If you want me to read a book, all you have to do is compare it to one of my favorite TV shows or movies. The Tainted Cup was sold to me as a Knives Out murder mystery set in Attack on Titan, and that's all I needed to hear to add it to my TBR, honestly. It's also written by @r.jackson.bennett, who wrote the amazing Foundryside!

I'm giving it 🌟🌟🌟🌟 for Ana alone, who reminds me of Monk and House. Two brilliant minds that were able to solve the unsolvable but had poor people skills 😂.

I think this series will be perfect for fans of procedurals and cozy mysteries but want more fantasy. I can wait to make this a year purchase.


Thank you, @netgalley for the ARC

Genre blurring at it's finest, Robert Jackson Bennett's new novel "The Tainted Cup" blends the mystery solving of a Nero Wolfe-esque quirky detective with an other worldly sci-fi setting, a la Frank Herbert's "Dune" series. For fans of sci-fi and fantasy, "The Tainted Cup" delivers intriguing world building and fascinating ideas about a planet and culture based around physical enhancements that can be grafted onto citizens, and an extensive caste system that rules over all of the inhabitants of the planet. Additionally, the continual Godzilla like threat of the ever preset leviathans, keeps the reader intrigued and curious about their existence and origin.

For the mystery lovers, Jackson Bennett introduces the brilliant and flawed Ana Dolabra, an investigator who works most times blindfolded to overcome all stimulus superfluous to her case. The book opens with one of the most unique murders you'll come across, and over it's chapters revels a far ranging and complex case that will leave the reader unsure of who might be involved, and who can be trusted.

Overall, I would recommend this book for fans of sci-fi and detective novels, as well as fans of literary genre blending. Like most sci-fi novels, the first third of the book can take a bit longer to get through as tons of terminology unique to this world are thrown at you, but those who stick with it will find that it starts to become second hand as you become more and more immersed in Jackson Bennett's world. The pacing is solid and keeps the story moving along without getting excessively bogged down in exposition or descriptions. All in all, and enjoyable and enticing read.

Technically a fantasy, but absolutely a murder mystery. As someone who is still dipping their toes in the pool of fantasy books, this was a great lead in for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Attack on Titan meets Pacific Rim and Sherlock Holmes in this stunner of a story. I was obsessed with this book from start to finish. The description sounded amazing, the body horror drew me in, and the cover is gorgeous. Seems too good to be true, right? Nope! The Tainted Cup was incredible. I struggled to put it down, even at work, and spent a good portion of my shift hiding in the back room just so I could finish one more chapter…then one more…then another…
The writing was beautiful but easy to follow along with, and the characters…Oh, man, I love the characters. They were all very distinct in their appearances and personalities, and the interactions between them were often hilarious; I don’t know how I’m going to live without them until the next book comes out. I have endless theories about the leviathans.
If you begin reading and find yourself confused, give it a few chapters. Things will make more sense once you’re around the 10% mark. I already want to reread it.

Love these characters, the mystery is well planned, and the looming threat of a leviathan coming over the sea wall makes for an exciting read. Robert Bennett does not disappoint, and I look forward to reading more with these characters.

Dinios has been magically altered to be able to perfectly recall everything and his job is to assist detective Ana Dolabra who is brilliant and makes great deductions. When a high imperial officer is killed and they are called to investigate, they realize there may be a plot that threatens to undermine the Empire as they know it. Overall, an interesting mystery told in the style of Sherlock Holmes but set in a magical world based on the Roman empire. The world building is very complex and as more is uncovered it makes you curious how everything is tied together.

I was lucky to receive this book from Net Galley and Random House - thank you! I love Sherlock type mystery books so I was very eager to give this a try. I was expecting banter and “brilliant” deductions but I didn’t find this dynamic. While there is a supremely intelligent, eccentric woman who puts the pieces together with flourish, she doesn’t interact as much with the world around her. A lot of her interactions are set in a carefully constructed environment where she is always in control of the surroundings. Seeing Sherlock’s interactions with others in society is part of the charm with the counterweight of the beloved, “normal,” Watson who is intelligent and competent in his own right. The two characters can give as good as they get. This isn’t true of the duo in this book - she is the wise one who does all of the solving and the “Watson” character is a lackey who rigidly adheres to policy and isn’t well liked by others.

