A Trade of Blood

Ana and Din Mysteries #3

by Robert Jackson Bennett

An Ana and Din Mystery

Brilliant detective Ana Dolabra must prove a man's innocence to stop a civil war in the third book of the series that began with The Tainted Cup, named an Edgar, Hugo, and World Fantasy Award Finalist and one of the best books of the year (New York Times Book Review, NPR, Elle)—from the bestselling author of The Founders Trilogy.

In the canton of Sapirdad, two of the Empire’s most powerful families are moments away from going to war with each other, their hundreds of retainers gathered with swords drawn. If blood is spilt, the whole of the empire may be plunged into starvation and chaos.

To de-escalate matters, someone must do the impossible: prove that one family’s eldest son is innocent of a gruesome and unforgivable murder, despite the incontrovertible evidence against him.

It is with this undertaking that the great detective Ana Dolabra is tasked, her assistant Din at her side—and the two find themselves racing with great speed and little dignity to the scene.

As ever, the impossible proves little obstacle for the deadly combination of Ana’s intellect and Din’s keen eye, and mere hours after riding into the dusty town, Ana glimpses the greater pattern behind the crime. A deeper, subtler web of death is being woven in plain sight, by a mastermind with an ancient magical technology at his disposal.

But even Ana's uncanny insight is of little use when each new suspect she uncovers ends up dead--with each new killing calculated to bring tensions between the two rival clans past the boiling point. And as Din pursues their adversary through the canton's wild ranges, sprawling ranches, and reeking slaughterhouses, he finds his loyalties divided in unexpected ways.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Queer

400 pages, Hardcover

First published August 4, 2026

About the author

Robert Jackson Bennett is a two-time award winner of the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel, an Edgar Award winner for Best Paperback Original, and is also the 2010 recipient of the Sydney J Bounds Award for Best Newcomer, and a Philip K Dick Award Citation of Excellence. City of Stairs was shortlisted for the Locus Award and the World Fantasy Award. City of Blades was a finalist for the 2015 World Fantasy, Locus, and British Fantasy Awards. His eighth novel, FOUNDRYSIDE, will be available in the US on 8/21 of 2018 and the UK on 8/23.

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Easier to wish for ignorance than to burden yourself with the rot in all our hearts."

It's hard to know what to add at this point when these books are so consistently good. If you liked the first two, you will almost certainly like this one. Ana is her normal, brilliant, hilarious self, and the twists and turns of the mystery are incredibly fun.

In this one, Ana and Din have been called to investigate the murder of a daughter from a powerful family— allegedly by the scion of yet another powerful rival family. Some things about the scene of the crime don't quite add up though, and naturally everything gets much bigger and more curious before we head toward some answers.

This particular crime looks set to affect the whole food industry of the Empire if they can't get to the bottom of it. I really enjoyed how Bennett drew parallels with our own world, GMOs, and the voraciousness of the meat industry. Incorporating very real and relevant human issues into this world is something the author does very well.

The mystery, as always, is constructed well, with multiple layers and lots of details to discover. Bennett introduces new characters with each book and develops them well alongside the shining stars that are Ana and Din. But I feel like I am repeating myself in my reviews for this series. They are all good! Go read them!

I am pleased the ending teased lots more still to discover about Ana and this world! Now to wait impatiently for book 4.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dins greatest torments: family trauma, having to cart heavy musical instruments around for his boss, another biological phenomenon wreaking havoc, and most notably himself

Love how all of din’s love interests go: i want that melancholy lonely bisexual man, crave him actually

A canton of blood grapples with buckets of it in Robert Jackson Bennett’s latest fantasy mystery medley, A Trade of Blood. Inspector duo Ana Dolabra and her chronically exhausted and disastrous assistant Dinios Kol are back for a third installment in the genre spanning, far too addictive Shadow of the Leviathan series. Another case with far reaching implications to plague main character Dinios Kol and rewrite our existing understanding of the Khanum empire. It all starts with an impossible murder (and doesn’t it always): a locked room where two lovers meet, one of whom murders the other with no true memory of having committed the act. This is where Bennett thrives, in the boundaries of the improbable which he utilizes to build out his greater exploration into the cattle industry and the systems put in place to uphold an empire’s insatiable hungers. Aforementioned disaster character Din stands at the forefront of this investigation, facing new challenges. Din’s greatest torments in A Trade of Blood include: family trauma, having to cart heavy musical instruments around for his boss, another biological phenomenon wreaking havoc, and most notably himself. For Bennett’s A Trade of Blood it all comes down to hunger and the lengths one will go to see them realized. Din and Ana will have to face the web winding beneath the canton of Sapirdad and the past violences which bleed eternally into its present.

Read my review

Thank you to edelweiss + del rey for providing me an advance review copy.

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[Winnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would sell my soul for "Untitled"
(Edit: now I've traded my blood for "A Trade of Blood")
(Edit #2: it was worth the blood sacrifice; highly recommend, would Trade again)

[Yun · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

I make it known far and wide my love for this series, and A Trade of Blood turned out to be another brilliant installment.

