A review by heres_the_thing
The Thread That Binds the Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
1.0
That being said: this novel is very much a product of its time. Clothing, commerce, and the fashion industry are extremely dated, which isn't the end of the world--historical fiction is a legitimate genre.
I don't know if this is typical of urban fantasy of the late '80s and early '90s, but the characters don't seem particularly well fleshed out and the narrative was incredibly over-simplified. Strangers get married, but manage to communicate pretty well despite enormous cultural differences, mostly because one of them is a mind-reader who can converse with convenient ghosts. Most if not all major conflicts are resolved because the antagonists were misunderstood, or because they were taught by someone worse than themselves. (I have a really hard time feeling sympathetic to people who use backstory as an excuse to torture/kidnap/rape innocent bystanders.)
What might have been an intriguing story becomes surreal and horrific when a child rapist is forgiven. He isn't forgiven because he displayed remorse or because he was redeemed in some way; he just doesn't like being punished, and when all is said and done, he would prefer to go on raping the child. His forgiveness is directly tied to his magical skills being useful in the next chapter. It is, to me, both appalling and ridiculous.