I also purchased the audiobook and the voice of Ana sounded so much like a stereotypical witch cackling in her house made of roots and books. There were attempts to make her sound witty and amusing but it didn’t feel super authentic. I probably had too high of expectations because of the comparison to Sherlock and Watson and all I got was a huge let down. Was the story decent? Sure. But not what I was expecting. 2.5 ⭐️

𝘔𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 • 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 • 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 • 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘳
𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥: 6 February 2024

This ended up being a delightful Sherlock & Holmes style murder mystery, but set in a fantastical world where people are enhanced with magical grafts granting them special abilities, be it physical strength, photographic memory, calculation prowess, even pheromones to make a courtesan impossibly appealing.

Quaint yet futuristic, the book explores an alternate society: one with rungs of hierarchy, lots of tea drinking and sword fighting, with carrier pigeons and assassins and the entire world under threat of collapse should the Empire’s walls be breached by leviathans, otherworldly sea serpents.

Layer upon layer of deception are artfully woven into an engrossing whodunnit. Kol Din, the assistant engraver to our lead detective Ana Dolobra, is more than he seems, while Ana is just as eccentric and no-holds-barred unfiltered as I’d hoped. She cannot deal with too much stimulation and as such is a recluse who always appears blindfolded to tamp down sensory overload.

The exploration of humanity and depravity and corruption unraveling feels true to sci-fi. There are hints of a queer romance. I’m excited that this is only book 1 of a series. It nicely wraps up the mystery of the plant contagion, but leaves things open for a next case to be solved by this fun duo.

This was my first Robert Jackson Bennett book, and I loved it!!! I can't wait for book 2 in this series.

I adored the characters. The banter between them was snarky, witty, and at times hilarious.

This book gave me so many Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, and Knives Out vibes. Those vibes combined with fantasy setting were the cherry on top!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I enjoyed the characters of the story, they were well-rounded enough to keep the story interesting and to let their flaws occasionally be the reason they find something or drive the drama forward. The plot itself was great! The way the characters slowly unwind the mystery and figure out the clues plus I LOVED how the world itself has huge ties to the mystery.

I’ve always known RJB had a talent for telling a mystery fantasy after I read City of Stairs but The Tainted Cup really drives home how far he’s come in his writing and plotting since then. Overall The Tainted Cup is an incredible story for its genre and I'm eagerly awaiting the next adventure in this world.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Del Rey for an eARC of The Tainted Cup.

This was a great murder mystery, with an overarching scheme of comparing the threat of leviathans against the Empire. The two main characters, Ana and Din are a great pair. I had heard they were like Sherlock & Watson and I can definitely see the comparison. The magic system is slight with people being augmented to have special talents. In this book there are constant twists and turns. Multiple people are murdered and it's up to Ana to solve the case with Din's ability to engrave, or memorize, everything about the scenes and relay to Ana. The thought and care that accompanied the writing of this book is seen throughout. This was very interesting and I found myself reading it late into the night. I will definitely be picking up the sequel.

Let me start by saying I haven't read fantasy for years (not counting one urban fantasy series that I started years ago and is still going strong). But this book, was full on fantasy, with the odd and original premise of the characters and buildings being plant based and/or having parasites to "add" to them. I could never pin down the origin of the characters either, which I'm sure was the point, but at times reminded me of historical China, India, and the Roman empire. All the while this appeared to be a historical novel (at least to me), it also embodied all of the current issues we all deal with in the world today, just differently. The author did an exceptional job at world-building in this book. At first you are slightly confused and that's probably when I started linking it to past civilizations. Soon, there's a murder; they are poisoned, causing a tree to explosively grow from the person's body. We meet Din, a newly assigned assistant to the provocative and unconventional Investigator Ana. Din is treated quite poorly by almost everyone around him, yet he is forthright, follows the rules, and performs his job exceptionally. Ana's senses are acute and therefore cannot be around people except for short periods time and spends most of the book, blindfolded, to help. So while other investigators visit the scene, Din is sent in her place. Din's ability is too remember everything he sees and hears and is like a human video recorder, but must tie his memories to a scent.

This is a high profile murder with connections to higher goverment and a controlling "family" that has their fingers in everything in the empire. As the investigation progresses they end up in another canton where more murders take place all while the city is preparing for another Leviathan attack.

