- The Good: Cozy murder mystery featuring plants, fungi, bioengineered humans, and monsters
- The Bad: Limited character development; unnecessary Holmes-Watson comparison
- The Literary: Impressive fantasy world-building for a murder mystery novel
Brilliant and eccentric investigator Ana Dolabra and her assistant Dinios Kol investigate an impossible crime. A Treasury officer of Yarrowdale, at the edge of the Empire has disappeared from inside his quarters, while the door and windows were locked from the inside.
This second installment of The Founders Trilogy follows our odd-pair Holmes-Watson protagonists in yet another mystery, in a world with a lot of great fantasy worldbuilding. The locked room puzzle is only the beginning. Ana discovers that they’re investigating a murder, and the suspect seems to be able to escape her grasp at every turn.
The first book of the series introduced the leviathans, huge god-like sea monsters that rise from the ocean every wet season, climb onto land, and destroy everything in their path. When one of these leviathans dies, its carcass is mined for specialized blood, organs, and tissue that fuel the Empire’s advanced bioengineering. A huge defense infrastructure is set up to maintain massive walls to delay the leviathans long enough for them to be slain.
The murderer that Ana is tracking seems to be targeting the high security compound where scientists dissect these monsters. Should he succeed, the Empire itself would crumble. And so the conspiracy must be unraveled.
Luckily, Ana has Din to perform most of the physical investigation. Din is an apothetikal, modified by the Empire for specialized labor. Specifically, he’s an engraver, which means that with the aid of smell he has a perfect memory. He recites details for Ana while she stays in her room, often blindfolded by choice to avoid overstimulation.
I enjoy the relationship between Ana and Din, who aren’t really friends but do care for one another. As they slowly grow away from the Holmes/Watson archetype, I like them even more.
While the murder mystery does go on with lots of twists and turns, I linger over the eerie macabre world in which these protagonists live. The flora and fauna are highly useful, but also highly volatile. Houses are grown out of molded plants and timber. Mushrooms are natural air conditioners and moss filters are everywhere because of the constant threat of airborne toxic contagions.
Highly recommended for fans of fantasy worldbuilding — and the mystery is fun too.