The series “Obsidian and Blood” chronicles the adventures of Acatl, High Priest for the Dead, in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. They are fantasies/mysteries: as well as being responsible for the funeral rites of the Aztec Imperial Family, Acatl also investigates crimes that break the fragile balance of the mortal world.

Book 1, Servant of the Underworld, is out now, published by Angry Robot. Book 2, Harbinger of the Storm, is now out, and the final book, Master of the House of Darts has just been released. An omnibus edition, Obsidian and Blood, containing all 3 books, will be out in July 2012.

You can download a glossary of major characters and concepts here for the Kindle, courtesy of Nathan McKnight.

A French translation is out from Bibliothèque Interdite: vol. 1 is D’Obsidienne et de Sang, vol. 2 is Le Cinquième Soleil, due in 2011.

Feel like sampling the books? In addition to the first chapters available online (see the individual book pages, below), there are also three short stories in the Acatl universe:

NOTE: all three books are standalones, which means you can perfectly pick up Harbinger of the Storm without having read Servant of the Underworld, and Master of the House of Darts without having read either of the previous books. Think of it as a crime series–you can read them in order if you want to, but it’s not obligatory. I’m pointing this out because I’ve become aware Servant can be hard to get hold of in the UK and by extension in Europe (the UK print run was recalled due to complicated circumstances, and the only available copies are re-imported US ones). If you feel you can’t live without the first book, you can also try the ebook version (available in multiple formats and DRM free) here.