Closer to the Chest
core novel 2016 Valdemar
Record
| First published | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.18 (4,084 ratings, collected 2026-09-12) |
| Page count | 381 |
| First-edition ISBN | 978-0-7564-0901-2 |
| First-edition date | 2016-10 |
Synopsis
Closer to the Chest is the concluding volume of the Herald Spy series, following Mags and Amily as they confront a final conspiracy. The threat this time is a campaign of harassment aimed at women across Haven's court and religious institutions: an anonymous letter-writer who clearly knows private, damaging secrets about each victim, yet makes no demands, seemingly intent only on spreading fear. At the same time, a wave of vandalism strikes shops owned by women, though no obvious link between the two campaigns is apparent at first. Mags, who runs a network of street informants, and Amily, now the King's Own Herald, take on the investigation together, working to identify a perpetrator who leaves almost no trace and who could be anyone from a disgruntled servant to someone inside the Collegia itself, all while the harassment keeps escalating.
Where it sits
- Universe: Valdemar
- Series: The Herald Spy core; position 3 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Mercedes Lackey
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Herald Spy: position 3 of 3: previous Closer to the Heart (2015)
Sources
- Mercedes Lackey official site
- Valdemar Wiki (Fandom)
- https://www.isfdb.org
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Lackey
- https://valdemar.fandom.com/wiki/Closer_to_the_Chest
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