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Possibly one of Kurtz's best books. She layers in courtly intrigue, swashbuckling, and magic to provide a dense, twisted plot with very life-like characters, some of whom have been with the reader for the previous four books. The title alone is spoiler enough, so of course she has to entertain and divert the reader with the manner in which she arrives at the foregone conclusion; naturally, how it exactly plays out leaves open different possibilities for what is to come next.
If I have any complaint about the book, it is one of Kurtz's more common failings. Specifically, although the "good guys" are well aware of the plots and machinations against them, they seem content to passively await the next blow from the "bad guys." Unlike in Camber of Culdi and the beginning of Saint Camber, where the protagonists were the ones taking the initiative to outsmart, outmaneuver, and/or outfight their enemies, the following books have them rather haplessly spectating, even when they become privy to inside information from the other side. Nowhere is that more in evidence than in this otherwise gripping, page-turning book, leading the reader to some level of frustration with the otherwise very likable hero by the end.
That flaw aside, the book is colorful, realistic (more so than most of the fantasy genre), and very entertaining. Kurtz's Deryni books are good fun and well worth reading, offering some different angles from many others in the genre.
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