Bardugo, Leigh. Crooked Kingdom (series Six of Crows #2).

Bardugo, Leigh.  Crooked Kingdom (series Six of Crows #2). Macmillan/Henry Holt     2016  546p  $18.99  ISBN 978-1-62779-213-4  Hardback  hs/adult     Adventure  VG-BN

Fans of Six of Crows will be lined up for its sequel, Crooked Kingdom. Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives.      Bardugo picks up the threads of the first novel and it is just under a week since the Dregs reached Ketterdam (about a month since they left Djerholm). The stakes for the band of thieves keep increasing. They are fighting to snatch Inej from Van Eck before he has his way with her, and they are almost out of time. They devise a clever plan to destroy Van Eck’s sugar crop, using Wylan’s weevil, and to destroy his reputation at the same time.

The action and tension is non-stop. Convoluted plots-within-plots with unexpected twists and turns will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Readers will invest in these well-drawn characters and tear through the pages to see who survives and who does not. The ending is unpredictable and shocking. Darkly compelling, this novel will make readers demand another volume for the series in order to provide closure after the surprise ending.             

Summary: In this sequel to Six of Crows, Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives.

Outlaws-Fiction, Adventure-Fiction                          —Hilary Welliver