Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for the opportunity to read an early copy of THE TAINTED CUP in exchange for my honest review!

I ate this story up! I pretty much read it in one sitting. This was one of my most anticipated reads for the first half of 2024 and it did not disappoint!

This book carries the familiarity of a crime procedural tv series, with also some bizarre and eccentric elements. The story opens up at a crime scene where the victim has been essentially murdered by a tree?? It's wild. From there, we learn that there's a series of similar crimes taking place and a potential government conspiracy at hand.

The main characters investigating this mystery are Ana and Din, which have very much of a Holmes-Watson dynamic, and also a master (Ana) and apprentice (Din) dynamic. Their partnership is quirky and amusing, and I found myself laughing out loud a few times from their dialogue.

I was really impressed by the pacing of this book. Sometimes with an investigative plot line, the pacing can be much slower, but THE TAINTED CUP had the sweet spot of being a medium-fast paced read and was continually engaging.

The world building was also really intriguing. Besides the series of murders that are happening in this book, there's also the looming threat of these colossal creatures--leviathans--breaching the walls that protect this world. I saw some comments that this book is like Pacific Rim meets Sherlock Holmes, and I feel like that's a pretty good comparison!

As interesting as the leviathan parts of this book were, I did feel like it wasn't as strongly developed as the murder mystery plot line. Even though it has a larger role to play in the background of the story, I wasn't as invested in that part of the world building.

I also wish we had more background/character development for Din and his family. You learn that Din is where he is for the sake of his family, and you learn some secrets about Din that helped him get where he is, all in the name of helping his family. However, we don't even know his family so there wasn't any weight there behind his motivations.

All that to say, I really enjoyed this and I'm excited for whatever comes next from Robert Jackson Bennett!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

RJB is one of my favorite fantasy authors who always creates original, complex, and creative worlds that I just always adore. The Foundryside trilogy is one of my all time favorites series so when I heard we were getting a new book by RJB, I just knew I had to read it as soon as possible.

The amount of rep that RJB puts into his books is so impressive and I adore it. The main characters in The Tainted Cup are neurodivergent, each in their own beautiful way, and even though their government and society does not like people who are different. On top of that, RJB has queer characters in his books, which is amazing and a bonus.

If you are a fan of the dynamic between Sherlock and Watson and the eccentric flare of the movie, Knives Out, and a unique fantasy world filled with murder, mystery, and so many threats, then The Tainted Cup is for you!

I really wanted to like this one, and perhaps it was a case of wrong book at the wrong time, but I just struggled to care about the main characters. And while the mystery seemed intriguing, it wasn’t enough when I wasn’t invested in the characters.

I ended up not finishing this book, though I may give it another chance in the future. I’m rating it in the middle because there was nothing terribly wrong that I noted, other than failing to keep my interest.

The Tainted Cup follows our main character Dinios Kol as he is a recently assigned to the mysterious and infamous Ana Dolabra. Din is an apprentice who has recently been given the magical gift of engraving, the ability to remember everything. With his new assignment to Ana, he is now tasked with solving a gruesome death, but Ana isn’t present with him! Din must capture all the information and report back to Ana at her home where she never leaves and wears a blindfold over her eyes. In this magical retelling of Watson and Holmes, we are taken on a fantastic adventure full of mystery, magic, and murder.

The Tainted Cup was a fun time!! I echo a lot of the sentiments I see from others saying, “it’s no Foundryside.” While this book is a fantastic new adventure it contains a lot of different people, places, and things to keep track of! I enjoyed the plot and the magic system of it all. The biggest reason I’ve given it a 3 star is because I kept getting confused about what characters we were talking to or referring to at any point in the story! Maybe I wasn’t in the right headspace to read this complex story, but I did love it and I had a fun time. I can definitely see myself re-reading it to get a better understanding of what is going on in the story and especially if I read the next book in the series.

“The person an enhancement is paired with is just as important as what enhancement they get. And we get some say in what kind of person we are, Din. We do not pop out of a mold. We change. We self-assemble."

What a ride! The Tainted Cup was intricate mystery with a scifi/fantasy twist. I loved the unlikely duo of Din and Ana. Their dynamic was extremely entertaining and I can’t wait to see them again in the sequel. 4.5 ✨ Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC!

