. Sassu made me wince in sympathy.

The ending is perfect and poignant.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable adventure with Pen and Des! I really like that Bujold isn't holding herself to doing these stories in chronological order, so that if she comes up with a new idea for a story about young Penric, as she does here, she is able to go ahead and tell it.

Here, Pen and Des investigate a murder and possible high level corruption. It was nice to see Llewen, archdivine and princess of Martensbridge again and revisit a less-experienced Pen (though as competent and compassionate as ever). While I really liked this, it wasn't up there with my favorites in this series. I tried to think why, and I think it's because Pen isn't interacting with close friends or family at all in this story. He has people he's friendly with, such as the guards in Llewen's troop, and he likes and respects Llewen, of course, but she's more of a boss-mentor than a friend. There's no new standout character that pops up in some of the stories. The story is still good and the characters are still strong; it's just not as strong as some others in terms of Pen's relationships and conversations because he's not with any of "his people" in it.

I still love this series and quite enjoyed this story, as evidenced by me reading it in one day. However, if you've not read this series before, definitely go back and start with book 1. If you don't, you're really missing out.

[kvon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bujold loves to write her stories in haphazard order, inserting stories into previous canon (and if she doesn't match her previous canons, well, that's all right too). This story goes back, to after Penric's season with the shamans, working with the archdivine-princess from Martensbridge. She has been asked to rule on the reallocation of border temples following a war between two states. A boring bureaucratic issue, spiced up by a murder, which Pen and Des are tasked with following, to see if it is related to the temple issues.
I rather hope there is a manuscript somewhere in Bujold's study, telling what happens once Penric dies, as I have my own headcanon but she does stories so much better. In the previous novel, we see Pen checking the prostitutes to see if they need any pastoral counselling, and here we see him tending to the local orphans to be sure they are well treated. Something I would not have expected in a murder mystery, but a delight to see the world building.
I am happy to accept whatever novellas Bujold is willing to write.
Could you start with this story? Probably, but other stories were more interesting.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latest Penric & Desdemona is the late Learned Ruchia's book. Penric became a sorcerer the day he stopped to help the dying Ruchia on the road. He asked if he could be of help and then the demon passed to him.

Penric's predecessors (as host) were 10 women, a lion, and a horse. (One earlier novella Mira's Last Dance featured the courtesan Mira .)

The other aspect that I particularly enjoyed is seeing more of Penric's early years. This book is set some eight years after that fateful day on the road when Pen acquired Desdemona.

Ms. Bujold said she had to write this book now before she forgot too much about Penric as a young man. This book is set during a time when Penric was still serving the Princess-Archdivine Llewen of Martensbridge.

So, he is still considered a "lad" and still has a lot to learn, compared to the Penric we have been seeing lately (husband and father of three children, albeit one adopted).

A very fine adventure for both Learned Ruchia and young Learned Penric indeed.

Highly recommended for all fantasy readers, all Penric & Desdemona readers, and all readers who enjoy a well-told tale!

[Judith A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

I can’t even remember the name of the last novella Bujold wrote. I can only remember that it had no action and no depth. Ms. Bujold is back in full form with this novella. This story brings Penric and Desdemona back to life. I think it would have been helpful if I had re-read the book, or books, that preceded this one. It’s been quite sometime, after all. However, if you’ve followed the books and novellas, I think you’ll enjoy the story.

It’s a murder and mystery that takes Penric and Desdemona and the local equivalent of police to put together. There’s always a stray around, it seems, and Penric picks them up and changes their (not really bad) hearts. There’s also the luck and chaos of the Bastard God that comes into play. Enjoy! And, thanks, Ms. Bujold, for bringing another good story to us.

[Julie]

I’m not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, I enjoyed the investigating, the intrigue, and some of the newly introduced characters like the constables, the magistrate, and the orphans. I enjoyed the interactions with Sassu, who knew Desdemona’s last rider Ruchia, and the dynamics that came from that. But a lot of the political intrigue was confusing to me, and I kept forgetting which side wanted what outcome, and some of the finer details about the various crimes committed. I felt like I needed a cheat sheet, or a map. So if I take the politics part as just “vibes” and focus more on the fun character interactions and murder investigation, I think it was fine. But from a “knowing what’s actually going on” perspective, I found it a bit lacking. Or maybe I just shouldn’t read books about political maneuvering lol.

[Rebecca Loos · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I have found with every Penric novella I've read, this was a wonderful read. Penric appeals to me because of his thirst for understanding - one which I share and which has led me down many internet rabbit holes. Do I NEED to know what a major solar flare hitting the Earth might do? No, but I know anyway.

