The Emperor's Wolves (Wolves of Elantra #1) by Michelle Sagara
⭐⭐⭐☆☆ This novel is set in the same world as Sagara's Chronicles of Elantra. It takes place before the first of the Chronicles books. It features Severn Handred as the main character, exploring his induction into the Wolves and his first case. It includes a cast of characters that have been seen in the Chronicles but it doesn't rely heavily upon the previous novels. It can likely be read as a stand-alone. The novel begins with how Severn was approached to join the Wolves. He was caught following Kaylin around Elantra by the Barrani man who somehow is in charge of recruiting all of the Wolves. It then proceeds to introduce Ybelline and investigates Severn's motivations for protecting Kaylin and the actions that he took while in the fief of Nightshade. Finally, we come to the meat of the story which is Severn's first investigation as a Wolf where he is seconded to the Barrani man to investigate the murders of the Tha'alani that had been committed 20 years earlier bu...