A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
Blurb:
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Detective Ana Dolabra must prove a condemned man’s innocence and confront a terrifying magical technology in this fantasy-mystery from the author of The Tainted Cup, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy awards.
The heir to one of the Empire’s most powerful families sits in jail, accused of murder. His hands are covered in the victim’s blood, and he can neither deny his guilt nor explain his actions.
But if the great detective Ana Dolabra cannot save him from the noose, the farming canton of Sapirdad will explode into war, threatening to plunge the whole Empire into starvation and chaos.
As Ana investigates—her assistant Dinios Kol, as ever, acting as her eyes and ears—she fears her task is even more daunting than it seemed. For this murder is just the latest in a deeper, subtler web of death, woven by a mastermind with an ancient weapon at his disposal.
With their customary skill, Ana and Din pursue their adversary through the canton’s wild ranges, sprawling ranches, and reeking slaughterhouses. Yet even they are not prepared to learn the horrifying secret behind their opponent’s powers.
Review:
Going into A Trade of Blood, I already knew this was going to be one of my most anticipated reads of the year. So, when an eARC unexpectedly landed in my inbox courtesy of Del Rey Books, I genuinely couldn’t believe it. Having loved this series from the very beginning, I was completely surprised and incredibly excited to be chosen to review the third instalment. A massive thank you to Del Rey Books for giving me the opportunity to return to the world of Ana and Din early. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to get started.
Robert Jackson Bennett returns with another intricate and gripping mystery, but A Trade of Blood feels slightly different from its predecessors in where it chooses to place its focus. While the investigation remains at the heart of the story, this instalment feels equally concerned with developing its characters and significantly broadening our understanding of the world around them. There is a growing sense that the places, cultures, histories and conflicts we have encountered so far represent only a fraction of what exists within this world, and Bennett uses this latest mystery to gradually pull back that curtain.
The central investigation is also one of the most disturbing concepts Bennett has introduced into the series so far. At its heart is the Guiding Web, a plant-based augmentation capable of influencing humans into carrying out pre-programmed actions when triggered by a specific tune. The way Bennett gradually reveals what the Guiding Web is, how it works and the horrifying implications of something capable of taking away a person’s control over their own actions adds an unsettling layer to the mystery.
What makes the concept even more disturbing is the physical nature of the augmentation itself. Once introduced into the body, the Guiding Web takes root within its host, creating some genuinely unsettling moments of body horror alongside the investigative mystery. It is such a fascinating concept because the threat isn’t simply about discovering who is responsible. Ana and Din also have to understand what they are dealing with, how far its influence reaches and what can actually be done for those already affected.
As always, the mystery had me gripped from beginning to end. Bennett has become incredibly good at giving you just enough information to make you believe you might understand what is happening before introducing another piece of the puzzle that changes your perspective. What particularly stood out to me this time was the acknowledgement that not everyone can be saved. Ana and Din may be exceptional investigators, but solving the mystery doesn’t necessarily mean they can prevent every consequence that comes with it. Uncovering the truth and saving everyone affected by it are two very different things, and A Trade of Blood isn’t afraid to show the human cost of that distinction.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the story was what we learn about Din and his family. During the investigation, Din unexpectedly crosses paths with his sister, someone he hasn’t seen in years. I really enjoyed this addition because it allows us to see a part of Din’s life that has largely existed outside the story until now. Their reunion forces him to confront their relationship, the years they have spent apart and what has happened to his family in his absence. Rather than simply telling us more about Din’s history, Bennett brings that history directly into the present and forces Din to deal with it while already navigating an incredibly difficult investigation. It adds another layer to his character and gives us a much better understanding of the life and relationships that have shaped him.
The worldbuilding was another major highlight. Three books in, I am genuinely impressed by how much depth Bennett continues to reveal without making the world feel overwhelming. A Trade of Blood gives us a much greater appreciation of just how enormous this world is and how deep its history and lore run. Instead of simply creating another location for Ana and Din to investigate, Bennett makes the wider world feel lived-in, with its own history, people and complexities. Each book has continued to broaden the scope of the series, and this instalment made me realise just how much of this world we may still have left to discover.
And then there is Ana Dolabra.
Ana’s intellectual prowess is on another level in this book. Her ability to absorb seemingly insignificant details, process them and eventually connect everything together remains one of the most satisfying aspects of the series. Even after three books, Bennett somehow manages to make her deductions feel impressive rather than predictable. There were moments where I genuinely couldn’t work out how the different pieces could possibly connect, only for Ana to begin pulling everything together. Watching her mind work remains an absolute joy, and her intelligence feels particularly prominent in this instalment.
If there is one aspect I wanted more from, however, it was Ana and Din’s relationship. Their dynamic is absolutely still present, and there are moments throughout the book that remind you why these two work so brilliantly together, but their relationship doesn’t develop to the same extent that it did in A Drop of Corruption. That book strengthened their almost mother-and-son dynamic and made their growing attachment to one another one of my favourite elements of the story. Here, the focus is much more on developing the characters individually and expanding the wider world. I understand why Bennett has taken that approach, and it works for what this particular story is trying to accomplish, but selfishly, I still wanted more. Ana and Din together remain the heart of this series for me.
Ultimately, A Trade of Blood feels like an important expansion of the Shadow of the Leviathan series. It delivers another gripping and considerably more disturbing mystery while demonstrating that Bennett has much bigger ambitions for these characters and this world. Din’s unexpected reunion with his sister gives us a fascinating glimpse into the family and life he left behind, while Ana continues to demonstrate exactly why she is one of my favourite characters in the series. More importantly, the world continues to grow in ways that make me increasingly curious about just how much Bennett has yet to reveal.
While I would have loved more development between Ana and Din themselves, what we get instead is a deeper exploration of the characters, the world and the lore surrounding them. Three books in, these stories no longer feel like individual mysteries existing in isolation. Each investigation feels as though it is revealing another piece of a much larger picture, while simultaneously showing us different sides of the characters at its centre.
A Trade of Blood ultimately left me with the same feeling I had after finishing A Drop of Corruption: I don’t want this series to end anytime soon. Robert Jackson Bennett has created a world that feels as though we have barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer, and with Ana and Din at its centre, there are countless mysteries still waiting to be explored. If this is an indication of where the Shadow of the Leviathan series is heading, I sincerely hope we have many more investigations ahead of us.
