I really wish this book had been more. More well-plotted, more intriguing, more everything. Instead, the only thing that grabbed me were the characters.

I believe that, had Foz Meadows shown more of Laecia's unraveling interior from the start, things would've flown a bit more fluidly. She would've become a more interesting villain, making the mystery more compelling in turn. Instead, she's only ever presented as a bit of an insecure, over-compensating but ultimately friendly girl, which robs her of anything interesting to say until her plan is revealed--by accident, of course. Because the MCs are such awful investigators and I was I done with their modus operandi like halfway through.

My final rating is still a 3.5 because of the care and nuance the author put into talking about sexual violence. It was impressive, and the reason I wanted the rest of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance to deliver as well. Alas, this was a novel of mystery and court intrigue that fell broadly flat on its face.