Review – Mortedant’s Peril (The Trials of Irody Harp, Book 1) by RJ Barker (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Steampunk
Length: 422 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: May 19, 2026
ASIN: B0FMS8WC25
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Trials of Irody Harp series
Source: eBook for Review from NetGalley
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Irody Hasp is a Mortedant, a cleric tasked with reading the last thoughts of the dead—though no one thanks him for it. No Mortedant is popular, but Irody is scarcely tolerated even by the other members of his own guild, and rarely selected for anything but the lowliest of jobs.

This impoverished existence would be dismal enough—but after reading the corpse of a low-level records keeper, Irody’s troubles quickly multiply when his own apprentice is murdered, and all fingers point to him as a suspect. The only way to save his own skin is to find the real culprit himself, an investigation that quickly attracts powerful enemies with few scruples, and draws him into a plot that threatens the entire corrupt yet wondrous city he calls home.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in The Trials of Irody Harp series. I got this on ebook from NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: I ended up really loving this. The characters are interesting, and the world-building is amazing. This is a murder mystery wrapped into an intriguing city of strange magic powers and steampunk elements. I have been meaning to read some of Barker’s books for years; this is the first one of his book’s I have read, and I loved it! I will definitely be adding his other series to my “to read” pile.

Irody Hasp is a Mortedant and a good one, he can read the last thoughts of the dead. However, he is disliked by his guild and ends up on some of the lowliest of jobs. When his apprentice ends up murdered, Irody is stuck trying to find the killer or be blamed for the death himself. With someone trying to assassinate him and a guard placed on him, he must navigate this complex city in order to clear his name. Along the way, he starts to unravel some truly awful secrets of both the ruling parties of the city and secrets of the city itself.

The description in here made me feel like I was walking through this world first hand; it was incredibly well done. Irody Hasp is not a likable person, no one likes him, however he ends up strangely likable and engaging by the end of the story. He ends up pulling together a sort of odd found family in a young thief girl who becomes his Neophyte and a strange “person of the sea” named Whisper who is assigned as a guard to him. The three of them end up dodging assassination attempts and unraveling the deep secrets of this complex city as they try to figure out who murdered Irody’s original Neophyte.

I found this story incredibly compelling. Part of what drives the story is unraveling the secret behind the murder of a low tier accountant that Irody is asked to read. You can’t help but wonder if Irody will solve the mystery before he is put to death himself. The other part of what drives the story is the complex city of Elbay. Elbay has so many layers to it and each is more mysterious and complex than the last.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this and was constantly looking forward to picking this up to read. I was absolutely transported to this amazing world every time I started reading. I loved this complex and mysterious city and the complex and mysterious characters who dwell there. I look forward to the next book in the series, “Mortedant’s Enigma”, which is scheduled to release in May 2027. This had similarities in tone to the Ana and Din Mysteries (Shadow of the Leviathan series) by Robert Jackson Bennett. I think if you enjoy the Shadow of the Leviathan series, you would enjoy this one as well.