Another tension-filled novel in the series. Hambly gets even deeper into morality this time around with a question that has to be thousands of years old. Can you be a good person but still do horrible things? How much good balances out how much bad, and if you know someone is bad but also doing good, what should you do? The murder here takes a while in coming as Benjamin and Hannibal work very hard to save the life of Ballou while not being exposed as part of the Underground Railroad, and there are a lot of characters moving around. Some people who seem trustworthy are not, and some who seem untrustworthy are, and others are even worse than they appear. Threaded all through it is January's absolute terror of being kidnapped and sold, but his courage and conviction that he must help others sees him though. The very end is perhaps a little rushed, and I thought that January would never have forgotten what his sister told him. Read it straight through, fighting temptation to look at the last page making sure January gets home safe - although with at least 3 more in the series, I know he is guaranteed more outings.

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