Such a genuinely GOOD fantasy novel. 5 stars is simply not enough and I can’t wait for the next books in the series!

When Din Kol is sent to a death scene by his "boss" Ana, he finds a man dead by the sprout of a tree in the middle of his chest. It's a death made by a contagion that has not been seen in a long time and just doesn't make sense. With a pending threat of gigantic leviathans to the Empire, Ana and Din must solve this case.

First, I wasn't that interested in this book because I really don't care a lot about books being compared to Sherlock Holmes (never liked these stories). But since I loved the world created by the author in Foundryside, I decided to give it a go to see what new fantastical world he invented. And, I love the magic systems that he comes up with. They are akin to science (in Foundryside, coding, in this one, genetic modifications to enhance or create abilities). And they are simply put really cool. And the way that he is able to mesh the world building with the plot is really well done. The world building is done whilst the story is moving forward. In the beginning, it may seem a little jarring because there is no info dump to explain eveything to the reader but while the plot goes forward so does the understanding of the world. It's a highly accessible well crafted book.

I liked Din a lot. He's an interesting character to follow and I really liked the way his "magic" (not only his enhancements but other things that are talked about later on) is used in the murder investigation. But I loved Ana. She has the exact type of humor that I love and she does remind me a lot of Benoit Blanc in Knives Out. And I loved seeing her mind working. The book never says it but it shows you how clever she is - which I love.

One thing that a lot of times annoys me in misteries is that either the story has so many hints that is pretty obvious what happened or the reveals come from nowhere. This book doesn't do either. It leaves bread crumbs to the reader so that it's possible to guess somethings but never the whole picture. And it still leaves space for some really cool reveals that, when thinking upon them, make sense.

I also liked that the "adventure" in this book is self-contained. Yes, it leaves story enough for possible sequels when it comes to Din's and Ana's lives and the Empire. But this story is complete by the end.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

New assistant investigator Dinios Kol didn't expect his first assignment to be looking into the mysterious death of an Imperial Officer who died after a tree sprouted from his body while in residence at an opulent mansion owned by a very prominent family in Daretana.

Taking the information back to his superior Ana Dolabra - who is known throughout the Empire for her brilliance just as much as for her eccentricities - it soon becomes clear that there's a rot within the Empire that's been long festering.

As more questions are raised, and more bodies discovered, it soon becomes apparent that someone doesn't want Ana and Din to solve this puzzle. Add to that the very real and deadly Leviathan making its way toward the protected walls of the Empire, and Ana and Din will be lucky to get out of this one alive.

I thought that Robert Jackson Bennett handled the world-building wonderfully. It's always so hard to paint a picture of an unreal place and give it enough reality so people can picture it in their mind. I think it helps that there was a good amount of repetition in regards to the fact that once Din had investigated a scene, or a witness, oftentimes he would have to replicate it for Ana and sometimes she would turn around and repeat it as she was giving us her grand conclusions. Some might find this to be too much, I found it perfect in this case because it kept all those details fresh in my mind; not just of the case itself, but of this fictional world.

The story is also helped by the fact that once Ana and Din first appear on page together it was magical. The dynamic of these two seemingly outcast people forming a bond and a successful working relationship was very heartening. Really this is only just the beginning. I look forward to seeing their relationship grow and discovering more about their characters.

Like many of Sherlock's adventures, this book is told completely from the perspective of Din (aka Dr. Watson). I think this works well in this case because he's looking at things with new/fresh eyes like we are as readers. So he's learning as he goes just like we are. This also helps to keep a bit of mystery surrounding Ana. I think we've only begun to scratch the surface of her talents and abilities.

There were a lot of moving parts to this book. Not only is there the murder to solve but we're also thrust into the state of emergency that is the wet season aka when a Leviathan breaching the walls is a looming threat throughout the Empire. Each aspect of the story was kept so crisp and precise even with all the secondary characters moving in and out. Having the focal points be Ana and Din along with their investigation really kept the story grounded.

This is probably one of my favorite reads of the year so far because it kind of came at me unexpectedly. I was a little wary going in and starting a new series with new world-building, but became to enmeshed so quickly that I didn't want to put it down. Highly recommended.

This was my first Robert Jackson Bennett read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The mystery component of this book mixed with the fantasy setting added some fun surprises - magical plants and people that have been altered to have specific abilities. I do hope we get more of Ana and Din's adventures, I loved their characters, and look forward to learning more about this unusual world they protect.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

The Tainted Cup is an inventive fantasy murder mystery!

