But the truth of it had already sunk into the center of Hesina and broken open, flooding her with a new certainty: her father has been murdered and the need to seek justice for him sang bright in her. Then, too soon, it is neatened, pressed and cast away without a slight crease in it. Hesina finds herself thrust into a tale she hardly understands when news of the king’s death-her father’s death-burst wildly and messily into Yan. Such was the churn and whirl of my thoughts and feelings that I was genuinely incapable of putting two ideas in a row, let alone come into any kind of conclusion-other than that I desperately need a sequel. What an ending! Such a succession of shattering revelations that sent a wave through my room so strong that I felt its ripple and was rocked on its mooring. Me, while sipping apple juice out of a champagne glass and gazing dramatically into the distance: I've had enough of cliffhangers.

More blood will spill if she doesn’t rein in the trial soon―her people’s, her family’s, and even her own. Not the heroes in history, or the father she thought she knew. As the investigation quickly spins out of Hesina’s control, she realizes that no one is innocent. She is determined to uncover the truth and bring the assassin to justice.īut in a broken system, ideals can kill.

The imperial doctors say the king died a natural death, but Hesina has reason to believe he was murdered. He taught her how to defend against the corruption and excesses of the old kings, before revolutionaries purged them and their seers and established the dynasty anew.īefore he died, he was supposed to teach her how to rule. This gorgeous, Chinese-inspired fantasy is packed with dizzying twists, complex characters, and intricate politics.įor princess Hesina of Yan, the palace is her home, but her father is her world. In New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He's debut novel, Descendant of the Crane, a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggles to do right in a world brimming with deception.

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He