I LOVED this book!! It was fascinating with well developed characters and an interesting murder mystery with the subplot of possible anniliation. Ana and Din were a Sherlock and Watson duo, only better.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley for providing an eARC of one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. All opinions are my own.

This novel was a great cross between mystery and fantasy! The world building set this book up to be the first in a series, and it did not disappoint. The characters were fun and intriguing, making it easy to get engrossed in this book. I can not wait for the next book in the series!

I want to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for an ARC of this book.

This was so good!

I really enjoyed the combination of fantasy and murder mystery. It felt like reading Sherlock Holmes in a magical, beautiful, brutal world.

I didn't see a lot of the twists coming, but they all made sense once they were revealed. It definitely kept me guessing.

The world was so interesting and I very much want to explore and learn more about it in future books. I have so many questions!

And I really liked the main characters. They felt so unique and layered. I can't wait to go on another adventure with them!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC.

This is such an incredibly unique book. I love a murder mystery but I don’t remember reading one set in such a complex fantasy world. The world building here was wonderful, though I would only recommend it for true fantasy devotees because the monsters, magic and government are quite strange and would be hard for non-fantasy folks to connect with. I loved the characters of Din and Ana - they had such a good rapport and I hope to read more books featuring this detective duo.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of Foundryside, I had high hopes for this novel and it did not disappoint! Holmes-style mystery with impeccable female and queer rep that was such a good read! Bennett is such a talent.

This was <i>fun</i>! Eccentric main characters, unique magic system, and a classic whodunnit all blended together seamlessly. I also LOVED that it was a self-contained story, but clearly set up a Big Bad that will provide an overall structure and story arc throughout the series.

I mostly read the book, but did switch to audio for a bit in the middle, and the narrator did a fantastic job with all the different characters.

Will definitely be reading the next one!

If you are n the market for a Holmesian mystery packaged in a fantasy world with a well-developed magic system and politics, plus eldritch monsters at the gates, this is exactly what you want, and not only because that was s super niche description. This is my first Robert Jackson Bennett novel, and I can definitely see myself picking up more. When a body is found with a tree growing through it inside of an opulent mansion, Ana Dolabra is called in. But, Anais busy with her experiments, so she sends in her engraver, Dinios "Din" Kol to be her eyes and ears. Din and Ana are both regular passengers on the hot mess neurodivergent express, and watching them solve the case is a trip and a half. The world is so exceptionally complex and detailed, and the mystery is quite satisfying, but the characters are absolutely the high point of this novel. Din is delightfully different, and the way he experiences the world is so incredibly engrossing. I love that this is a self-contained story that will branch out into a broader series in this world, and I do think that I will continue on when he next entry appears.

I'm not sure what drew me to this book, it's a murder mystery (definitely in my lane) set in a fantasy land (veering way out of my lane) with a very cool cover - and I'm even less sure how to describe it. As the description says, it's a bit like Sherlock Holmes set in a somewhat dystopian world. Holmes is the Cumberbatch version - but in the form of a brilliant female detective, Ana Dolabra, who likes to work blindfolded and rarely leaves her house, which is a book hoarder's dream. She may be wildly eccentric, but she's also extremely good at her job. Her Watson is Dinios Kol, who's been recently assigned to her, a young man who's been altered to be an "engraver", someone who looks at a scene and can recall every detail, every word said, every observation made; in essence he's a human tape recorder. The case is a most unusual (and horrifying) suspected murder, and it's Kol's first murder case. And as they work to complete the investigation and reveal the identity of the murderer, they're racing against the clock because a literal monster is knocking at the door, a leviathan threatening the very existence of all.
Robert Jackson Bennett has created a fantasy setting that is at once unrecognizable and yet strangely familiar. The characters are richly drawn and fascinating. And I'm very much looking forward to the next book in this series, because he has totally pulled me into that world.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House/Del Rey for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is an utterly charming Holmes & Watson-style fantasy mystery novel. The characters are captivating and endearing, and the mystery kept me turning the pages as fast as possible! Bennett is a skilled writer and storyteller with a sharp sense of humor and a unique turn of phrase. The writing is intelligent and engaging, and the story quickly draws you into the intrigue and mystery. The novel skillfully tackles topics such as how neurodivergence is looked down upon, the benefits that can come when our differences are embraced, and the consequences of a corrupt government. I am eagerly looking forward to more books in this series. You don't want to miss this book!