Dinos is an assistant investigator in the empire of Daretana. He has been augmented to be an engraver - someone who can remember everything perfectly, and uses bottles of scent to trigger and activate their incredible memories. He works for Ana, who has the reputation of being exceedingly eccentric (but also the best detective in the empire).

Din and Ana are asked to investigate a strange death - a man was killed by a tree erupting out of him. This kind of contagion has happened before, in a now-defunct section of the country, but dapplegrass hasn't killed anyone in years (and how did it get into Blas's home?).

When they find out more people died of dapplegrass poisoning, Ana and Din know they've got to unravel the mystery to save the kingdom. That is, if a Leviathan doesn't break through the walls protecting their kingdom first, and destroy them all.

While there wasn't quite enough worldbuilding for one to ever feel comfortable in Daretana, I think that is part of the appeal of this story. You feel just as unsettled as Din feels as he's trying to navigate in a large city, in high society where he doesn't feel welcome. The characters are really well-written and developed, and whodunit definitely surprised me!

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

5/5🌟 The Tainted Cup was my first Robert Jackson Bennett book, and BOY was I captivated by this story. I need MORE. Bennett’s writing of vivid landscapes, bouncy dialogue, and a clean, unique magical system was absolutely beautiful. Every moment, every page had me enthralled.

The Tainted Cup intertwines several story elements that would be perfect for a variety of readers: a fantasy world, murder mystery, unique magical system, and the ever-looming presence of their world dying any moment by a hill-sized monster. With so many components, Bennett structured the pacing and detail of this story remarkably well. I never left a page feeling like I needed more from a scene or conversation.

From corrupt politicians to flirty officers, the characters were truly the heart of the story. I loved the platonic relationship of Ana and Din. Their banter with one another and others was full of wit. The way Bennett wrote his MCs with neurodivergence made me so happy. I typically don’t see neurodivergent characters in such dark, complex environments, but Bennett did it so well by giving them a power of their own, especially within their development as a character.

There is so much to love about The Tainted Cup. I cannot wait to see what Din and Ana explore next!

Thank you Del Rey Books, Robert Jackson Bennett, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I love this book! Woven together in one novel are an intricately crafted fantasy world as well as an intriguing murder investigation. Both aspects of the story are done masterfully. THE TAINTED CUP kept me engaged from the beginning to the end.

The investigative duo of Ana and Din form team not too dissimilar to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Anagosa Dolabra is an Immunis for her region, an investigator, a detective. Dinios Kol is her assistant. More than that, Din is her eyes. Ana almost never goes to the crime scene but rather takes the information that Din literally engraves into his memory through a magical eidetic process. At the same time, Ana is made sightless by a mask that she wears, forcing her to focus on her other senses and logic out answers from the data Din provides.

The complex world in which Ana and Din work full of unique magics such as grafts for stonewood, slothiks, cracklers, and healing. It was through magical grafts that both Ana and Din acquired their exceptional skills. Yet the world flows from the words so smoothly that the reader is drawn in and understands what is happening without ever feeling that things are strange. The author has made the world believable and real.

One gruesome murder draws the team’s focus, but before long the investigation expands when a dozen others are found murdered in the same way. The real problem that arises from all these deaths is that these dead engineers were responsible for the defenses that protect the country from the leviathans in the sea that threaten to destroy the nation. As the novel progresses, the reader is drawn in further as the mystery spirals further into the country’s hierarchy.

I loved this book and found myself engaged from the first word to the last. It is well worth a read for anyone who loves a good mystery as well as anyone who loves a great fantasy novel. It is especially rewarding to those of us who relish both! Five enthusiastic stars!

The Tainted Cup is a high fantasy and a detective novel mashup about a team investigating a high profile series of murders using a biological weapon.

Dinios Kol is a new assistant for the eccentric investigator Ana Dolabra when they are called in to inspect the death scene of an important officer of their realm. The man is found in a mansion of a wealthy family with an entire tree embedded inside him. Soon a whole series of similar bodies will be found that puts the entire empire at risk as a large creature called the Leviathan is approaching their shores leaving destruction in its wake. Ana, Dinios and a hastily assembled team will need to find out who is the murderer is and what they want before it’s too late.

