A Winter of Fish and Favor

Welcome to a city that runs on traded favors, precisely-applied violence, flirtation, and large amounts of tea… Welcome, and beware.

If Tinsa Gaurjo can become the next leader of her powerful ruling House, she plans to root out corruption and shake up its decades-long stagnation.

Unfortunately, since Housemaster is an elected position, assassination won’t do: only patience and a willingness to play political games.

When her House’s current leader sets her to investigating a double murder, it’s soon clear there’s more going on than meets the eye. The city’s rumor mill is quick—perhaps too quick—to provide a convenient main suspect: Biaili Erdai, owner of a local casino and an ex-courtesan.

Guilty or not, he’s annoyingly entertaining, and now he’s tangled up in her case. Although his interest in Tinsa herself obviously goes beyond clearing his name, even in their fairly permissive city, he’s the last man a would-be Housemaster should get close to.

Yet when her determination to uncover the real truth draws attention from the wrong people, and secrets in her own family start to unravel, Tinsa might find her unlikeliest ally to be her most valuable.

After all—her ambitions mean nothing if she can’t even survive the winter.…

A Winter of Fish and Favor is the first half of a wry adult fantasy duology of moral ambiguity, fast talking, and politically awkward love, set in an ancient world inspired by East Asia and the Iroquois Confederacy. It’s perfect for fans of The Lies of Locke Lamora, The Sword of Kaigen, Lois McMaster Bujold, T. Kingfisher, or Robin Hobb.