Synopsis:
An impossible crime has occurred. A Treasury officer has disappeared into thin air – abducted from his quarters in a building whose entrances and exits are all sealed.
The brilliant and mercurial investigator, Ana Dolabra, and her assistant Dinios Kol have been called in to crack the case.
Before long, Ana discovers that they’re actually investigating a murder. Worse, the adversary seems to be able to pass through warded doors like a ghost, and can predict every one of Ana’s moves as though they can see the future.
Ana’s solved impossible cases before. But this time, with the stakes higher than ever and the investigators seemingly a step behind their adversary at every turn, has Ana finally met an enemy she can’t defeat?
Review:
Once again, we are following Ana and Din, this time to a new part of their world to solve yet another mysterious case. A Treasury officer has vanished into thin air inside a locked room. As Ana and Din investigate, they realise that the case and their solving of it holds the fate of the Empire in its hands.
One of the highlights for me in this book was the development of Ana. In book 1, Ana Dolabra is a larger-than-life, eccentric character. Her history is mysterious, and she is something of an amusement on the surface with all of her quirks. In book 2, we learn so much more about her, and while we don’t get concrete answers to all our questions we do get to know more about her at a deeper level, and there are some ‘lightbulb’ moments!
Her partnership with Din was as delightful as it was in book 1, with banter and poor Din’s resigned acceptance of Ana’s strange methods. Din also gets a good dose of character development, and we watch him questioning the path he is on several times.
Bennett’s writing is, as usual, excellent. The world was vibrant, and I loved exploring a new place. We learn more about the Empire and the Titans, and of course, we do also end up with more questions, but I am delighted that there will be at least one more book in the series to hopefully answer some of these.
The mystery was so well plotted, with the twists coming unexpectedly (to me), and at just the right times. The balancing of fantasy and mystery was perfect. The solving of the mystery was a larger part than the learning of this new location, but in the context of how important the mystery is, it worked.
Overall, I had so much fun with this book and I would happily read several more instalments! I highly recommend this series for an exciting blend of fantasy and mystery with some unique magic in really interesting worlds.
Pages of Emma 
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