Long-awaited, put-off, and set aside during busy times, Robert Jackson Bennett’s A Trade of Blood has final been read and thoroughly loved from start to finish, as I strongly suspected it would be. This is the third instalment in the Shadow of the Leviathan series, also known as the Ana and Din Mystery series, and it came packing punches and roundhouse kicks! I keep thinking the last book couldn’t be topped, but Robert Jackson Bennett proves me wrong time and time again.

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.

One of my favourite things about this series are the characters: Ana is so batshit that you can never know what to expect from her in a social situation, but she can always be counted on as the catalyst in what could be an awkward conversation, a tense conversation, or a sombre conversation turning into the exact opposite.She is mysterious and intelligent and so extra while also serving as the grounding force to Din in what is such an interesting and complicated pairing. Din, the precious bean pole he is, goes through so much in A Trade of Blood and does not have the emotional maturity and understanding to vocalise things, which makes it all the funnier when Ana speaks up. Din is dutiful, though his internal conflicts and concerns create a brilliant contrast to consider while he’s carrying out his job. He is also the one we see this fantasy world through, and while his augmentations enhance and create vivid recollection of information for us to recall later, he isn’t a know-it-all, and he certainly doesn’t pretend o be. He does his best, and his best differs depending on the task and day. He has vices and weaknesses, and he is still very much learning while having to take on such challenging work. They are a strangely perfect pairing, and it makes reading this series so much fun.

A Trade of Blood has a bit of a Romeo and Juliet feel to it with the feuding houses, the tragic events and unfolding consequences, and the almost dramatised significance of these two families within the district, but it gives so excellent commentary that enriches the story and develops the feeling further. There are also a lot of real-world observations and comments made both throughout the novel and in the author’s note at the end that made for such wonderful insights and complimentary thinking post-read. The atmosphere and setting of A Trade of Blood are immaculate, and I just know thousands will fall in love with this storytelling and fantasy world/magic system like I have because it phenomenal.

If you haven’t started this series yet, I need you to pick up The Tainted Cup and get to it. If you are a fantasy fan, you will not be disappointed by this series. It is fresh, it is intriguing, it is loaded with amazing detail and interactions, and it is pure perfection. A Trade of Blood has been one of my favourite reads of this year for certain, and I need more people to read it.