Two stories going on in this 11th book of the series. We go back in time to see January and his beloved first wife, Ayasha, living in Paris. There's a mystery involving a missing girl, a concubine of the Turk Huseyin Pasha. It takes up the first 100 pages or so as Hambly shows us why January, years later, is willing to investigate the murders of the Turk's two concubines in New Orleans. Hambly again provides a background rich in detail. It's great to "meet" Ayasha, since January has been quietly grieving over her for the entire series even while he falls in love with and marries Rose. I felt she didn't come across as fully realized as Hambly's usual, though. In New Orleans, January is never in the same kind of grave peril as he's been in previous books so the tension is lessened (actually I was thankful for that). I did like all the misdirection. I didn't catch the clues (if they were there) that pointed me to the murderer, but there are so many different threads in this one I was having trouble keeping track of the characters. IMO the last scenes with Sabid didn't need to be there. Anyway, I enjoyed it very much as I have every book in this series, but it isn't my favorite of them.

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