Missing in Action

Missing in Action is a short story tucked between Xenos and Malleus in the Eisenhorn saga, and it picks up right after the events of the first book. Eisenhorn is sent to a planet for what's supposed to be a routine investigation, something simple to ease back into the work, but of course, nothing stays simple for long in this universe. What starts as a small case quickly unravels into something far darker, a cult carrying out ritual mutilations across the planet.

The story leans hard into the same detective mystery thriller energy that made Xenos work so well. We follow Eisenhorn piecing together clues, following leads, and slowly uncovering the full scope of what's actually happening, rather than just brute-forcing his way to a solution.

What really elevated this one for me, though, was the moral complexity underneath the mystery. Eisenhorn genuinely struggles to reach for violence as a first response here, and the reason why is what makes the story hit so hard, the people behind this cult turn out to be war veterans struggling with untreated PTSD. That reframes the entire investigation. It's not just a hunt for heretics, it becomes something closer to watching a man wrestle with how to deliver justice to people who are as much victims of their circumstances as they are perpetrators of horrific acts.

It plays out almost like an episode of a genuinely great detective drama, methodical, tense, and character-driven, right up until a tragic twist near the end. In a very 40K way, that twist reflects something uncomfortably true about our own world, how war breaks people, and how easily that damage gets ignored or punished instead of treated.

As a bridge between Eisenhorn novels, this short story more than earns its place. It's tightly written, emotionally weightier than I expected from something this short, and it deepens Eisenhorn as a character without overstaying its welcome.

5 out of 5 stars.