All the ‘Tales of the Forest’ I have read so far have been excellent, but this third book in the Forester Triad is something special. The characters – Kelnaht, Taruif, and Ianys – truly come into their own in this finale, and even with all the tensions caused by Ianys’s circumstances and the multiple obstacles between them and happiness, they manage to grow the depth of their relationship. Then there is the mystery of the children falling ill – much worse than can be explained by the “summer bug” that is initially thought to be the cause. Between Kelnaht investigating the causes and trying to find whoever is behind the life-threatening attack and some old history reappearing, this novella had me spellbound and turning the pages as quickly as possible.

Kelnaht, with his magical abilities to track criminals, is a very busy elf as soon as the healers realize that what ails several of the tribe’s children is far more severe than the summer bug. The deeper he digs, the more unpleasantness he finds, and he ends up being attacked himself once the perpetrator sees him as a threat to their plans. Between the professional stress and his personal life still being up in the air, Kelnaht has his hands full. He hates that Ianys can’t openly be with him and Taruif, and I can see why - he is a truth seeker and an upstanding member of elf society, and all the sneaking around gets to him more than it might to some others.

Taruif is enjoying his new status – no longer being shunned has all kinds of perks. He is still getting used to it, and hiding the fact that Ianys is as much his lover as Kelnaht is stressful, but on the whole he is much happier now than he was during the twenty years of being “ignored” by everyone. Taruif is also a balancing element in the triad, and his support means a lot to Kelnaht and Ianys.

Ianys is in real trouble. His emotions are all over the place from being torn between his daughter and his lovers, but when his daughter falls ill and exhibits symptoms of the debilitating mystery illness, Ianys comes close to losing it. Not that I blame him in the least!

The resolution of this latest “case” is fascinating, and had my attention all the way. The struggle for emotional stability between the three men and the hope for a solution was just as intense. The way Blaine D. Arden managed to resolve these two big and various other story threads was a joy to watch – and relieved me to no end. The additional story elements she managed to “sow” in the final few chapters even make me hope there will be more stories set in this fascinating world.

If you like stories set in fantasy worlds where the rules are slightly different from our reality yet close enough to be instantly recognizable, if you think that three men who have loved each other for years but were unable to be together deserve a happy end, and if you’re looking for a suspenseful read that is as spellbinding as it is emotionally rewarding, then you will probably like this novella as much as I do. I hope there will be more books in this series – soon!


NOTE: This book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )