Blood of the Mantis - Tchaikovsky Adrian

The third novel in the enthralling 'Shadows of the Apt' sequence of epic fantasy adventures, full of combat and colour. Driven by the ghosts of the Darakyon, Achaeos has tracked the stolen Shadow Box to the marsh-town of Jerez, but he has only days before the magical box is lost to him forever. There is a fierce struggle over the Shadow Box, as lake creatures, secret police and renegade magicians compete to take possession. If it falls into the hands of the Wasp Emperor, then no amount of fighting will suffice to save the world from his relentless ambition...