I think I got this off a list of LGBT-friendly fantasy novels, but if the two leads show any kind of romantic interest in one another… it’s not in this book. It’s not even a slow burn love story, but more of a slow burn friendship story growing out of mutual respect. Policeman (or “pointsman”) Rathe is trying to investigate a spate of missing children across the city, while retired soldier Eslingen is just trying to find a job under trying circumstances. The mystery is high stakes but low urgency; it feels like the authors’ focus is more on establishing the world and its magical timekeeping structure, rather than actually chasing down the criminals. The plot doesn’t pick up until the last quarter or so of the book, after all kinds of unnecessary fiddling around by the main characters.