So right off the bat, we find ourselves with a little literary Easter egg. I think fans of Romeo and Juliet will be tickled to spot this nod to arguably the most famous love story of all time. But instead of the Montagues and the Capulets, here we have the Buravs and the Armentas. These two families have been feuding for generations, so when their heirs become star crossed lovers and then one kills the other, surely it must be some sort of tragic lovers spat. But of course knowing Robert Jackson Bennett, that is just the kicking off point of what's to be a rather twisted and sinister tale.

The mystery itself is really two separate components. One is what's going in the present and that's the search for the killer. Now if you read enough of this genre, I don't think you'll be very surprised with this aspect. The clues are certainly there and Bennett very much follows the fair play rules, making this a fun one if you're the sort of reader to enjoy armchair detecting along, which I certainly do.

But just because pinpointing the whodunnit isn't too hard doesn't mean the investigation is without surprises. In fact, there is a scale to this mystery and a boldness to the progression of the whole thing that is frankly—for lack of a better word—insane. Just when you think you've got a grasp on what's going on, here comes another development so surprising, so unforeseen, so imaginative you're forced to pause and rejigger your entire grasp of reality. To quote the kids, I was shook, not once, not twice, but many, many times.

Now the other component, and perhaps the more interesting one, is how this all ties into what happened historically in this world. Here, it feels like we're finally starting to see more of the backstory of how the Empire came to be and also where this series might ultimately be headed. And we're learning more about Ana and her provenance, all of which is so fascinating, I'm drooling with anticipation of what's to come.

As is oft the case for a series like this, each book is a self contained mystery, while there is also an overarching narrative spanning the entire series that we are slowly trying to understand. Of course once we satisfy the latter, it's possible there'll be no more of the former. It's a bit of a balancing act, and Bennett himself recently mentioned that exact sentiment. So while I'm excited, I'm also like let's not be too hasty. I don't want it all to be revealed too quickly, for that could very well spell the end of the series.

This story also tackles some themes that feel relevant and maybe even prescient to today. The developed world has been shifting towards a mindset of ravenous consumption over the last few decades. That's obvious in the food we eat, the things we buy, and maybe even the information we consume. And so it's interesting to see it all laid out in here, starting with the urhosi cows beloved for their meat and the drokha-cats enslaved into harvesting their feed, but also in the guiding web, slowly taking control of a mind and bending it to another's will.

Perhaps we have fashioned an Empire that prefers lavishness to decency. It makes me wonder—is such a people worth maintaining? For a willingness to tolerate suffering for one’s comfort only grows over time.

