Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb

Fantasy

From Goodreads:

Tom Badgerlock has been living peaceably in the manor house at Withywoods with his beloved wife Molly these many years, the estate a reward to his family for loyal service to the crown.

But behind the facade of respectable middle-age lies a turbulent and violent past. For Tom Badgerlock is actually FitzChivalry Farseer, bastard scion of the Farseer line, convicted user of Beast-magic, and assassin. A man who has risked much for his king and lost more…

On a shelf in his den sits a triptych carved in memory stone of a man, a wolf and a fool. Once, these three were inseparable friends: Fitz, Nighteyes and the Fool. But one is long dead, and one long-missing.

Then one Winterfest night a messenger arrives to seek out Fitz, but mysteriously disappears, leaving nothing but a blood-trail. What was the message? Who was the sender? And what has happened to the messenger?

Suddenly Fitz's violent old life erupts into the peace of his new world, and nothing and no one is safe.

This one will be short and sweet because I can’t say much without giving away too many spoilers. 

It was great seeing Fitz Chivalry Farseen and his life as Tom Badgerlock.  Years have passed since we last saw Fitz.  Now he is living a peaceful life with his wife Molly.  Most of the book is background and it moves at a very sedate pace.  I liked that as it let me reconnect to the world and the characters I had read about years ago.

This is the first book of a trilogy.  It is the set up for the next two books.  While most of the book brings the reader back into FitzChivalry’s world the last moves at a rapid pace, (small spoiler) gets rid of characters that were new and seemed to be central to the story and brings big trouble to Fitz.

I am looking forward to book two and seeing the direction Hobb will take the story.  Fans of Hobb’s will like Fool’s Assassin.  New readers may be a little lost but the book can stand alone. 

Harper Voyager published Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb in 2014.