A Holmes and Watson–style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from the Edgar-winning, multiple Hugo-nominated Robert Jackson Bennett
“Superbly blends mystery and fantasy . . . Give me more of this world and these characters ASAP!”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Gardiner
In Daretana’s greatest mansion, a high imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree erupted from his body. Even here at the Empire’s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death both terrifying and impossible.
Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.
At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana’s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior—but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana’s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.
As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.
The series
In a land where monsters rise with the tide and truth is more dangerous than myth, Shadow of the Leviathan carves out a space unlike any other in the fantasy genre—a place where the grotesque is beautiful, the arcane is biological, and the greatest weapon is observation.
Read full series description
Set in the Empire of Khanum, a society both fortified and fractured by the seasonal emergence of towering leviathans, the series follows Ana Dolabra, a brilliant, blindfolded investigator with an eccentric mind, and her meticulous assistant Dinios Kol, who forgets nothing. Together, they navigate a world reshaped by the alchemical power of leviathan blood—where plants invade flesh, and politics are no less tangled than the roots of a living, weaponized forest.
The narrative blends forensic mystery with dark fantasy, evoking the cerebral allure of a locked-room thriller amidst the chaos of a biologically enchanted empire. As Ana and Din peel back layers of bureaucratic secrecy, mutated ecosystems, and inherited power, the series draws readers into a setting where every detail matters, and every clue is alive with possibility.
While The Tainted Cup, the first installment, has already caught the attention of genre-bending fantasy fans—and earned a Hugo nomination along the way—it’s not the accolades that linger. It’s the atmosphere: dense with tension, rich in imagination, and charged with the quiet terror of knowing that some questions are too dangerous to answer.
Shadowy, smart, and steeped in the uncanny, Shadow of the Leviathan offers an investigation not just into crimes, but into the terrifying machinery of empire, science, and belief. For those drawn to strange ecosystems, flawed heroes, and a touch of the surreal, this is a world you won’t soon escape.
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