If you're looking for a fantasy-world murder mystery with class politics intrigue and some cool augmented powers-plus-disability navigation then here we got! Even if you're not looking for it, may I suggest The Tainted Cup?

Dinias Kol, is sent to investigate a murder -- at the rest home belonging to one of the world's most powerful families. There he finds a high ranking officer... who has been murdered via the sprouting of a particularly viscous and virulent plant. This is the first block in a carefully constructed Jenga tower of deception, more murders, and sociopoltical ramifications that stretch over years and across the whole of the empire itself. (I would also be remiss not mentioning Ana Dolabra, basically Din's detective boss, as she's my favorite character -- eccentric and so smart in a Holmes-ian way, laying the pieces together for others to figure out before she explains them better.)

There was also the pleasant surprise of Din's bisexuality and also his fantasy world dyslexia.

This is my first Robert Jackson Bennett book and I fully enjoyed myself -- the sci-fi lore was immersive without being confusing or putting too much expectation on the reader without enough inference to back it up, the characters were unique and had their own, varied motivations, and even though I was late on the draw here finishing this up it means I'm that much closer to book 2! Whoo! There are various things left unanswered and I have some hopes about what they will turn out, but I am happily looking forward to more adventures of Din and Ana and the echos of consequences for the mystery they've exposed.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for review and hello, how gorgeous is this cover??

Needed to read this at the right time, both fantasy and mysteries require a bit more brain power for me to read, and now that I've finished it I'm so excited for the next book in the series. Truly well written, the worldbuilding is spectacular, the mystery turns into something sinister. Just chef's kiss!

Stars: 5 out of 5

.I loved this book! There are several authors whose books are a must-read for me, and Robert Jackson Bennett is one of them. Like Brandon Sanderson, I consider him a master in creating complex and interesting worlds with engaging characters you grow to love and root for. I read the Divine Cities and the Founders trilogies before and absolutely loved them, even if both broke my heart with the deaths of certain characters. I can feel that this series will be a favorite as well, judging by the first book.

This story starts with what looks like a straightforward murder investigation but then evolves into something more complex and sinister - a conspiracy that threatens the very foundation of the Empire. However, I must argue that the threat is an unintended consequence of greed and thirst for power. It's interesting how petty the motives are behind some of the most earth-shattering events.

Robert Jackson Bennett once again created a truly unique world where an entire civilization lives in the shadow of Leviathans - huge monstrous beings who come ashore every wet season, and the only thing preventing them from reaching the heart of the Empire and wreaking havoc and death along the way are giant walls and the Legion who man them. And to have even a minuscule fighting chance to defeat those leviathans, the members of the legion themselves are heavily modified by grafts and suffusions, which make them stronger, faster, smarter, but also less and less human. This is a harsh world where the whole economy of the empire and the ideology of its various peoples are targeted toward surviving another year. All kinds of atrocities can be committed and justified to fulfill that goal.

I loved the characters in this book, especially Din. He is a newly modified engraver, which means that he remembers everything he sees, hears, smells, or reads. And I mean absolutely everything. And can recall it in perfect detail, down to people's tone of voice when recalling dialog. He is assigned as assistant to a disgraced investigator who ended up banished from the inner ring of the Empire to the backwater canton where he resides for... doing something. Din feels out of his depth, but he is resolved to do his best, and his best often exceeds all expectations. I loved just how down-to-earth and pragmatic Din is, and that he has a strong sense of justice and a very good moral compass. He might seem slow and emotionless, but he is anything but. He seems mild-mannered and unwilling to cause a scene, but when push comes to shove, a lot of suspects realize that his will is unbendable. He will get his answers with the single-mindedness of a pitbull, no matter the discomfort he must endure along the way.

Ana is another fascinating character and a good foil for Din's perpetual seriousness. She is eccentric, irreverent, and plain weird. She enjoys subverting people's expectations and taking them out of their comfort zone... then observing their reactions and making her conclusions. And a lot is going on in that genius brain of hers. I would love to know more about her backstory. She mentions at one point that she has no grafts of other modifications, that she was just born that way, and then was part of a unique experiment, but we don't get more details. I want to know more!

All in all, I am sold on this new series. I devoured the first book, and I already requested the second one from NetGalley. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys good characters, interesting worlds, and a good murder mystery to boot.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Robert Jackson Bennett, Random House Publishing Group-Balltine/Del Rey, and NetGalley for an eARC of The Tainted Cup!

I really wanted to love this book, but after the first few interesting chapters I had a very hard time getting through it. The premise was super promising - A man is suspected of being murdered when a tree grows from his body. Unfortunately for me, that was where the interesting bits of the book ended. I found it incredibly hard to follow along and didn't think the fantasy world was well built.

There were many terms referring to rankings in class and the army which were never explained and caused a lot of confusion until I could suss out what they meant - sometimes chapters after having read them.

I also wasn't a huge fan of any of the characters. Ana was entertaining at times, but cryptic and infuriating at others. Din was so smart but acted so incredibly clueless all. the. time. There was also an officer introduced early on who sounded like he wanted to make Din's life h*ll, but then he seemingly disappeared.

