A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett: Ana and Din Are Back, and This Time It Gets Gruesome

Fantasy, mystery, a touch of horror, and a deadly fungus eating brains. I shuddered. I loved it.

Synopsis

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.

Audiobook Review

4.5 stars

This being the third book in a series of interconnected standalones, I’m well acquainted with Robert Jackson Bennett’s world by now. Finding Ana Dolabra and Din again feels like reuniting with two old, very weird friends.

I can’t say much about the plot beyond what’s in the synopsis, this being a crime and mystery, but what I can tell you is that Robert Jackson Bennett has fully mastered the art of mixing fantasy with mystery and a touch of horror.

Yes, you read that correctly: horror, a genre I almost never read. Though it’s less about possession or ghosts and more about genuinely gory events. The victims in this story are killed in a particularly revolting way, their brains eaten by a deadly fungus. I shudder just thinking about it. Eeek.

What works brilliantly once again is the duo. Ana is eccentric, brilliant, strange, and occasionally vaguely disgusting. Din is handsome, stoic, smart, courageous, and loyal. She is the Sherlock to his Watson, and their dynamic never gets old. The universe they inhabit remains fascinatingly strange: Leviathans threatening the human population while simultaneously enabling human enhancements through grafts, and a vanished civilization revered like gods, their statues giving off a distinctly alien energy.

The mystery itself is deliciously convoluted. Suspects drop one after another, my brain was boiling with theories the entire time, and the suspicions cast on various characters kept shifting in ways I didn’t always see coming.

There’s also a hint of something simmering for Din, which I appreciated.

What I loved most this time around, beyond the usual pleasures of the series, was Din’s sister. Learning more about his past and his family added real depth to a character I already loved, and it was no surprise whatsoever that she turned out to be every bit as courageous and stubborn as him.

I also deeply appreciated the parallel drawn between the story’s world and our own climate crisis. The mass slaughter of cattle to feed a sprawling empire has consequences that mirror what intensive livestock farming does to our planet today. Robert Jackson Bennett gave us something weightier without ever feeling preachy.

Also as usual, we had an impeccable narration from Andrew Fallaize.

To sum it up: a perfect addition to the series. It gripped me from the very first pages, launched my brain into overdrive, and slightly unsettled my stomach. I am very ready for the next instalment.

Thanks for reading.

Sophie