Books like Among Thieves

I read this back when Prince of Thorns was first published as it came out just before my debut.I didn't review it at the time so this is from hazy-ish memory.As I recall, the book opens with a torture scene. That fact stuck with me as Prince of Thorns (which has no torture scenes) was getting stick at the time for having torture scenes :) Anyway, this is basically a buddy movie that takes place in a city dominated by organised crime. Our two heroes are Drothe who is himself a criminal (a member of the Kin) and the Degan who is a more morally upstanding fellow and part of a small order of elite swordsmen. Their relationship is troubled. Drothe is a "nose" (I think) whose job entails getting information.Drothe gets rather too much information (in the form of a book) and suddenly is the focus of interest of dangerous and powerful groups. He does a lot of running about through a complicated plot, trying to keep himself and his sister alive while unraveling the mystery from the inside.Magic is deployed from time to time but most of the conflict comes in the form of sword fights which we are given in considerable detail and from an expert point of view since Hulick himself is a keen fencer.It's high action stuff, and I liked it. The sword fights are well portrayed and the friendship between Drothe and the Degan feels real. If you're looking for comparisons I would point at Scott Lynch, Brent Weeks, and Sebastian De Castell. Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes.