The First to Die at the End

The dynamic of a prequel, rather than sequel, for the second book plays really well as this part of the ‘origin story' builds a significant amount of suspense and anticipation since the reader probably already knows how the system works from the first novel.  It also sets up a structure significantly different than that of the first story, but yet feels easily in the same world and with a wider array of layers in place.  The foreshadowing to things that happen in the second book/first story and the cleverness in the moment you realize the meaning of the title make for a fun ride, but there are moments where it dives heavily into romance novel-level poetics after a clear mutual obsession is laid out between two of the main characters. This relationship is also written in more detail, and potentially as also more elementary, than that of the prior book and has a familiarity of beats to the love story in the first one.  The third act finds a cool way to weave in some younger versions of characters from the original story, especially as they randomly crossover (or almost do) with the main protagonists here. All of it builds towards a very satisfying ending that distinctly connects the two stories and not only leaves one feeling that this piece was part of the puzzle the whole time, but it makes you wonder how exciting other pieces might be around these two stories.