Robert Jackson Bennett has created a world that has new races, augmentations to the human body and a complex political system that’s unique to this book. Ana is a hilarious sly genius that we typically see in a male character while Dinios is her newbie assistant that has a lot to learn but shouldn’t be underestimated. And it has monsters! I enjoyed this murder mystery within the fantasy and I look forward to future books in this series.

When the book begins, the reader is immediately thrown into the Empire of Khanum, with little time spent on world building (which is my biggest issue with the book and made the beginning quite confusing). The story features Din (an engraver - he essentially has a photographic memory), who is working as an assistant to Ana (an investigator) and starts off with a murder mystery. There is also the imminent threat of a leviathan breaching the city walls and killing everyone in Talagray. Throughout the book, I felt the clues were well placed, the pacing was good and the mystery was well written. Despite my confusion at the beginning, the book was fun and unexpected. Everything wraps up nicely at the end, but it also teases future installments in the series. Overall, I would recommend the book to readers who enjoy fantasy/mystery novels.

4.25/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The Tainted Cup" had a lot of promise—a mix of mystery and fantasy with a twist that sounded just up my alley (mysterious death by spontaneous tree eruption? Sign me up!). While it delivered on many fronts, there were definitely a few things along the way that made the ride a bit bumpy.

The partnership of Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol brings a fresh take on the classic Holmes-and-Watson partnership. Ana, with her brilliant but maddeningly eccentric detective mind, and Din, the engraver who has been programmed to have a perfect memory, make for an often entertaining pair. Despite finding Ana a bit obnoxious at times, Din managed to steal the show for me. His loyalty, wit, and sharp observations made me eager to see what he'd notice next.

However, entering the world of Daretana and Talagray was sort of like being thrown into the deep end without swimming lessons. The setting is imaginative—spontaneous tree eruptions, magical leviathans, altered people, and a detective who literally refuses to view the world she navigates—but it sometimes felt like navigating a maze without a map. The political intrigue and the magical system, particularly the leviathans and their blood's effects, were interesting but could have used a bit more depth and unpacking. I found myself craving backstories and explanations that never really came.

Other quirks that threw me off in the world-building details were things like measuring distances in spans and smallspans, then suddenly switching to miles, or making reference to made-up month names without really giving the reader a sense of their place in the year or the ability to know how much time has passed between them. These choices often pulled me out of the story, trying to piece together the basics of the world instead of getting lost in the mystery. Also, the frequent swearing felt jarring against the backdrop of an otherwise elegantly constructed world, not quite fitting with the tone and sometimes coming across as unnecessary.

Despite these gripes, the story itself was intriguing. The plot is full of twists and turns, with moments of brilliance that had me fully engaged, only to lose steam in the following chapter with another confusing leap or an unexplained element. This inconsistency is what led to my 3.5-star rating, but I rounded up to a 4 for the moments that truly shined.

Ana may have tested my patience, but Din's charm and the sheer uniqueness of the setting have me invested enough to see what happens in the next book.

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, however I did opt to listen to the final version of the audiobook upon publication. As always all opinions are my own. The audiobook is fantastic, the narrator does a wonderful job with the many characters, given each one a unique voice and accent. I found this very important as there are many players in this mystery and having them each have a unique voice made it very easy to keep track of everyone.

This was fantastic! I don't think I've ever read a fantasy mystery, and if I have it wasn't anything like this. The author paints a vivid world of flora and fauna that are so unique. The characters are equally interesting and people can undergo augmentations to heighten their senses, assist them in their daily jobs, or to look more aesthetically pleasing. Our cast of characters are mainly members of the military, our main character Din is an apprentice assigned to eccentric Senior Investigator Ana. Din is her eyes during the investigation, while she pieces together the intricate puzzle involving a murder, high society, and strange creatures that threaten humanity.

This has a bit of everything. If you enjoy a good mentor-mentee detective type mystery with an intricate fantasy element this is the book for you. If you don't like books with complex plotlines and a long list of characters, this may not be the book for you. This has great elements of political intrigue and conspiracy as well. It was such a great mash up of so many great things. This has such great world building, the materials, people, and other entities of the world are describes so well and are often made of unexpected material or altered to be more appealing or used in unique ways. The plot moves at a great pace as well and there are nice elements of humor and action to keep the reader interested. I couldn't put this down!