There are so many layers to this fantasy/mystery hybrid, and it hits on every single one. Every time I pick up a book in this series, it's like watching the bar being raised yet again. What will the next installment bring and how might it astound me even more? Time will tell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
#1. The Tainted Cup
#2. A Drop of Corruption
~~~~~~~~~~~~

✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧

[Emily (Books with Emily Fox on Youtube) · Rating 5 out of 5]

You better countdown the days until this is released.
If you haven't started this series, you're missing out!

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5*

RJB's brain works in mysterious ways, but sometimes you can notice a pattern, the logic behind it and speculate on the inspiration for the plot. For this one, I would guess it was born after an evening of watching Okja followed by The Last of Us followed by an existential crisis. :)

Bare bones: Ana and Din are sent to the canton of Sapiridad, agricultural hub of the empire, set in the third ring of the Empire where a young girl was killed. The girl in question is Zansay Burav, daughter of the powerful Burav family that hold the dominion of beans production. The main suspect is Castus Armenta, the scion of other powerful family in the region- Armentas- the main cultivators of the prized urhosi cows who yield the best cuts for the table. Buravs and Armentas going at each other can plunge the entire canton into civil war which can destabilize the entire Empire, so Ana and Din have a difficult job to navigate among grieving families and high tensions to discover what happened and stay alive in the process.

Opening the story with an epic rant from Ana, I immediately remembered why I love these characters so much. Ana is still astonishingly weird and brilliant and Din is still heroic and hopeless when it comes to certain things romance, but after everything they went through, I can say that in this novel they are working together like a well-oiled machine. Sure Din doesn't really follow advice when it comes to personal things, but professionally they trust each other's judgment completely. And this case certainly put their skills to test since it's a heavier and more brooding affair for several reasons.
One of the things I love about this series is this concentric zone model of Khanum Robert Jackson Bennett imagined- with Imperial Sanctum at the center and then three rings of territory divided by walls. And as we move to different places with Ana and Din, the social structure of the Empire is gradually emerging through each new installment. We start the series beyond the rings at the edge of the seas where wet seasons bring leviathans attacking the walls and destroying everything in their path if they breach through. And if you manage to survive that, it's still not safe because the environment is forever mutated and changed by close encounters with monsters. The second novel takes us to the bay of Yarrow, the annexed territory of old kingdom of Yarrow and industrial hub of Khanum's grafting industry. So, flora and fauna are still as much dangerous, but with added touch of having to reconcile with being integrated into the Empire. And now A Trade of Blood takes us to the third ring where people live a much different life, working on a vast lands in possession of Armentas or Buravs worrying only about their next paycheck. Influential families of the Khanum are mentioned quite a few times in the series, but this is where we see just how much power they can wield.
The reason I am highlighting this is that this dichotomy also impacts the nature of the crime Ana and Din are investigating. If the first two books were set in places where poorest and disenfranchised live and the crimes were the result and consequence of the system in place, then in the third ring we are getting the glimpse of those who benefit from the system. This peculiar crime in Sapiridad is not about people trying to survive this mutated nature, it's about those who are bending it to its will, and in that sense, it's a much more contemplative piece then previous two novels. For example, Armentas are using grafting technology to cultivate gigantic cows, big as houses. Buravs are using grafting technology to cultivate a new species of cats programmed to harvest beans all night. And as you read you are aware that there is something not quite right about this and I think Bennett wanted us to. The nature of the crime is definitely more cynical and this is emphasized by few revelations about the origins of the Empire and how history was made. I believe RJB is hinting that going closer to the center, things will get even more complicated.:)

I had an absolute blast with this book- this entire series is just consistently excellent.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore Del Rey and Robert Jackson Bennet for an advanced copy of A Trade of Blood. All opinions are my own.

--------------------


Please, RJB, Din is not handling this heartbreak that well. To think he will handle leviathans and lampreys and posinous ticks better than this...

[carol. · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good it gave me a book headache.

Everything I didn’t love in A Drop of Corruption has been tightened. Din is no longer as mopey or mercurial, with romantic diversions standing in for character. In fact, he is experiencing changes in his engraving skills, something that is unsettling him a great deal. Are his skills already maturing? Is he headed even sooner for the confusion and pain of an old engraver?

“It was at that moment that I felt a profoundly strange sensation, one entirely new to me: something in my thoughts trembled. Shifted. Like a larva turning over within an egg.”

Ana, thankfully, is no longer bent on being as disagreeable as possible and even offers Din meaningful insight. But they have been called to investigate a murder, the scion of one powerful family having murdered the daughter of the rival family. Though Ana says she finds murder among nobility ‘boring,’ this one has the families up in arms–literally–and active conflict will threaten the Empire’s food production. Ana sums up the challenge of their investigation in her usually direct way:

“You are apprehending the shitpot we are currently bubbling in, Princeps! We must catch up, yet we must practice the utmost secrecy while we do so!”

What I most appreciated is how the mystery remained front and center, everything in service to the plot. Though there were times that I wondered about digression, it turns out that those also mattered, unlike that feeling I had in Corruption. It is a well-crafted mystery, wrapped in the particular biology of this world, with strong parallels to our own (as an aside; wow, the plant-based autopsy was something!).

