Once again, the Empire of Khanum calls upon Ana and Din to solve a mystery that is much more layered than it initially appears to be. What appears to be just a familial squabble (think Montagues v. Capulets for a convenient comparison) actually has far-ranging consequences for the Empire itself. Quite simply, all the evidence points to a young man as the murderer of his secretive lover. Additionally, while the Shadow of the Leviathan/Ana and Din novels are explicitly set in a world that is not our own (magic, supernatural creatures, gods), one of the strong themes that runs through the novel is very much parallel to our own world – enforced labor and livestock consumption.
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.
Ana and Din are assigned to the land of Sapirdad, where the agriculture of the Empire finds its home. Not just a farming community, but a farming nation-state within the Empire dominated by two families – the cattle-controllers the Armentas and the Buravs who control the cattle-feed. To say there is no love lost between these families is an understatement, except for the Armenta’s eldest son who is found drenched in the blood of the Burav heir, his secret lover. He has no explanation, no memory of how he became soaked in the Burav blood, so logically, he is sentenced to hang. If this happens, the Armentas will declare war on the Burav, it if the Armentas son does not see justice, the Buravs will declare war.
But when our intrepid investigators arrive and speak to the suspected murder, something doesn’t quite sit right with Din and eventually Ana. They realize they need to put off the execution to find answers and as they delve deeper, a surprise reconnection. It turns out Din’s sister, who he hasn’t seen in many years, is connected to one of the families. While this is an emotional complication in some ways, it helps to drive Din with a little more urgency, even if that urgency is only his internal thoughts while he continues to try to keep his sister at a bit of a distance to protect her, as an older brother is naturally inclined to do. Also naturally, this tends to annoy younger siblings as they get older.
One of the driving elements is the agriculture of the world, and humanity’s overwhelming desire to eat meat. A bioengineered cat is a cog in the agricultural wheel, performing a menial, but important task that humans no longer wish to do. These cats are bioengineered with a fungus as the cover of the book hints, and it drives their single-minded behavior. But what if that fungus were to be engineered further to be used to drive a human’s behavior? This fungal component has many, lengthy tendrils (pun not quite intended, but definitely not regretted) and as the story reveals more of the fungus’s effects on other forms of life – especially humans – the story leans into horror. Bennet hasn’t shied away from horror vibes in the past (please go read American Elsewhere), so it is a most welcome flavor in this delicious stew of a novel.
As with the previous two novels in this series, Din is the first-person narrator of the novel. Everything is through his eyes, his voice, his emotions. Three books in, Din remains extremely fascinating, enigmatic, and unique. He’s been genetically engineered to have perfect recall, is he still human? What is he to his sister? Moreover, Din is depicted as fairly free and easy when it comes to his sexual exploits and he is very much bisexual, which is not quite common.
I am continued to be delighted, entertained, and enlightened by the Ana and Din novels and truly, everything I’ve read from Robert Jackson Bennett. Each novel in this series, of course, reveals more about the world and the characters. It feels like there are more mysteries for Ana and Din to solve, and with a gradual expansion of the world and the main cast (I’d love to see Din’s sister continue to be part of the story), I hope Mr. Bennett continues to tell these fascinating, fantastically flavored mysteries.
Highly recommended.
© 2026 Rob H. Bedford
Trade Paperback | Del Rey Books
August 2026 | 400 Pages
https://www.robertjacksonbennett.com/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
