The Glasswrights' Apprentice - Lost Guild, #1

Winner of the Maiden Voyage Award for best first speculative fiction novel. If you want to survive, mind your caste. Rani Trader was born a merchant in her class-bound society, but her family paid handsomely to place her in the prestigious stained-glass-makers' guild. When Rani witnesses the murder of the Crown Prince, she's accused of being the killer, and the entire glasswrights' guild is destroyed.
Now she must move through her kingdom's castes, trying to discover the assassin's true identity to clear her name and redeem the reputation of her lost guild. As she rises from city slums to the royal palace, Rani meets true friends and false leaders. When she discovers a secret brotherhood, she is forced to judge who is right and who is wrong. Lives hang in the balance. How can Rani stay alive long enough to expose the Prince's true killer? The Lost Guild Series includes: The Glasswrights' ApprenticeThe Glasswrights' ProgressThe Glasswrights' JourneymanThe Glasswrights' TestThe Glasswrights' Master 121322mfm