A Mouthful Of Dust - Nghi Vo
The Singing Hills Cycle has got progressively darker since The Empress Of Salt And Fortune. It also feels like it's arrayed further away from the initial concept of Chih travelling the world to gather stories (though that's no bad thing - the past few books have been incredible).
A Mouthful Of Dust initially feels like a return to the coziness of the first book in the series, and is definitely a return to the core pitch of these books. But as Chih gathers their stories we quickly realise that there's something very dark lurking beneath the surface - even darker than the secrets in The Brides Of High Hill.
I haven't checked the page counts of the previous books but this one certainly feels shorter than the others. It's very good, but I think I would have liked to spend a little more time with these people and in this location. It's an excellent addition to the series despite its brevity, though.
In many ways the Singing Hills feel like the opposite of the vast majority of fantasy fiction; short tales with very little 'action', that don't dwell in over explaining their setting or their magic or anything, really. They're often sparse, quiet, and reflective, and they contain at once moments of exquisite beauty and true horror. They're some of the best work in the genre, and I hope we get many more like this.