Before They Are Hanged not only matched its predecessor in the trilogy - The Blade Itself - but it overwhelmingly surpassed it. Again, the book splits into separate narratives as it follows the ongoing stories of the characters we were introduced to in the first book: Glokta and his Inquisitorial minions; Bayaz and his misfit adventurers of Logen Ninefingers, Ferro, The Navigator, Quai, and Jezal; West and his merry men in the North, fighting the good fight; Threetrees and the rest of the Northmen, of Ninefinger's old group. It's quite a lot of people to keep up with but it never felt like a struggle to differentiate between the viewpoints as Abercrombie smoothly switched between them from chapter to chapter. Each group has its own distinct flavour, personality, and goal to keep them from becoming intermingled in similar mediocrity. 
 After getting over the hump of introducing the reader to all of this more extended cast and establishing their purpose in The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged deals with the meat of their stories and drives the plots forwards to smaller, but satisfying answers to some the burning questions leftover from the last book - just enough to keep the interest going for further reading. Whilst you're still left wishing some characters had more revealed about them to give them more depth, this is a common weakness in having a longer list of characters squeezed into three books. 
 Abercrombie also pulls no punches in upping the ante for all of the groups, and there was even a moment (or two) that caused me to gasp aloud - an author genuinely surprising me is something rare, and I am grateful to this author for providing the moments that made me put down the book and have to simply think on what just happened before being able to continue. There are key points where plots turn a 180, characters establish themselves in new roles, when you can almost see their futures change course right in front of them; it's powerful writing, and Abercrombie pulls it off flawlessly at numerous times throughout the book. 
 Alongside good writing and smooth narrating, Abercrombie has also created dark, flawed, and lovable characters that are as memorable in their failures as well as their successes. The first impressions of some may be critically changed through the second book as they evolve and react to events, as should be - my personal favourites remain as Glokta and Ferro, although Ninefingers and Dogman remain intriguing perspectives. I was disappointed at the lack of Bayaz chapters, although it eventually dawned on me that the lack of his perspective may be foreshadowing for something in the future... 
 Overall, I would definitely recommend this to any fantasy fan - as long as they're not seeking too much of a happy ending. Abercrombie delivers realism past what the fantasy genre usually garners for and the grit may remain under your fingernails long after you have put the book down.