I do have one note, however, and that is that I found the afterward rather… unnecessary. I thought Bennett’s message clear enough, but maybe there are those readers who need things spelled out–though I think they are unlikely to be among his audience. The afterword threw the storyline all out of proportion in my memory. And perhaps the second note is that the world no longer feels as astonishingly odd as it did in the first and second, with the exception of that autopsy. Maybe it’s because Bennett didn’t have time or inclination to truly flex his language skills, or maybe the parallel to our own world was too strong. Still, these are minor complaints, and truly only mentioned in the scope of his work.

Ever since reading City of Stairs in 2015, I’ve been a fan of Bennett. To be sure, there were a few books that didn’t land as solidly as the Divine trilogy, but I’ve found his storytelling to be very aligned with my reading. Interesting main characters? Imaginative world-building? Unexpected plotting? Lovely language? Awareness of diversity of humans? Check, check and double check, and in the case of the Divine and Leviathan series, we can add truly gorgeous cover art. Truly worth buying.



Many thanks to NetGalley and to Del Rey for an advanced reader copy. All quotes subject to change. Clearly, my own opinion.

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely one of my fave book series lately, the mystery and characters and world building are top notch and just keep getting better with every book. Never stop please!

[Nataliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usually my inner cynic likes taking gushing reviews with a grain of salt because often it’s just eager overexcitability having its moment in the sun. So I wasn’t going to fall into the trap of uncontrollable excitement. Everything has flaws.

And so I’m proud to report that indeed there are two major flaws with this book: (1) It should have been a few hundred pages longer, and (2) My book copy lacked a sequel which I desperately needed already.

“Something about using neuro-fungi in everyday farming practices being unwise …”

Robert Jackson Bennett is just so good. And these episodic murder mysteries in the world of ancient-technology-based bioengineering that keeps a bureaucratic old Empire persistently chug along are so much fun without reliance on obfuscation. The murder mystery just like the larger world in which it is based in follows logical rules, and it doesn’t hurt that the mystery is tightly plotted in a way that ultimately makes sense.

And what’s not to like about a series of murders in a cattle-industry empire sector, solved by seriously uber-augmented detectives that also makes you uncomfortably consider the horror machine of modern uber-efficient factory-style agriculture and meat production?

As Bennett notes in his Author’s Note (which I love every time as much as his books):

“Farms are not sites of hallowed tradition. They are, if anything, laboratories for profound biological change. We simply prefer to believe otherwise: if we pay it any attention, it could cause discomfort whenever we sit down to eat.”

Cows can be scary. And so are humans, armed with greed and resentment. And especially people who seem to be equally skilled both of butchery and bioengineering.

“I consider myself a wise thing, yet when I consider creation, I see little but blind hunger and the ravages of nature. The only order to be found is what we’ve put there, boy.”

Three books in, and I still absolutely adore the force of imagination that created this world. It is so much fun to have a setting that is about as far from generic fantasy anything as you’d expect. There is not as much magic as there is biology, although this particular form of biology and bioengineering is honestly rather magical. (And I bet no fantasy novel before has ever taken this particular approach to autopsy as this one did.)

“But we are Iudex, Din. We seek the truth. I tell you this now not to horrify you, but to warn you. You shall be entering the site of a tremendous crime today. There may be many horrors awaiting you within. So—step lightly, boy!”

It doesn’t take long for our crime-solving duo Ana (a scarily augmented more-than-just-human Sherlockian detective) and Din (less scarily augmented investigator with perfect memory and recollection and propensity to stumble upon romantic partners in the middle of each investigation) to figure out that a brutal bloody and very strange murder is a part of a larger conspiracy that is quite chillingly terrifying. And along the way we get a bit more of the history and politics of this strange world, and I love getting to know it a bit more.

Honestly, I will keep reading this series for as long as Bennett is willing to write it.

5 stars.


——————

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Ricarda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so infected by this series. And not just because it's full of poisonous plants, mind-controlling fungi and contaminated places. I always have the best time when I read an Ana and Din mystery and book three was no different. This time my favorite detective duo gets a break from the leviathans that regularly try to annihilate humanity, but their new murder case still wasn't that much less stressful than the previous two. Ana and Din travel to the canton of Sapirdad, city of Lacanthim, a region that is known for its revolutionary agriculture – and the two feuding families who created the new ways of farming. The feud between the Armenta and the Burav families seems to have escalated recently as Ana and Din are called to the murder of a Burav daughter. At first everything hints at a Romeo and Juliet situation, with Romeo eventually brutally butchering his Juliet, but the case quickly goes way deeper and even darker than that. Ana and Din investigate in their usual way. Din looks at crime scenes and talks to everyone and their mothers while Ana listens to his perfectly remembered report and notices the right clues. In the meantime she probably plays one of the 300 instruments that she is always traveling with, hides in a dark closet or tries the most disgusting local dishes imaginable. Again there are no returning side characters from books one and two, and I guess it's safe to say that this is just the way of the series. I don't mind that even though I always really like the side characters. I know that people are still missing a certain Captain Strovi from book one, but maybe I can interest you in Commander Tauri from this book instead. He and Din made a nice team and his craft and augmentations really added to the story. This book also dives deeper into Din's backstory and mentions his family. I was pleasantly surprised at this turn of events, but in the end I had hoped for more on this part. It got a bit overshadowed by all the unethical agriculture, lethal music, trippy walks through the forest and people full of fungi. There's also more about the godlike races of the past, which is always interesting to read about. A Trade of Blood fortunately doesn't wrap up anything and leaves many questions unanswered. Ana is still a very mysterious creature and Din only started to learn the full extent – and the full downsides – of his abilities. I'm perfectly fine with only being fed little pieces of information per book as that means that I will keep getting more Ana and Din in the long run. I don't see a reason why fans of the series wouldn't enjoy this new installment too and I can only recommend all three novels and the new short story as well. Book two will remain my personal favorite so far, but we will see what the future holds.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Melanie (meltotheany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher

