A Trade of Blood (Ana and Din Mysteries)

Detective Ana Dolabra must prove a condemned man’s innocence and confront a terrifying magical technology in this fantasy-mystery from the bestselling author of The Tainted Cup, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy awards.

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.

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.

“This is the best fantasy series currently being published, maybe the best mystery one too.”—John Joseph Adams, series editor of The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy

“Bennett continues to make genre-blending appear effortless in his stellar third Ana and Din novel (after 2025’s A Drop of Corruption), a suspenseful whodunit set in an immersive and imaginative alternate world. . . . The case is as clever and fairly clued as ever, and it’s a pleasure to revisit these sharply drawn characters. This series shows no signs of slowing down.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The Ana and Din mysteries are a perfect summer beach read. . . . The really clever thing about these books is that they provide all the easy pleasures of a classic whodunit but also include vivid and original world-building, which is no easy task in today’s crowded marketplace. . . . I’ve been recommending [them] to everyone I encounter.”—Emily Gould, New York Dinner Party newsletter

“Series fans will be delighted with the Romeo and Juliet–inspired plotline involving a complex mystery that astounds even the peevish detective. The introduction of a member of Din’s family plus new hints about Ana’s history will have readers eager for their next adventure.”—Booklist, starred review

“Masterfully combines an engrossing mystery, imaginative fantasy and frontier drama . . . Full of evocative writing and thoughtful world building, A Trade of Blood provides a window into yet another aspect of Bennett’s remarkably strange and brutal empire.”—BookPage

“Another highly recommended entry in the [series] . . . Will also appeal to those who are looking for new, different, and fascinating recreations of the greatest detectives and epic fantasy readers craving a dangerous world to plumb to its depths.”—Library Journal, starred review

“Imperial snoops Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol are back on the job. . . . Fantasy meets procedural with a side of veganism, and it’s good merry mayhem.”—Kirkus Reviews