This is currently showing as a trilogy, however this doesn't end on a cliffhanger. The main storyline ends with the promise of Din and Ana to have future investigations. The current mystery has been solved and I'm so looking forward to seeing what kind of adventures they get into next This world promises to have lots of mysteries to uncover.

- Subgenre: High Fantasy
- Features: First Person POV, Government Corruption, Kaiju, Murder Mystery, Single POV
- Series Length: Trilogy (Incomplete)

What would Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes do in a world threatened by giant sea monsters, magically-altered humans, and weaponized plants? That's the premise of The Tainted Cup, which delivers detailed world-building with a classic murder-mystery plot.

I will break down this review into world-building, characters, and plot.

World-Building:

Bennett immediately drops readers into a world of magical alterations, inhuman threats, and detailed government systems. Our POV character, Dinios Kol, is a Sublime: a human magically enhanced for advanced cognitive function. In Din's case, he "engraves" memories into his mind, and can recall every experience perfectly. Human enhancements cover a range of abilities, including mathematical or spatial reasoning, enhanced senses, or physical strength and endurance. All at a price, of course.

The narrative introduces a lot of new terminology, including government divisions and rankings, types of human alterations, magical building materials, regional details, and so on. Even as an experienced fantasy reader, I found this a little overwhelming, and some readers may struggle to keep up. Overall, however, the world is detailed and fascinating.

Characters:

In The Tainted Cup, we follow Dinios Kol, and his brilliant, eccentric master, Ana Dolabra.

I greatly enjoy the contrast between them: Din, a young, by-the-book apprentice, and Ana - a vulgar, off-putting, and incomprehensible investigator, exiled to the dregs of the world. They provide a perfect foil for each other, and I found them both highly likable.

Plot:

Here's where I struggled: I prefer highly character-driven stories, and The Tainted Cup is mostly mystery-driven. Although I enjoyed the world and characters, I still slogged through the story. Don't take this as a criticism of the book, however: it's just not for me (at least for the moment). I think many people will greatly enjoy the mystery and delightfully detailed world.

Conclusion:

I liked this book, even if it wasn't fully for me! If you want to sink your teeth into a complex world and a grisly murder investigation, pick up The Tainted Cup.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC. The Tainted Cup published February 6th, 2024 and is available now!

A big thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LURVEEEE THIS BOOK SO MUCH IT IS SO PRETTY AND DELICIOUS. gRACIAS POR COMPARTIR CONMIGO. (as per a friend's reaction to this book)

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is a fantasy novel that blends both the fantastical and mysterious. In Daretana’s greatest mansion, a high imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree erupted from his body. Even here at the Empire’s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death both terrifying and impossible. Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home. At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana’s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior—but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana’s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective. As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

I haven't read too many of Jackson Bennett's work, but I'm glad I got to read this one. It's magical and mysterious in all the right ways. Now if you'll excuse me I have an author's whole work list to read through.

In an opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupts from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of giant, ancient sea monsters give way to strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.

"I mean… the Empire spends endless amounts of blood and treasure defending a whole continent from sea beasts the size of small mountains. But it can’t save a canton from one damned plant?"

This book has:
✔ Sherlock and Watson-style detective team (with a Female lead)
✔ High fantasy with references to Greek Mythology
✔ Orphan Black vibes (highly altered people with unique powers and abilities)
✔ A satisfying conclusion (no frustrating cliffhangers here!)
✔ A diverse and inclusive cast of characters

Overall, I loved The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. As with all fantasy series, you’ll spend the first few chapters trying to acclimate yourself and learn the language, but once you’ve met the cast of characters this novel will have you hooked. I was certain I had everything figured out, only to find I was totally off-base, this mystery kept me guessing without becoming too convoluted to follow the plot. I came to love the crude but undeniable genius investigator Ana, and her earnest assistant Din, and I’m eagerly awaiting their next adventure.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ I truly enjoyed this novel! I can’t wait to read more books in Shadow of the Leviathan.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Ray for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book so much, but it just wasn't for me. Though I can't wait to buy it for my husband, as this is much more up his alley! I just could never quite grasp what was happening and the complicated world Bennett created, and unfortunately I lost interest after a while.