A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett is a fitting addition to the Shadow of Leviathan series as a third book. Typically, the books address one case each that Ana and Din solve as a detective pair within the administrative wing of the Empire. But true to their structure, this book also dives into the structure and power hierarchy of this fantasy world as world-building is deepened.

Hi, welcome back to another fantasy fiction book review, but this is actually a special one. A Trade of Blood was on my most-anticipated fantasy fiction of 2026 list and I was invited to read it on NetGalley by the publisher. I have been itching to share the details with you ever since I even started reading the book. So let’s get into it!

Title: A Trade of Blood
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Read: eBook – NetGalley
ISBN: : 9780593723869
Published: Del Rey, 4 August 2026
Page Count: 400

What is the Plot About? What Really Happens in the Book?

This new installment in the Ana and Din Mysteries series sees the two protagonists in the deeper rings of the empire. They are back from the sea walls and the constant threat of the leviathans, but life is not as safe as Din had imagined it would be. They are called to the canton when the heir of one of the most influential families is accused of killing the daughter of a rival family, the Buravs vs the Armentas. Ana and Din have to find out what is actually going on and uncover a series of deaths that were actually murders.
The murder weapon is really taking their bioengineering, the augmentations of the government officials, to the extremes. To reflect on the inhumanity of the method, Din is staring directly at the face of what was done to him along with so many other officials. To acknowledge that the murder has done wrong, he has to acknowledge that the Empire is wrong as well.
What they came to investigate was one murder but they discover a series of murders dating back years and tracing back the old family feud of the rivals. Din is reunited with a family member while he forms new bonds with new family members. But the environment of this Third Ring is still as supernatural as the leviathans themselves. The eerie purple forest populating the space between the farming lands is impassable for humans. The forest has a will of its own, it makes people anxious, it makes people turn back.
The religion in the place is based on the Daljeni people, a tribe of the Khanum who disappeared a century before the rest of the race of ancients. The current emperor’s tribe, the Daavir, might have something to do with the mysterious disappearance and even hold the key to the secrets of the murder weapon.
While Ana has an inkling about what might be happening and what is going wrong, she needs proof. Din acts as her eyes and ears in the canton as he investigates the cases and attempts to catch the killer before they kill again. But his path ahead is not something he can map without knowing the foundational secrets of the Empire of Khanum.

My Verdict: Is ‘A Trade of Blood’ by Robert Jackson Bennett Worth It?

I had been awaiting this book since I read the second book in the series, A Drop of Corruption. The adventure that started with The Tainted Cup has now reached a crescendo that is threatening to take down the very foundations the Empire is built upon.
Complex, yet endearing characters—Ana’s caustic humour, Din’s stoic composure in the face of fatality and new character introductions with depth and substance—carry the plot more than the readers would expect. But the plot makes a strong recovery from the second book in the series with more world-building alongside solving the immediate mystery at hand. The balance keeps things entertaining even though this book is on the heavier side.
The interesting aspect of this series is that all of them can be read as standalones. But to experience the big picture that Bennett is building up to, you have to read the books in order.
The prime plot point of the environmental impact and exploitation of beings in service of the greed of the Empire hits too close to home. But Bennett has never gotten didactic in his narrative. He takes the reader on the journey along with the protagonists of the book and let’s us reach the conclusion or at least witness the effects of one part of society perceiving itself to be way superior than the rest.
The book added to the lore of the series, put up a critique of society—theirs and ours—and solved a series of murders with a very different bioengineered weapon that is like the previous books but very different in nature. The narrative style kept me hooked to the story while the whole series progressed beyond the murder mystery of this book as well. The fantasy/sci-fi aspect of the plot intensified manifolds. I am more inclined to call it sci-fi after finishing reading this book. The fact that I am still continuing with the story as someone who does not read sci-fi too often is a testament to itself. I would definitely recommend this ongoing SFF murder-mystery series to fans of both genres—the books stand at an intersection of these wildly popular genres and draw from the best elements of them.

So are you ready to embark on this dangerous journey of mysteries, murders and a dark secret at the heart of the civilization?

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