Set in the same world as the lovely Goblin Emperor (really, you should read it — it's very hopeful and good), this short novel follows the devout Thara Celehar in his calling as a Witness for the Dead. What does that mean? Well, it means that Celehar has the ability to get mental impressions from the recently deceased, helping solve problems regarding everything from contested wills to murders (both of which are covered in this book), as well as tracking down the occasional ghoul. This book skirts the line between high fantasy and mystery, and like the Goblin Emperor, is wonderfully realized. While Celehar is a minor character the Goblin Emperor, it would certainly help to read that book before you pick this one up.

The Witness for the Dead is a beautifully written fantasy mystery in the gorgeous, complex world of the Goblin Emperor! It has: lush worldbuilding; detective stories with fantasy elements; a queer MC. A book which will be adored by fans of the author's earlier works!

Where The Goblin Emperor was challenging but satisfying, I found the follow-up, Witness for the Dead, approachable but less compelling. I respect Katherine Addison's decision to move away from the court intrigue of the first book and tell a different sort of story, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn’t hit the same as The Goblin Emperor. With that book, I was invested in the characters (though they weren’t without flaws) and I was eager to see where the story went. I’ve seen some other reviewers describe Witness for the Dead as a “cozy” novel, and perhaps that’s why I struggled to enjoy it: I’ve never been much of a cozy fan.

I enjoyed this book. It is a companion to The Goblin Emperor rather than a sequel. It features Thara Celehar who had an important but small role in the Goblin Emperor and who I didn't really remember. This book expounded on the world building which is rich and detailed. It was a mystery set in a fantasy steampunk world and it was really good.

I have not read The Goblin Emperor but now that I've read this book I will definitely fix that fact as soon as I am able. The world here is so rich I felt lost for a minute but once I was settled it was a delight to read. We have goblins, elves, magic, and our main character Thara Celehar, the witness for the dead. What that essentially means is that is that if a person died not too long ago he might be able to see what they saw before they died, hear their last wishes. For example, a man died and did not leave a will so his children are fighting for inheritance. Thara Celehar is asked to be the witness for the dead person to find out who should be the heir. Or, a body of a woman is found in the river and needs a witness for the dead to find out who she was and how she died. He does all this and more. It is an ungrateful job, my heart was constantly aching for the main character. The plot is not linear, it is more episodic in nature. We follow Thars Celehar as he witnesses for different people with different circumstances and often times it only brings him trouble because the living want to hear some specific things that suit their needs and do not really want to know what the dead have to say. And there is a murder mystery, which I quite enjoyed. The writing is beautiful with an atmosphere of sadness to it. The main character is wonderful, he has such a big heart and tries to serve the common people as well as nobility. I only wish this book was longer but I just found out that it is a series and not a standalone, with the second book already out, so that is definitely on my radar now.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I got a free arc through Netgalley all opinions are my own.

So I've only read one book from this author before, and it was a dnf.
I haven't read the prequel/companion to this book either btw.
It started of as confusing with all those weird and long names. I really didn't have any idea what was going on the first few pages.
And I was utterly bored. The story was meh, I guess I'm just not into mysteries?
And the characters were so bland, especially the MC.
Sadly this book was a dnf because I was so bored that I almost fell asleep whenever I picked this book up.

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.

I liked this more than I thought I would. I love Celehar so much. He's so quiet and unassuming, but very determined to help people. I found his friendship with the opera manager to be adorable. This is a slow paced novel, but I loved all the different mysteries he solved along the way. I will say that I wish I had read The Goblin King first as I would better understand this world. It is vast, intricate, and has so many characters I had a hard time understanding certain things, especially the politics. The names are kind of a mouthful as well but that's just a me thing. Overall though, for as lost as I was at times, I did really enjoy this. The author always creates such interesting worlds.

If you've read The Goblin Emperor and want to spend more time in the world, I think you are very likely to enjoy this book. It's essentially a thoughtful mystery following Thara Celehar as he follows his duties as a Witness for the Dead. I only wish the names and titles were less complex because I was rarely able to remember who was who. Luckily the story made it clear within a few sentences.
Full review on my YouTube channel.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

Such a fantastic book and world! Truly magical and it goes deeper than you would think! I really enjoyed this and I highly recommend

The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison is standalone sequel to The Goblin Emperor, set in the same world (obviously) with a few recurring characters. I love The Goblin Emperor and while this wasn't as good as that book, I really enjoyed reading through this as well. This would fall in the category of books I'd suggest you to savour - slow-paced, less action, with some really great writing.
Recommended!

