The Witness for the Dead    by Katherine Addison Order:  USA  Can Tor, 2021 (2021) Hardcover, e-Book     Reviewed by Hilary Williamson The Witness for the Dead is the sequel to Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor, and stars Thara Celehar, Prelate of Ulis and Witness for the Dead (he can sometimes share the very last experiences of the departed). After the events of the first episode, he moved from Court life to the city of Amalo. The premise of Celehar's role is a new and intriguing one, and this episode is essentially a murder mystery. In fact, our unassuming hero solves several murders, including one by a ghoul. In Amalo, Celehar spends mornings in a small, cramped office, hearing petitioners for his services. One man believes that his pregnant sister was murdered - that turns out to be true but there's a lot more to the case than one simple killing. Celehar is asked for a judgment in a family inheritance, that gets him into political trouble. Another case centers on the body of a young elven woman, pulled out of a canal in a seedy part of town. She turns out to be an opera singer with many admirers and quite a temper. She was also a troublemaker, a thief, and a gambler who liked to collect other folks' secrets. Celehar gets to the bottom of this case too - and makes more than one new friend in the process. The only small drawback to my enjoyment of the story was some confusion over the rather complicated character names and titles. That aside, I enjoyed Celehar's company and look forward to more of it. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Fantasy books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews