The Corvid Queen's Alibi

Dr. Ilmar Vares is a psychopomp - a state-sanctioned practitioner who helps the terminally ill find peace before their Tideshift. After a catastrophic failure tarnishes his reputation, he's given one last chance: travel to the salt-crusted city of Revalia and conduct the final mental evaluation of Adelina Sarapik, the 'Corvid Queen'. Accused of poisoning the city's aqueducts and amassing a fortune from the resulting suffering, Adelina is a reviled figure, her execution eagerly awaited. Ilmar's orders are simple: confirm her malice, sign the papers, and reclaim his life. But the woman he finds is not a cackling monster. She is a fortress of glacial calm and cutting wit, a woman who meets his shameless provocations with unnerving silence. As he delves into her past, peeling back layers of lies orchestrated by her beloved stepsister, Ilmar discovers that Adelina's 'ill-gotten' gains are mysteriously vanishing, and the true source of the city's sickness is something far more sinister than simple poison. Can he uncover the truth before the state he serves silences its only witness?