Paladin’s Grace, by T. Kingfisher. Argyll Productions, 2021

Severed heads – found minus bodies- are what’s on Paladin Stephen’s mind when he is accosted on the street by a fugitive woman, who demands they pretend to be having sex against the wall to throw off her pursuers. As he walks her home, he discovers she’s a perfumer, living in a poor part of town. She’s got secrets; she was sold as a child and then again as an adult, and she’s been criticized and gas-lit into having a horrible image of herself. Stephen is the follower of a berserker god, one who died unexpectedly, leaving his followers with no steering. They did what berserkers do when upset; they went berserk. In the end, only a handful were left. They now help the Rat god, a sect with healers and lawyers. Now they live with constant guilt, and horrible self images. In other words, Stephen and Grace are perfect for each other, if only they could believe that someone could love a person as lowly as themselves.

Meanwhile, there is a visiting potentate, a couple of assassination attempts, more severed heads, thieves, and a lot more, all set in a world of several churches with real live gods, talking quadrupeds (there is one on the police force), magic that works, and a lot more.

I found this world very appealing. It’s well built (it’s the setting for several other novels by the author), and I liked most of the characters. It’s basically a rom/com set in pre-industrial times. I loved Stephen and Grace, even though their lack of ability to just bloody talk to each other made me crazy at times. It’s also a mystery- well, two different mysteries, actually. I really enjoyed the story and the characters, although the ending has a bit of a deus ex machina feeling to part of it. I fully intend to read everything else set in this world!