1.) The Tainted Cup ★★★★★
2.) A Drop of Corruption ★★★★★
♡.) The Lion’s Tusk ★★★★

once im done with hugo nominees - this is next <3 (also... i am done with attack on titan now !!, so i feel like this might hit even more so this time around)

^ this was for sure true haha. i just love this world, these characters, this series so very much! review to come soon!

blog | instagram | youtube | wishlist | spotify | amazon

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy Publication Day to new Ana and Din 🎉❤️

What an absolute JOY it is to be back in the world of Din and Ana. This series has become one of those annual events that I hang out for and this third instalment is a wonderful edition to the lore and world building of these characters and The Empire.

As always I will keep everything very vague to avoid spoilers to the plot and mystery but I had a wonderful time once again losing myself and escaping into this universe.

I think that the mystery here has become my favourite so far. I really enjoyed RBJ using his real world concerns of capitalism, over consumption and agriculture to explore the nature and machinations of The Empire whilst alluding to some of the larger mysterious elements underpinning the mystery of the Khanum and the Leviathans. Although I still have SO MANY QUESTIONS and I am distressed in the best way possible that I have to continue to wait.   

One of my favourite elements of this volume was the addition of the beautiful, strong willed and independant Fotia. I desperately hope (and suspect) that it wont be the last we see of her.   

I am so glad that this is a series with no foreseeable end in sight. I adore Din as a protagonist and his dynamic and relationship with Ana just delights me more and more with each books worth of interaction and history between them.  

I will happily gobble up every single one of these books that RBJ blesses us with and not get bored. I remain foolish and steadfast in my (perhaps naive) commitment to the Captain Strovi end game agenda. 


✨✨Planned release 11 Aug ‘26✨✨


A huge thank you to Netgalley and Del Ray for blessing me with an ARC of this release. These thoughts are my own ❤️



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[aria ✧ · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

── 4.5✦

(thank you random house publishing group - del rey through netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review)

“…all the Empire is a tomb, and all of history. So much age, so much death. We live within tombs, within tombs, within tombs. The question is—how to find our way out?”

“A Trade of Blood” is the third entry in the Shadow of the Leviathan series and I find this to be the darkest of the three released books.

We’ve been to the sea walls of the eastern seas, the marshes of Yarrowdale and now we venture to the third ring of the Empire for in one of the agricultural backbones of the population, a murder has occurred. Not just any murder but the murder of the daughter of House Burav. The perpetrator? The son of the rival house Armenta. When Ana and Din arrive in farmlands tasked with preventing outright war between the two houses, they think it’s a simple and shut case but the scene of the crime proves something much more sinister.

This is the third ring, ludex. People here do not change. Custom, culture, ancestors, fealty—these rule all. And the hatred between the Armentas and the Buravs is very old.

Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet in Verona, Castus Armenta and Zansay Burav in Lacanthim. Though their families were bitter rivals, the two young kids were in love. Yet all evidence and testimonies show that Castus murdered Zansay and fled. But why? Why do so when they were planning to run away together? With the town close to conflict with each side having their swords drawn, Ana and Din must do the impossible; prove Castus’ innocence.

“It was like every fiber of the world was singing to me. Every street, every wall, every roof was a reed that danced in the wind, creating this pure tone... All of creation, praising me, whispering to me, as if the stars and moon themselves were singing just for my ears.”

Like I said, this is the darkest book in the series and I think a lot of it has to do with Robert Jackson Bennett’s ability to set the scene. Throughout this series, he describes these lands and biological marvels in such detail—his descriptions of the marshes in Drop of Corruption made me feel suffocated—and for this book, it nearly turns it into a horror. Because that is what I felt reading this book, abject horror.

Me, throughout this book: That’s fucked up

And all the worldbuilding and lore that was introduced or expanded has me so grateful that this series will be more than three books because I need more. I need more history lessons about the Empire. I need more of Ana’s background because what we got here was delicious. I need more of Din being a sad wet cat of a human being. My poor son was going through it in this book and I enjoyed every moment of his misery.

“Much can be read in the shiftings of small things”

[PamG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett blends fantasy with a mystery. This is book three in the Shadow of the Leviathan series featuring detective Ana Dolabra and her assistant Dinios “Din” Kol. This one is set in the fictional province of Sapirdad. Ana and Din remind me somewhat of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in a fantasy world filled with unique body-horror worldbuilding.

Ana and Din are send to the agricultural province when the son and heir of one of the Empire’s powerful families sits in a jail accused of murdering the daughter of another powerful family. While he can’t deny his guilt, he can’t explain his actions. To deescalate matters, someone must prove the son is innocent of the gruesome murder, despite the evidence against him.

