A Trade of Blood
Third novel in the Shadow of the Leviathan series. The heir to one of the Empire's most powerful families sits in jail, accused of murder — his hands covered in the victim's blood, unable to deny his guilt or explain what he did.
If the great detective Ana Dolabra cannot save him from the noose, the farming canton of Sapirdad will erupt into war, threatening to plunge the whole Empire into starvation and chaos. Investigating alongside her assistant Dinios Kol, Ana finds herself up against a terrifying magical technology at the heart of the case.
Brilliant, eccentric imperial investigator.
Ana's augmented assistant, narrator of the investigation.
Scion of the Armenta family, found covered in blood beside his secret lover's butchered corpse and accused of her murder.
Daughter of the powerful Burav family; her murder, and secret romance with Castus Armenta, sets the plot in motion.
The series follows a continuous narrative arc centered on the partnership between Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol, so reading the preceding installments is necessary to fully grasp their evolving relationship and the broader political context of the Empire.
While the series is widely referred to as Shadow of the Leviathan, some editions and marketing materials have also categorized these books as the Ana and Din Mysteries.