Taut plotting, engaging characters. This is the 6th book in the Kushieline series, and I think it suffers from some credulity-straining plot devices. There's adventure and intrigue, certainly, along with true love and steamy sex but there are also fairly good-sized holes in the story and some inconsistencies that hurt. It's so Byzantine that I'm reluctant to go into any detail for fear of spoilers, but Melisande is back, her beauty undimmed. I recommend this with reservations to those of you who have read and loved the first five books.