The Vlad Taltos books are a comfort read for me. They fill a spot very similar to the early Dresden books, when they were still serialized monster of the week stories before the main plot truly developed. There is a chronology to these books, but the author says they can be read in mostly any order, so I've been reading them in publication order.

In one word, the Taltos novels are fun. They're consistently high-quality, not high literature but not amateurish, they don't overstay their welcome, they're mostly self-contained, and they're effortlessly funny. Humor in books often doesn't hit for me, but Taltos is always funny in a dry, sarcastic, witty-but-not-millennial-Marvel witty.

Phoenix in particular is a nice entry. To be honest, the whole subplot with Taltos' wife is a bit of a drag, and I feel like the author realized that as he seems to have wrapped that plot point up nicely here. There are the ever-present assassinations, scheming, a colorful cast of characters, and worldbuilding that's not terribly deep but is functional enough to get you immersed in the world. I like the fact that not every single aspect of the world is explained. Sometimes it's better to let things be a little mysterious.