Ana is eccentric, brilliant, and enhanced. Her mind processes clues at an unbelievable level which makes her hypersensitive to reality. To cope with this, she spends most of her time wearing a blindfold. She has a sharp tongue, can be impatient, and has a strong moral compass. Din has had his brain surgically and biologically altered to give him a photographic memory. He remembers every sight, sound, smell, and document he encounters. Therefore, he is also haunted by past traumas and gruesome crime scenes. There are some key new characters introduced in this novel including Din’s sister, the star-crossed lovers, the two major Sapirdad gentry clans.

The author does a great job of immediately pulling readers into this fantasy world and the crime that has been committed. He seamlessly blends a political fantasy world with a murder mystery. The worldbuilding is unique and imaginative with a biological magic system when human bodies are engineered and trees can grow into fortresses. It’s full of high-stakes tension with several action scenes. While the story does slow down at times to explain the mechanics of the setting and its magic, it is best read in series order. I have two quibbles about the novel. The use of current day expletives felt out of place and time for this fantasy world and there was one aspect of the ending that needed more closure for me.

Overall, this is suspenseful and intriguing, with innovative worldbuilding and characters that have great chemistry and a story that kept me turning the pages rapidly. I can’t wait to read my next book in the series.

Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Del Rey and Robert Jackson Bennett provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for August 4, 2026.
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My 3.80 rounded to 4 stars review is coming soon.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinda like Romeo and Juliet, but instead of Montagues and Capulets, it’s GMO cows v bean-picking cats all while Ana sits contented in a tiny closet.

[megs_bookrack]

ARC received!! Thank youuuu, Del Rey!!



Original:

I don't need a cover.
I don't need a title.
I don't need a synopsis.

I do need this book ASAP!!!

[* A Reader Obsessed * · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

Another impressive entry!

We’re back with beleaguered investigator Dinios Kol and his discomfiting superior Ana Dolabra as they’re tasked yet again to expeditiously solve a murder.

This time around it involves the gentry, an “obvious” who dunnit that quickly unravels into a precarious situation that could spark unfortunate socio-political ramifications and sadly, even more deaths. As Din and Ana expand their investigation, they know they must tread very carefully when it comes to the wealthy upper class as they’re in charge of a delicately balanced agricultural system where one misstep could cause massive chaos, where one crack in the vast Empire’s cog could potentially lead to the collapse of vital infrastructure.

With each installment, RJB builds upon his creation, lending new insights and adding subtle layers to a people who are significantly advanced in their technology solely through harvesting massive sea creatures who hold wondrous things within their flesh and fluids. They are liberated and elevated by this volatile and amazing science, but ironically, they have made themselves slaves to it as well. It’s equally unsettling that though advantageous for the most part, the flora/fauna behind what supports and enhances this society has its own dark unsettling persona, lurking disturbingly as the third main character to the overarching plot.

Consistently for me, the best part of this fantasy series, besides the intriguing mystery, is the ever evolving and entertaining Din and Ana, both separately and together, especially as we learn more and more about the former's past and the latter’s origins. Though not as convoluted as A Drop of Corruption, this read extremely quickly with smart science, grim graphic horror, and the cautionary message of the perils and dangers of manipulating nature, something that cannot ever be fully controlled and that which can cause eventual mayhem.

Despite the density of details, no conversation, no witnessed happenstance, no evidence, big or small, goes to waste here. The crime may be simple, but everything else related to it is not, as ingrained doctrine is flipped on its axis along with thoughtful commentary on generational wealth and rivalry, greed and consumerism, the consequences of invention and expansion, resource scarcity, and the deep rooted lore of a culture that serves as an entire people’s identity, where the truth could upend the foundation of society if revealed.

Again, if it isn't already obvious, this is way more than a mystery series, and I urge you to start with The Tainted Cup. It’s evident that I have highly enjoyed every installment so far and thankfully, RJB hints this is not a contained trilogy. That makes me extremely happy as I look forward to delving more into this fascinating, messy, and unsettling world that he’s created!

Thank you to the author and Del Rey of Random House Publishing via NetGalley for a copy to review honestly


Shadow of the Leviathan
The Tainted Cup - 4 Stars
A Drop of Corruption - 4.5 Stars
A Trade of Blood - 4.5 Stars

[Valeria Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A look into Din's past! OMG.

I was suspicious about who was the killer and why. AND I WAS RIGHT BUT RJB MADE ME DOUBT MYSELF.

can't wait for more of these cases.

*****
Is this truly going to be a trilogy? because 3 books suddenly don't seem like enough.

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ana and Din are back!

This time in the canton of Sapirdad, where a Hatfield/McCoy type situation is going on between the two largest cattle baron families. One slight misstep on their part could devastate the entire region, if these two families go to all out war. Will they solve the mystery in time to prevent a disaster? You'll have to read this to find out!

I absolutely love both Ana and Din. In this volume we learn a bit more about the alterations to Din's brain and his uncanny abilities for memorizing. We learn a bit more too, about Ana and her erratic, but skillful, behavior and abilities. Ana remains for the most part, yet another mystery of this world. As are the leviathans! I still want to know more about them...and hell, I want to know more about everything in this world Robert Jackson Bennett has created.

The introduction of Fotia was a pleasant surprise, but it's hard to say much without spoilers. I will say that I loved her spunky, fiery character and I hope we'll see more of her in the future.

Lastly, this is a dark and sometimes funny fantasy, but at the heart of it are serious questions involving overpopulation, farming, and the ever widening circle of damage being done in the name of feeding ourselves. Admittedly, this is a topic that I haven't thought much about before, and now that I am aware of the full scope of it, I wonder if necessity will become the mother of invention, but that's a topic for another day.

