The Lies of Locke Lamora is easily the best-written fantasy novel I've read—save perhaps The Hobbit, but that's fairly unlike modern adult fantasy. It's sad that thorough competence at storytelling is a rare quality in genre fic but, well, here we are.

Book two he gets a little too nuts with sailing junk and wow that plot device at the end is awfully familiar, but it's still got some nice world building. Three's back to form (though I'd favor the first one, slightly).