Slightly more focused this time.
Halloran's third "Darkslayer" book actually has some suggestions of a plot...nay even MULTIPLE plot threads as warrior Venir goes missing and is being searched for by two friends while thief Melegal is enlisted by the bad Royals from the first novel to find Lord Almen's dead-but-resurrected-into-a-zombie son Antonio while halfling Lefty and mage Kam do some adventuring on their own.
While the first 2 books had no real plot, this one overcorrects and there's a bit too much going non for Halloran to keep it all together and interesting.
Oh, and there's a surprise kid thrown into the mix at the end. Because why not?