There were so many connections to be made and had Ana not explicitly spelled them out, I would have been left scratching my head and not seeing them at all. Nothing seemed to fit together and when it was explained, it almost felt forced.

Overall, I was not a fan of this book but it may be a great book for another reader. I'd give it a 2/5 stars.

This book is a marathon, a seven course meal of world building complex magic and fantastical characters. I had so much fun with this book. It felt so fresh and unique. The world building was done so well without being overbearing and heavy. The magic system is so neat and complex, just when I thought I understood it all something was added to the mix and it was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, I thought that they all added wonderfully to the overall story. I also liked the development of Ana and Din both as individuals and as a team. I though Ana was a delight even at her worst moments. I cannot wait to reread this again in preparation for the second book!

I think this would be a fascinating story for those who enjoy fantasy and sci-fi. I'm not a big reader of those genres, but I'm open-minded and tried this one on for size.

I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of it. The main characters are a bit like Sherlock Holmes and Watson - only with Sherlock being female in this story.

I found parts of the story and world building very confusing, but again, that could be because I'm not used to mystical worlds.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an e-copy of THE TAINTED CUP to review.

I rate THE TAINTED CUP three out of five stars.

This was great I loved the Sherlock Holmes Agatha Christie feel to this amazing mystery and a female lead with a second male as her backup RJB has done it again 5⭐️

This book was amazing!!!!!! It was fantasy, it was mystery, and it was almost as if I was reading something that would be in the world of Sherlock Holmes. He executed this book to perfection. I have officially added this to my list of Fantasy books that I recommend.

3.75 rounded up. Thank you netgalley for the arc despite how late I was to read it. I think what I loved most about this was our main characters. I loved how unhinged Ana was and just the overall banter and interacts Din and Ana have. I loved the worldbuilding as well, it felt like such a unique world that was refreshing. The rest however, it may have just been my brain dealing with all the stress lately but I had a hard time staying locked in with this in the last 40%. I don't necessarily think it's the books fault but mine so it mad it hard to celebrate the ending fully with big reveals when I felt like I'd missed information. But that's on my adhd brain. lol

What a unique book, I still can't quite wrap my head around how I feel about it. This is much more of a complex detective novel than a fantasy book, though the fantasy elements were the ones that I was by far the most interested in. This book truly is a weird mix of Attack on Titan and a more serious Knives Out. If you like unique characters, complex politics, and mystery books then you should give this a shot. Plus there's a very odd fungus/plant-based environment with a looming threat of leviathans rising from the sea in the background.

I'll probably read the sequel, though mainly to learn more about the backgrounds of the characters and the mystery of the leviathans.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for providing me this Digital Advanced Readers Copy of the book!

I enjoy stories that skillfully blend genres, and this book masterfully combines fantasy and mystery. The vivid descriptions and intricate world-building seamlessly align with the central investigation into the death of an important engineer. It creates an immersive experience that keeps you hooked. Overall, it’s a fantastic read!

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the eARC. Wow, so much to unpack about reading this novel which I've learned is soon to be a duology. Cantons, leviathans, cracklers, bombards, and on and on, I need a syllabus! It was a joy to witness the world building and the creative mind of an author I've enjoyed reading. On to part two soon. Highly recommended.

I've heard this book is a wild one, which honestly only makes me want to read it more, I love originality - which is likely why I requested it in the first place (also the UK cover is one of the most wild beautiful things I've ever seen)

So i'm torn on this one. I enjoyed the concept and the characters, but it seemed to drag on at times. I had a hard time getting into it until about half way through, then I loved it. Despite that, I would still recommend this book.

I have enjoyed Bennett's writing style previously so I went into this with high expectations. My delight in this novel is the blending of genres. I am a fantasy reader if in the right mood for it but I am always a mystery/thriller reader. The blending of these two genres along with fantastic characters made this a terrific reading experience. Highly recommend!
#TheTaintedCup #NetGalley #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine #DelRey

Officially need to read everything RJB has written...
Murder, conspiracy, body mods, and Leviathans, what more could a girl want?
The characters were interesting and likeable, making this a breeze to read and enjoy. The story itself was a semi familiar and fun whodunit.
I LOVED this unique setting. A big win for me was that the world building wasn't thrown at me in huge, overly complicated chunks. Instead RJB gives you enough information about this world and its workings in small bursts that are easy to digest AND thoroughly hold your attention.

Ive already got my preorders in and am looking forward to the audiobook as well!
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House P.G.- Ballantine, DelRey for the eARC

Murder mystery in a fantasy setting? Sign me right up! This was my first Robert Jackson Bennett book and now I feel like I need more in my life. I completely devoured this book in no time. The world was amazing and I just needed to see Ana Dolabra and her ways. She was an eccentric genius and just made me remember my times reading Sherlock Holmes. Then adding in Dinios Kol *chefs kiss*. If you love mystery books and you are very unsure about fantasy, read this book! It is a great doorway into the genre. Read this book.

Murder-mystery in a fantasy world....love it! I liked this overlap of genres. Characters & world were well developed. I look forward to more books in the series.

Thank you Publisher and Netgalley for this advanced copy

The best book in 2024, The dynamic relationship is perfect, especially the banter between the student and his master. The mystery itself is a top notch!