In this novella, Penric and Desdemona must solve the mystery of a woman's death. Pen uses his fine and inquisitive mind to follow the trail while Des contributes benevolent chaos and pointed, accurate, and not infrequently acerbic observations. The pair work as a perfect team.

I also enjoyed getting to see more of Princess-Archdivine Llewen of Martensbridge. One of the things I most enjoy about Ms. McMaster Bujold's writing is her ability to create strong, capable, well-fleshed female characters.

[Steven Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantasy, Murder Mystery, Political Corruption

How could you go wrong with that?

The world building is superb, and the characters don't disappoint. This is a tale of Penric and Desdemona as members of a war reconciliation conference. They're immediately thrust into a murder investigation when one of the civil servants of the host country turns up dead under suspicious circumstances.

The ending is satisfying and inevitable. I highly recommend it. It might help if you first read "Penric's Demon," which is the start of the series. They do stand on their own pretty well, but once started, I think you'll want to read more of them anyway.

[S.J. Higbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gem in this marvellous series. Politics and power almost always mean money – and all too often when the stakes are really high, it turns lethal and somebody dies. So there is another murder mystery for Penric and Desdemona to unravel.

While this is the fifteenth book to be published, it is actually chronologically the fifth book in the series. Penric is a young, single man and is still getting to know Desdemona. I was intrigued to see the tenor of the sparring between them in this one is a tad edgier between them – which makes entire sense. Whatever you do – don’t pick this one up unless you have at least read the first book in the series. 9/10

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here we flash back to Penric and Desdemona's time serving as court sorcerer to the Princess-Archdivine of Martinsburg, something we hadn't seen much of yet. This is after Pen is largely trained, but before everything fell apart after the Princess-Archdivine's death when she wasn't around to protect him and Des anymore from those that just see them as an endless font of magic. It's nice to see them in a time when things are going fairly well.
As well as they can be, given the Princess-Archdivine is traveling to mediate control of a city between two formerly warring countries. Penric and Desdemona are along to serve as both secretary and an extra level of protection for the Princess during this period of heightened political tension. Turns out they are right to be wary, as a bookkeeper for the city's temples is cleverly murdered after hinting to Pen and Des that she had a secret she needed to tell his mistress about. The rest of the book is Pen and Des working within the local justice system to figure out what her secret was and if she was indeed murdered to try to keep it.

[Mender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chronologically earlier in Penric's adventures, we learn a little more about Learned Ruchia while solving a mystery.

One thing I will say I do like about Penric-style murder mysteries is that unlike a lot of murder-mystery novels, there's only one dead body at the end. I'm not a huge fan of the 'ratchet up the tension by folk dropping dead every two days to push you into solving it faster' school of stories, because by the end of it the collateral damage get so high that it doesn't feel cathartic seeing it solved. This version is much better, where the ratio of happy endings & problems solved to unhappy dead people is skewed very much to the first side.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know. It's a good story, and well written too. It's an unnecessary story, because that period in Penric's life has already been described quite well. Penric discovers yet another conspiracy and a dead person.
I found it very annoying and unpleasant that there was a scene in which a man's illness was given attention in a crude and blunt manner, which was completely irrelevant to the rest of the story. That whole scene could have been left out, and the story would have been much better. Perhaps Penric needs a course in bad news conversations, so that he learns that you don't do that in public and uses a little more compassion.
The pointlessness of the emphasis on tumours raises the question of whether something is bothering the author.
Fortunately, it was only a short scene, but one with an unpleasant aftertaste.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forensic Accounting and murder. This had kind of a Vorkosigan flare to it. I love that this author keeps on writing these. Penric and Desdemona are perhaps the coziest series I continue to read. And it needs to be a lot better known than it is at this point. It is kind of like a secret favorite. So what's to like? The writing is breezy and interesting. The use of magic is knowledgable and surprising. The world is vivid. And the books are short but there are a lot of them. Sure it is fantasy rather than science fiction. And these are not high art. But they are also not starring teenagers.

[Dima · Rating 4 out of 5]

A return to form for the series. At its core, the story is a murder mystery, with Pen and Des acting as our detectives. Although the novella is set between the third and fourth books—when Pen is still young and single—it has more narrative complexity than some of the more recent instalments. It’s also refreshing to have fewer digressions into the dense theological universe-building, which is the aspect of the series I’ve always liked least.

It’s great to see the author still has it, and that the series retains its oomph: fun, engaging, thrilling, and confidently written.