From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

_A Trade of Blood_ is the 3rd Ana and Din mystery (of an uncertain
number, each book being a standalone). In the first chapter, Anagosa
Dolabra is complaining to her assistant Dinios Kol that the case they
have just been assigned to looks like a very boring one (murder victim
was nubile female, thus high profile and gentry besides, even higher
profile and initial reports suggests a very banal motive as well). Ana
might be very smart and very knowledgeable, but what she doesn|t know is
that she is a character in a novel and the plot for that novel is going
to need a murder that is much more |interesting#.

And so it is. As Ana and Din dig into the mystery, they find evidence
that something very strange is going on. I initially noticed a
resemblance to |The Leech# by Malcolm Jameson (published in the January
1944 issue of Astounding SF), but I was also reminded of an assassin
tool used by the antagonists in David Weber|s later Honorverse novels.
Ana proposed that other deaths were actually disguised murders (and is
proven correct). However, their investigation sparked an attempt to
cleanup (and they were also possible candidates for |cleanup#). Ana lays
a trap for her prime suspect, which works.

An amusing bit involved Din|s sister (in _A Drop of Corruption_ it is mentioned that Din hoped that his siblings and parent would be able to
move to the Empire|s third ring. Well, they did move, into a town less
than a day|s journey of where the murders take place, and one sister in
on site. She has definite opinions on what people should be doing and
does not hesitate to express them at sufficient length. At the end of
the book, Din is granted leave to visit his other sisters (and
grandmother who raised them after the death of their mother).

The solution did involve a dive into the Empire|s deep history,
including history that had been deliberately suppressed.

|The LIon|s Tusk# is a short story that is basically Ana|s monologue to
fill the time on a long trip (perhaps to the location of _A Trade of
Blood_) and to inform Din (whether he wishes or not). In it she
describes a cold case that occurred about 2 centuries previously and her solution. She praises the investigator|s paperwork, but decries his investigation approach and points out, that while he had figured out
about half of the murder plot, the evidence for the rest was right in
front of him and he didn|t see the significance. She did have the
advantage of seeing a painting done decades after the murder which
indicated one of the people present had dyed his hair.
--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_. i-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com
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