Din is an apprentice to quirky investigator Ana, who prefers to spend her time alone and often blindfolded (because she's like that). So when a government official is found dead in a horrifying manner in a local prestigious home, Ana sends Din to investigate alone, despite the fact that he's never been to a murder scene before. Because Din is also an engraver, someone who has been genetically altered to remember everything he sees, hears, smells, and feels. But as Din and Ana investigate the disturbing murder, they discover that a much larger plot is afoot, involving one of the Empire's most wealthy and powerful families, as well as the corps of engineers that keep the Empire safe from attacks from ocean-dwelling leviathans.
The murders and investigation are well-plotted, Ana is a fantastically Sherlockian character, and the rest of the characters are complex and compelling. Meanwhile, the worldbuilding (which includes magical plants, fantastical beasts, and a well-thought-out political structure) is finely created, and ripe for more stories of Din and Ana. So is this book a mystery? Is it a fantasy? Let's call it both, and enjoy it either way. I can't wait to read more in this world.
(Also, I would be A-OK if you judge this book by the cover, as both the cover and the book's contents are excellent.)
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