The third episode of Cate Glass’ series (Chimera) was not up to the standard I expected from my enjoyment of the first two books. The individual characters do not progress further, there was stop-and-go action without developing the interpersonal relationships of the Chimera group, and often very confusing action by unrelated participants in the kidnapping schemes. Ultimately the story dragged on and on and the most important details (resolution of the corruption in the Confraternity; Teo’s tie-in to the Antigonean Bronze) were never elucidated.

My other criticism is in regard to the dangling relationship between Romy and Sandro (il Padroné). The author subtly indicates that their relationship has not completely disappeared, at least on Sandro’s part. Where is Glass going with this? The Romy character established a solid choice in Book 1 to go her own way, yet there’s always a hint in the subsequent books that indicates ambivalence on both her and Sandro’s part. I find the dithering artificial and what point is there in this imagined future scenario?

Curiosity, along the lines of “what happens next” in the lives of the main protagonists, was the major motivation to read this next book in the series. If that’s what you’re looking for, you may find this instalment a bit of a let down. ( )

I found this a bit on the long side and more [[Carol Berg]] than previous entries of the series. A huge additional danger has been added to the life of the Chimera's founder Romy and we end up knowing more about sniffers that we don't like. ( )