Right now, I just want to sing this book's praises to every single reader out there, (though you do need to read this series in order.) This world RBJ has created is a fascinating one, layered and well thought-out, yet it still has connections to the world of today. Bravo, RBJ! Bravo!

*ARC from publisher, due out August 4

[Morwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

HAPPY RELEASE DAY!

Romeo and Juliet meet the fall of the house of usher

4 things I loved:

- Even as the third book in the series, the murder mystery format doesn't fail to deliver. The twists and turns will make you second-guess even when you guess who the culprit is.

- I love every bit we get of Din and Ana! In this one we meet one of Din's sisters and get a good amount of Ana scenes!

- There is a much bigger picture to each case, and every book contributes to expanding both the worldbuilding and the stakes.

- None of these books come without a message about our world through parallels. None of these books let us close them without being enriched by many interesting takes and subtle lessons.

Conclusions:

This is one of those series that could have an absurd number of sequels and still work!

The perfect mix of interesting characters, “supernatural” mysteries, slowly revealed worldbuilding, and social commentary keep me glued to the page and begging for more!

You may have a favorite or another, but the ability to keep the quality steady is probably the key of success of the series. I already can’t wait to see what the next installment will be like!

More promiscuous Din, pls.

CHECK OUT MY IG CAROUSEL WITH GIFS


_____________

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA



I LOVED IT!

RTC

Thanks so much to the author and publisher for offering me each book in exchange of reviews! 🥹

Pre-read

They sent me the eARC! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

When art imitates life in a fantastical world, you know we’re screwed in real life.

Two lovers, from two feuding gentryclans, meeting secretly under false names. One is disembowelled, one flees.
Ana and Din investigate.

How to keep a detective story fresh?
Uncover more dirty secrets about the ancient Empire, get Din’s past involved via an impetuous sister, introduce magical fungi.

I wish we got more chance for Din to develop some personal relationships. Similarly, Ana and Din spent relatively little time together in this instalment.

Bennett is obviously concerned with the state of our world. I urge you to read the author’s note at the end which re-contextualises his inspiration.

The immense, rigid nature of the Empire makes it difficult for it to shift. Doesn’t this just reflect our current world and systems? We are all resistant to change even if climate change requires radical proactively.
We have the opportunity to follow detectives in positions where they can examine all the internal organs of the Empire here. It almost becomes meta if you think on it.

We get teased about Ana’s secrets but per usual are rebuffed. I wish we got more concrete details on the Empire’s past and the Emperor, as well as Ana’s mysteriousness.

The book ends with:
I half wanted to sprint back down the road and demand answers to my many questions. Instead, I sighed and returned to the main road to wait for a rider.

Din, next time sprint as if a horde of intrigued readers are behind you.

Arc gifted by Del Rey.

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[Gabrielle (Reading Rampage) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Jackson Bennett should be covered from head to toe in Nebula awards. This trilogy, which I started with curious apprehension, has gotten better with each tome and this latest volume was richly rewarding. This is an author who understands that when you use genre literature skilfully, you can make a story set in an entirely different universe about things that are happening in our world and that need to be thought about and addressed - because they have serious consequences.

Din and Ana are summoned to investigate a strange death deep into the Empire's territory: a place where everything revolves around the cattle rearing industry and growing the crops that feed them. Two rival families control those industries, and a tragic 'Romeo and Juliet' tableau opens the story, when the young heirs to the families' plan to run away together are thwarted by a bizarre and gory murder.

We have encountered plenty of strange things in this universe, from bizarre trans-humanism to terrifying creatures that live in the depths of the ocean, so don't think for a moment that cows and grains are less strange in RJB's imagination. Augmented cattle, beasts reared to harvest crops which are controlled through a fungal infection, ecological inspectors, relics from the civilization that predates the one currently occupying this territory by hundreds of years... Oh yeah, it gets dark, twisted and weird really fast!

What is this book about? The greed that drives an industry to destroy it's own ecological landscape for profit. Sibling rivalries and power struggles. The desire to opt out of those dynamics you feel no loyalty to. The power of some to control the actions of others through clever manipulation they never saw coming - or aren't aware of. Stewardship of the land and the way people can toss that idea away for pleasure and comfort. But all told as a murder mystery that will keep you turning the pages way past your bed time.

Amazing book. Amazing author. While I will always have a soft spot for 'The Divine Cities' trilogy, this is Bennett's best work since. He has an incredible imagination, and some very important things to say. Recommended to everyone who loves a good mystery, a dark fantasy and the ability to weave political statements through narrative without ever beating you over the head with it. Also, fungus!!

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

4.5 ☆

”How perverse it is. We make beasts of ourselves, to be sacrificed to this trade.”

i’ve been steadily enjoying this series, but i’ve reached the book where it completely clicked for me. i loved the mystery in this one, the mindless bodies being controlled & the eerie music? right up my alley. Ana & Din continue to be a great team, i love Ana’s brand of strange, i’m constantly dying to know more about her. we also got to meet Fiota, Din’s sister who added her own flair to the already established dynamic. i can’t wait to see how the world will continue to expand, the ending had my mind gathering so many theories already!

⇢ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Del Rey for the arc, all opinions are my own.

[emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of the three books, this is the best one yet!!

While the two books had focused on murders and politics, A Trade of Blood was about something darker and much more terrifying.

