“An unthinkable crime. A fatal conspiracy. A suspect without a trace.
The heir to one of the Empire’s most powerful families sits in jail, accused of murder. His hands are covered in his victim’s blood, and he can neither deny his guilt nor explain his actions.
If the great detective Ana Dolabra – along with her assistant Dinios Kol – cannot save him, the farming canton of Sapirdad will explode into war, plunging the Empire into famine and chaos.
But this murder is only the latest in a subtle web of death, woven by a mastermind with an ancient weapon at his disposal.
Ana and Din have faced terrible crimes before. But as they pursue their adversary through wild ranges, sprawling ranches, and reeking slaughterhouses, even they are not prepared for the horrifying secret behind their opponent’s powers . . .
Eccentric yet 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 award-winning The Tainted Cup.“
Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to hand the blog over to my guest reviewer, Ryan (my husband) who will be sharing his thoughts on A Trade of Bloodby Robert Jackson Bennett. A Trade of Blood was published by Hodderscape on Tuesday 4th August 2026 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats. Ryan chose to read a free eARC but that has not influenced his review.
Here’s what he thought…
A Trade of Blood is the third book in the “Shadow of the Leviathan” series by Robert Jackson Bennett. I first became aware of this series through a clickbait article promising to introduce me to Top Fantasy Crime Books. The article featured The Tainted Cup – the first book in the series and, from the moment I read the blurb, I knew I had to read it! The series follows the adventures and crime solving prowess of Ana Dolabra, a reclusive, eccentric, yet brilliant detective who, if possible, will avoid visiting the scene of the crime. Instead she sends her augmented assistant Dinios Kol to the scene. Din has been biologically augmented to provide perfect recall of everything he sees and hears, and once he has examined the scene and interviewed the witnesses, he reports back for a cross-examination from Ana.
If allowed to grow and continue beyond the trilogy (and there is a hint of that at the end of the book) Ana and Din will become a crime-fighting duo with fans as loyal as Holmes and Watson and Tilly and Poe. The eccentricities of both characters, in such a well-built fantasy world, create the opportunity for wonderful plots with twists and turns. The world they inhabit has many of the characters augmented to better serve the Empire of Khanum and protect them against the seasonal Leviathians who rise up from the sea. This provides a wonderful cast of characters to act as supporters and suspects.
In this story, Din and Ana are investigating what sounds like an open-and-shut case. A murder has been committed. The murderer has been arrested with sufficient evidence to avoid further investigation, but the town stands ready to descend into war split between the families of the murderer and the victim. Sent in to try and defuse the tension and ensure justice, our duo uncover more than they expect. There are suspicious deaths throughout the town, and demonstrating a link could lead to a conclusion that will threaten the entire Empire.
I love this series. It is one of the best series I have read. Whether you want characters you will care deeply about, excellent crime fiction, biopunk or even some moral backbone to the story, you will find it here. Whilst you probably could, I wouldn’t jump straight into this book. Go back and enjoy the previous two books – see the characters develop in front of you whilst they investigate poisoning (The Tainted Cup) and a locked-room mystery (A Drop of Corruption).
Would I recommend this book? I would, I will, and I have (apologies to anyone who has tried to talk to me about books recently!) Great storytelling, and for me the introduction to an author whose back catalogue I am rapidly working my way through. I hope we will get more Ana and Din – an extra short story appeared between the publication of A Trade of Blood and this review, but I want more!
Ryan chose to read and review a free eARC of A Trade of Blood. The above review is his own unbiased opinion.
Robert is the author of the Hugo Award-winning novel The Tainted Cup and its sequel A Drop of Corruption, as well as The Divine Cities trilogy and The Founders Trilogy.
His work has received the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Phillip K. Dick Citation of Excellence, and he has been shortlisted for the World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Locus Awards. He also dug a very good french drain in his backyard back in 2019.
He lives in Austin with his wife and two sons, one of whom is very large and one of whom is very loud, and he focuses on writing and not maintaining his website. He is probably worried right now.
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