Interesting premise, some good twists, but ultimately felt a bit lacking. The ending felt too quick and I would have liked deeper and more complex characters.

I love Katherine Addison. This author has quickly become a favorite of mine and was so excited to read THE WITNESS FOR THE DEAD. The writing is superb. The tale is both fanciful and real at the same time. The characters are well-developed and completely engaging. Though the book can completely standalone, I would always recommend reading THE GOBLIN EMPEROR first just to get that extra layer of fabulous storytelling.

From beginning to end, this was another amazing novel by the author.

Addison’s spin off of her beloved The Goblin Emperor follows Thara Celehar, the titular Witness for the Dead, who can read the last thoughts and feelings of the recently deceased. Despite his success at uncovering the truth about the murder of the emperor’s father, his position at Untheileneise Court became a political hot potato, and he was (sort of) exiled to the distant city of Amaro to be an advocate for its people, living and dead.
The is a central mystery – the murder of an almost universally disliked opera singer – for Celehar to resolve in The Witness for the Dead, but a good chunk of the novel depicts Celehar dispatching the day-to-day obligations of his profession. Such dealings are far from routine and are fraught their own dangers and political pitfalls, and this complex web of subplots provides most of the memorable character interactions and set pieces that elevate this novel far above the fray. The appeal of Celehar as a hero is undeniable: he offers the reader a unique blend of generosity, integrity, and world-weariness, ranking him among the most engaging protagonists in all of fantasy literature.

The Witness for the Dead is Addison’s follow-up to her enormously popular Goblin Emperor. Here, she takes a bit character from her epic fantasy novel and whisks him to a faraway town where Prelate Thara Celahar talks to the Dead, getting to the bottom of what happened to them, particularly when it’s an angry opera singer found floating in a canal. Although most other readers have found much to rejoice in with this new novel, perhaps reading Goblin Emperor first helps to lay a foundation and background for this book. Without the prior novel, one is left with a rather obscure religion, unpronounceable names and titles, and a general lack of action and excitement. Once again, Addison has interesting ideas, but they do not seem to result in much. A minority opinion, but an honest one.

I wanted to like this more than I did since I was totally thrilled to find out that Katherine Addison was going to continue in the world of "The Goblin Emperor", possibly one of my favorite fantasy novels of all time. Alas what I wanted was more about Maia, the melancholy half goblin emperor, not a side quest novel about a character I really didn't remember very well. Despite Addison's amazing writing and a reasonably interesting mystery I just wasn't feeling this. More Maia please!?

I really enjoyed this story, not as much as Goblin Emperor, but still recommend. It started out a bit slow, but once I got past getting to know all the characters, it got much better. Would love to read more stories taking place in this world.

This book is in some way very similar and in others utterly different than its predecessor The Goblin Emperor. And both are very, very good.

The similarities come from seeing this universe through the point of view of someone who has responsibilities they don't particularly want, but fulfill them excellently anyway out of a sense of duty to their fellow sentients. Maia (the titular Emperor) and Thara Celehar (the titular Witness) are also both fundamentally kind yet severely traumatized people who deal with a crap ton of crap in a short time and despite their struggles succeed professionally (if not necessarily personally). In this book alone there is an operatic murder mystery, a fight against risen from the dead ghouls, industrial accidents, grappling with the role of the proletariat in an industrializing society, hesitant steps toward love, a religious trial by ordeal with unquiet ghosts, prelate political machinations, massive and horrific industrial accidents, families reconnecting, families exploding due to inheritances, considerations of theological variety (in which magic and religion clearly exist and work), and sincere contemplation of tea. And Thara Celehar handles it all with quiet, relentless, emotionally repressed confidence.

The main difference is that we are not with the Emperor, but instead a poverty-stricken prelate. And this gives us a much more ground level view of the Empire. Addison has done a great job of world building and how she weaves together history, religion, technology, race, geography, and little telling details is incredibly well done.

I can't help but want more in this series! A great entry in the recent trend of SF/Fantasy about good (but often damaged) people trying to do the right thing.