It kept me on the edge of my seat as the body count rose. Soon, I was asking myself: who will be left as a suspect if everyone keeps dying?!

Ana was as eccentric as ever. The previous book gave us a vague clue about her true nature, but this story pulls back the curtain further. We also get to see more of Din as his own person—not just as Ana’s faithful assistant or the Empire’s engraver, but as an individual.

I want to avoid spoilers, so I’ll just say that the concept behind the murders in this book is deeply disturbing. I was especially struck by the author’s note at the end. RBJ took inspiration from a very real-world topic: the often unnatural state of modern agriculture, where crops and creatures are modified to produce the “best” quality for human consumption.

When you see how that concept is applied to this fictional world, it is horrifying—yet it is essentially a reflection of what is already happening in our lives. It is amazing how the author inserted this “plain truth” into such a gripping, unsettling story that is more than just about crime and murders.

It's funny how I was always in a reading slump when I received an email about my advanced copy of the series. This also happened with the previous book, A Drop of Corruption. The thought of going back to Ana and Din's adventure almost felt like going back home. I could use five more books about them, and I wouldn't ever get sick of it.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC!

[Left Coast Justin · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Strange: It appears I've reviewed this book twice. Which is better?

No fault of the author's, but I had fixed upon the idea, for some reason, that these books would be a trilogy, and therefore that this book would be the one to take us to the center of the Kingdom and finally explain some things about Ana that have been carefully veiled in the first two episodes. And maybe toss in some up-close-and-personal battles with Leviathans while we're at it.

I can choose to be disappointed that this book did not go there, or I could take the more mature approach of being happy that more volumes are forthcoming. As always, when given a choice between brattiness or maturity, I choose the former.

Which is not to say this book lacked merit. Committed carnivores may roll their eyes, but Bennett has found a clever way to incorporate the odd things about this world with factory farming. It avoids -- barely -- bludgeoning the reader over the head with a message, but allows this conflict to arise naturally from some of the properties of this kingdom -- the ability to enhance people and animals with unnatural attributes combined with the basic humanlike traits of greed, pride and stubbornness that continue to afflict us.

(Cow by Swiss author Beat Sterchi remains the best book I've read on the unfortunate relationship between humans and their desire for high-density protein.)

Despite my tantrum I look forward to continuing this series.

[Maxwell]

While this was probably the mystery I found least interesting of the 3 books so far, I love Din (& Ana) so much I honestly would read about them doing pretty much anything. And I enjoyed the discussions surrounding the mystery and the ways in which RJB continues to expand the lore and the world with these cases. It’s so clever and engaging. Truly never want this series to end.

[Laura (crofteereader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one sort of lacked teeth… much of the bigger picture was left abstract as we zoomed in a little too closely on the tale of two feuding (and very unlucky) wealthy families. The acknowledgments talk about climate change and the very “artificial” nature of our agricultural system, but climate change isn’t even a factor in the book; it seems like such a strange segue in the afterword.

Din gets less distinct with each passing book. His dyslexia is a passing mention of “struggling with letters” rather than a major difference in his life that he has to adapt to. There are several points in the story where he is asked to read something and he does so with no hesitation. When book one had a very fascinating passage where Din uses his other skills to relay the written words to other characters for their use. He is shockingly disconnected from his own story, with the plot unfolding at a rather alarming remove despite this being a first person POV.

It also felt like it didn’t build on the major revelations of particularly the first book. Now we’re just filling in the map rather than digging deeper into the world.

The mystery itself was pacy and engaging with a few interesting twists. But it doesn’t feel as special as the first book.

{Thank you Del Rey for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}

[Left Coast Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange: It appears I've reviewed this book twice. Once was for the "Shadow of the Leviathon" version and one for the "Ana and Din Mystery" version.

I awoke one November morning in a hotel in a gray Northern city. It was a nice, very clean hotel but I dreaded getting out of bed, walking across the cold bare floor to the bathroom. I finally got up, swung my legs off the bed and discovered, for the first time in my life, that floors could be heated. Oh, joy!

A similar feeling arose in me as I started reading this book -- it felt so comfortable and pleasant to slip back into the world of Dinios Kol, knowing I'd find a gripping story, meet some interesting people and be guided through a world similar to my own but different in important ways. All of these things proved true, again.

Let us assume, based on Jackson's talent, that my default rating for this series is five stars. You may have noticed I awarded this one only four. This book, more than the first two, seemed a little impatient with supplying world-building and backstory. Perhaps Jackson figured we knew all that stuff already. While the first two books would work perfectly well as standalones, this one felt a bit rushed, to me. Ana barely figured in it, and the cast was relatively small. And, unusually for this series, a couple things about the writing itself irked me. First of all, the word 'flesh'. I don't like that word. It is unavoidable in a book about murder and cattle-raising, I realize, but it popped up over a hundred times here, I'm guessing. I can't blame Jackson for my own personal vocabulary quirks, though.

But I can blame him for hundreds of "y-yes" and "n-no" constructions. Not a terrible tool for the writer of dialog, but it should be used sparingly.

I would not recommend this one as an exemplar of the Anna & Din mysteries, but I still ripped through it in just a few days.

[Elizabeth (Plant Based Bride)]

Full (published so far) series reading vlog: https://youtu.be/wa9337JiV_0

[EveStar91 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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