The Valley of the Soul by Tamara Siler Jones

Tamara Siler Jones is definitely getting put on my must-buy list. Well, actually, she was there the first time I read her first book. And the second. And now the third. I bought this at the beginning of the month when it first came out, but didn't read it until last night because I knew it would be good. Something to be savored. And yes, I was right. Unfortunately, there isn't anything quite like her books and after reading it, you want to go out and devour more. And there just aren't more. Sad.

In the mage wars, Dubric Byerly risked his life–and sacrificed the woman he loved–to catch magic’s darkest killers. Those battles are long over–and the monsters Dubric hunts these days are nothing more than men. Until now. A recent string of grisly crimes has Dubric and his pages scouring the countryside for clues that hint at the worst: that history’s most murderous mage has come to Faldorrah.

As Dubric’s hunt leads from secrets locked behind sanatorium walls to a hidden cache of souls preserved in fluid, other lives are shaken: a young woman given a power she doesn’t want, a young man inheriting a legacy he can’t understand, and a father fighting for his memory of a daughter who may already be lost. In the hardscrabble village of Quarry Run, the dark ghosts of the past have come calling–and the battle for the future begins....

The Valley of the Soul starts out not too long after the events of the previous book. In that one, many people were deeply affected by those events and we see more about how they are dealing with it all. Otlee, Lars, Dien, Maeve, and many more all show up in this story too.

Dubric and his men are called in to investigate a series of sheep mutilations, but when they find a mage mark on some, Dubric realizes that they must quickly find out who is behind it, before it is people who are killed.

There are so many different storylines and threads that are interwoven into the story, yet all the people are so distinct that I never found myself confused. I loved learning more about the history of the world that Jones has built and it only fuels my desire to read more stories set in it. I don't want to really spoil the story by telling more about it, but if you like fantasy, this is a must-read. I just loved it. Loved it loved it loved it. It's dark, occasionally quite disturbing, but oh so compelling.