The Executioner's Blade by Andrew Knighton

Publisher – Northodox Press

Published – Out Now

Price – £10.99 paperback £4.99 ebook

Unteholz is a city built on the backs of dying monsters.

When Lena Sturm, the city executioner, learns that she executed an innocent priest, she sets out to find the real killer and bring them to justice.

But her quest for truth drags her into a web of conflict and conspiracy, with everyone from a zealous bishop to a mad alchemist as potential suspects.

As Lena pursues justice, an army marches on the city, intent on bringing it to its knees. With the pressure mounting and the city’s future in danger, Lena must not only fight to uncover the truth but also to keep her adopted home safe.

The murder mystery is always a compelling plotline. Who does not enjoy solving a puzzle and also a story of justice. Add other genres to the mix and you can have some interesting dimensions. From minority report being able to predict future crimes to in fantasy the various exploits of the Night Watch. Fusing genres can give you dimensions to plotlines you do not expect and allow us still to take back and look at our own world anew. Andrew Knighton does that in their very impressive fantasy mystery novel The Executioner’s Blade where a very complex character decides she needs to solve a murder having executed the innocent person blamed for it. It’s a really interesting novel I was gripped by.

The city of Unteholz tends to stand alone thanks to its wealth, trade (legal and otherwise) and also uneasy balance of religious powers vying for power. This all gets endangered when Beatrice Saimon a prominent religious leader of the Mother Sky religions charged with murder of her husband Fiete a wealthy and powerful merchant. The case looks cut and dried as weapons were found and so she is sent to Headsman Lena Sturm the city’s executioner for swift summary justice. Lena is known for unusually only agreeing to execution based on the evidence but after taking Beatrice’s head she starts to doubt what she was told and begins to investigate who may actually be responsible which starts to point to all the wealthy and powerful people in Unteholz. At the same time Beatrice’s death becomes a rallying point for forces outside the city to finally turn their armies towards Unteholz and a siege is imminent Lena now has only days to solve the crime.

Solving crimes in fantasy is not new but Knighton delivers a really compelling mystery that also hints at some bigger plotlines around the standard fantasy city. A key part to the book’s success is the lead character of Lena. Its fairly unusual that an executioner becomes the lead in a novel and what comes across from early on is Lerna is a very complex character with many levels to her. Pretty much shunned by society by what she does (people even ward her off with a sign for evil) she has passed her days often drunk or hanging out in the poorer areas of town often using her blade skills in the caverns below the city to kill dying animals in the strange death caves the city has. Yet at the same time we sense a bit more to her – she has the ability to link her mind to animals and shows a lot of empathy and sympathy for them; she is bright, middle-aged and has a keen sense of justice but also shame. Finding out she was framed means her own moral code has been broken and that puts Lena on the attack and gives her much needed focus. She starts to show her skills as a fighter, an investigator and is not prepared to butt heads with those in charge of the city from religious leaders, crime lords or politicians. This all points to Lena having some secrets of her own and the reveal is handled really well and wrongfoots us too but does make all the clues prior make sense and her reaction to being known is really interesting. She is both a character to root for, sympathise with and yet we sense when she puts her mind to something she can be quite dangerous. She really stands out of the page whenever she appears and compels the reader to find out more about her.

There is also a charming double act as Lena starts to work with 14-year-old street beggar Deppel. He has softer skills, criminal skills and acts as a nice balance to Lena’s often surly demeanour - the two have a fascinating dynamic that as we discover more about Lena raises some questions as to why they have bonded but they make a very interesting and efficient pair of investigators. Both having some secrets from the other.

The other key highlight is the backdrop of Unteholz itself and I really liked the depth and complexity that Knighton introduces. There are shades of noir here is a city where crimelords can run free and perhaps even mingle with the powerful but of course with a fantasy dimension we also get alchemists with magical abilities and religious priests but also where same sex marriage is normal and women can be in any profession they choose - refreshing choices to see authors still take. What you come away with is a sense of a city that works as the various factions in an uneasy balance with one another. A theme is people using the people to cement their powerbases (as if that could happen in our world!). Beatrice’s murder has started the process of unravelling this and then Lena going through the rich and powerful with no regard to the balance makes things even worse. Her employer/not quite friends the politician Maier and the City Commander Baumer both want answers but not at the expense of losing the city. In some ways familiar territory for crime novels but here Knighton adds a really impressive siege on top of things and so we both have a fantasy mystery, but things also develop into battle tactics, fighting and yes there are fights with dragons. Lena’s role in those events si also very well handled and I liked both the smart tactics being used and the unusual solution Lena uses to help settle things. All of which then neatly comes back to the central mystery and I really how tied a lot of the strands we see above together and becomes a human story of people being people and an injustice to bring to the light.

The Executioner’s Blade is very inventive; has a fascinating lead character we just think we may be starting to get to know and a location that offers even more surprises. I’m very glad to hear further tales in this world are coming soon. Knighton continues to be an author to provide inventive takes on classic settings and this is very highly recommended!