Kandra are a race that will also get a lot of development as the series progresses. During the development of this book, I tried to resist using the ‘there’s a spy among us’ plot, but in the end, I just couldn’t do it. The pieces were all there, and I wanted to play with the concepts of trust and reliability.
In the first book, Vin learned to trust. She learned that it was better to trust and be betrayed than to suspect everyone. The nice twist on that in book one was that there WAS no traitor in the book. Everyone stayed true to Kelsier and his vision.
So, in this book, I had to sew seeds of distrust. I wanted Vin to have to deal with those problems again, and really have to confront her suspicions and paranoia. The only way to do that was to have her begin suspecting members of the crew.
Besides, you don’t just put in a race of shapeshifters then ignore the tension of people wondering if someone they know has been replaced. That would just be irresponsible.
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