A Trade of Blood
New ReleaseINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Detective Ana Dolabra must prove a condemned man’s innocence and confront a terrifying magical technology in this fantasy-mystery from the author of The Tainted Cup, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy awards.
“Wildly imaginative, sometimes pointed, often hair-raising, and very entertaining, a series that has been a hit with everyone I’ve recommended it to.”—Laura Miller, Slate
The heir to one of the Empire’s most powerful families sits in jail, accused of murder. His hands are covered in the victim’s blood, and he can neither deny his guilt nor explain his actions.
But if the great detective Ana Dolabra cannot save him from the noose, the farming canton of Sapirdad will explode into war, threatening to plunge the whole Empire into starvation and chaos.
As Ana investigates—her assistant Dinios Kol, as ever, acting as her eyes and ears—she fears her task is even more daunting than it seemed. For this murder is just the latest in a deeper, subtler web of death, woven by a mastermind with an ancient weapon at his disposal.
With their customary skill, Ana and Din pursue their adversary through the canton’s wild ranges, sprawling ranches, and reeking slaughterhouses. Yet even they are not prepared to learn the horrifying secret behind their opponent’s powers.
- Pages
- 401
- First published
- August 4, 2026
- Language
- English
- Edition
- Ebook
More editions
▾
Pick a cover to preview.
Shelved by 2 Litcadians
Reviews
Finished September 4, 2026
Favorite read of September and we're only 4 days in! I know I said it in book 2, but I absolutely loved being back with Ana and din!! This series just continues to be one of those rare ones where I genuinely don't want the story to end! Seeing Din continue to develop not just in his duties but as himself and take more authority made me so happy! I also really enjoyed the throwbacks to his life before he became an engraver. We also get some more info on Ana finally!!! She did seem a bit more tolerable to the characters in this book, which seemed a bit out of character, or maybe I'm just imagining it because she's grown on me so much!? Who knows! The mystery in this one went even darker than the last two, imo. There are some difficult topics woven into the story but I thought they were handled really well! Without getting into spoilers, there were several moments that left me a bit creeped out and I LOVE when a book can do that!! The wordbuilding continues to be one of my favorite things about this series. I mean there were PURPLE TREES in this book!!!!! This entire series has officially made it to my favorites list and I will happily jump into any new Ana and Din mysteries that are written! If you appreciate a rich world, complex characters, and a mystery in a fantasy setting, this is an absolute must read!