Than you NetGalles and Random House Publishing Group - Bellantine, Del Rey for this ARC copy of The Tainted Cup!

I will start off saying that this book surprised me in so many ways, I honestly didn't know what to think going in but I was pleasantly surprised by everything about this story.

The first part of the book was a lot to absorb and I was not sure how I was going to feel about this unique world that was being constructed before my eyes. It took a little while to really get used to all the new words and some of the world building aspects so if this happens to you don't worry, it gets so much better. It was also necessary to set a foundation to one of the most interesting magic systems that I have experienced in a long time. The world is heavily build on fantasy aspects and magic known as grafting and contagions, and there are so many unique descriptions of characters that you really are able to get a sense of the world around you.

The characters are unique, and realistic. They have strengths, flaws, relatable worries, and a certain level of intrigue that makes you really feel like the author put a lot of work into creating solid characters that will have strong growth throughout the entire series. Even the minor characters are handled with care and precision.

I think this was a great start to a series and I can not wait to see where this world takes us as the series progresses.

Man. If anyone was looking for a female version of Nero Wolfe set in the high fantasy equivalent of a biopunk world (and who wouldn't be?), this fits the bill.

Seriously, this is both a really good fantasy novel AND a good, classically structured mystery. Plenty of fantasy books have a mystery inherent to the plot, but very few use the traditional detective novel structure at all, let alone this well.

I won't recap the stuff you can read on the book jacket. But the world itself here is amazing. You've got a fantasy kingdom besieged periodically by huge sea creatures -- think larger than Kaiju, maybe on an Evangelion scale -- whose corpses in turn yield materials that can change people. So they've used those matierals to create super-strong soldiers, and incredible mathematicians, and people who can remember everything and are perfect witnesses. It's pretty much biopunk in a fantasy context.

And then we've got a brilliant and quirky detective who stays (mostly) isolated and a sidekick who does the gruntwork, but while I do make the Nero Wolfe comparison, this story only starts there, and moves out on its own.

I can't praise this enough. Bennett's always such a good worldbuilder, and the story here is just a delight. Cannot wait for more of these.

The First one of the Shadow of the Leviathan series. I don’t usually read Fantasy books, but I picked up this one because the mystery sounded so interesting. I would highly recommend this book and Bennett’s attempt to combine high fantasy with a mystery hit the mark. Ana and Din were well developed and complex characters that brought the story alive. The Tainted Cup was a page turner with plenty of action, twists and puzzles that kept you guessing until the end. A high Imperial officer is found dead by the servants. Ana Dolabra, an investigator is assigned to find out who killed him. She sends her assistant Dinios Kol who is an engraver, that is magically altered to be able to never forget something he sees or hears. As the investigation continues it becomes bigger and more dangerous for both Ana and Dinios. You need to pick up this book and enter this fantasy world and try to solve the mystery on who is killing the Imperial Engineers. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Robert Jackson Bennetts stories always contain great world building and The Tainted Cup is no exception. They are intricate (cites divided by walls to stop invading leviathans or contagions that spontaneously explode in bodies) yet so understandable that you can nod along as if it is perfectly reasonable.
The beauty of this book is not only the fantasy element but the author has managed to add a wonderful murder mystery as the central plot. A brilliant eccentric detective Ana Dolabra and her assistant Dinios Kol.
These two are the perfect complement like Sherlock and Watson, they ferret out clues and make glowing deductions. Watching them solve this mystery was such fun. Can’t wait for further adventures Thanks to Netgalley and Del Ray books.

Maybe a 3.5? The worldbuilding was fascinating, but for me the friction between the contemporary approach to (e.g.) swearing and gender roles and the historical fantasy approach to (e.g.) environment and caste kept the story from flowing. The author did a good job with pacing, the narrative kept up even when there were lulls in "action". Holmes & Watson iterations are tricky, too, so tuned-in readers might not be as surprised by some of the twists as intended - not because of lack of intrigue but because they've been alerted by the context to look for specific hints.

Narrated by Andrew Fallaize, The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett blends fantasy with a murder-mystery detective case that pulled me in and never let go. The first in the Shadow of the Leviathan series, I cannot wait for more adventures with Ana Dolabra and Dinios “Din” Kol. You’ll want to add this first in trilogy to your audio library.

The blurbs “A Holmes and Watson-style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist,” drew me and had me downloading The Tainted Cup. I was not disappointed! From the world to the characters, Bennett pulled me in and never let go.

The story takes place in an alternate world filled with magic and enhanced humans. When a high imperial officer ends up dead in the Empire, Ana Dolabra, an eccentric detective with an excellent solve record, is assigned to the case. Dinios “Din” Kol, a magically altered assistant, goes out and meticulously investigates the crime scene before reporting back to Ana.

I will leave you to learn more about Ana and Din. I enjoyed both of them and thought they made the perfect team. Ana is very much like Sherlock and Din, her Watson. We learn much about Ana and Din through Din’s observations. I enjoyed his voice and thought process as we found ourselves in dangerous situations.

The world is interesting from the walled off areas of the Empire to the Leviathan, who both enhance them and pose a threat. Power plays and twists kept me on edge. The story felt tight and flowed well with smooth world-building. Suspense, fear of discovery and attempts at stopping them were well done.

While the murder-mystery case was solved, there is much to learn! I look forward to more cases with this duo. I highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Andrew Fallaize. He did such a great job of capturing the voice of Din, Ana, and other characters. I hope he continues with the series.

If you are looking for a thrilling mystery and adventurous fantasy, you’ll want to grab The Tainted Cup.

What is an element of a story, whose addition you really weren't expecting? Hypothetically kaiju in a murder mystery, hypothetically of course. Such a concept is something people, who are aware of my tastes, know I might just mark the hell out on and be super into.

"The Tainted Cup" is a new series by Robert Jackson Bennett (out February 6th, 2024 thank you Netgalley). How do you feel about murder? It's not great. Especially when folks are getting Capitan Planet-ed, someone has to get this reference or I'll feel old. Enter the investigator, well their assistant, with perfect recall, Dinios Kol. Aid to Ana Dolabra, a brilliant and eccentric solver of cases, all without leaving her home in a backwater part of the empire. But when engineers on the wall start turning into trees she and Dinios are called in due to their familiarity with the method of murder. Sort of need those engineers to keep the GIANT MONSTERS FROM THE DEEP out of the neighborhood.

Reasons to read:
-Eccentric pro who has seen it all and the long suffering assistant dynamic? Yes please
-Got some Pacific Rim in my mystery and I'm all about that
-Once again, beware worms
-Tree-d
-Excited for another one of Bennett's worlds, the details are always good

Cons:
-I'm gonna need a big creature fight at some point in the the series

This was my first time reading Robert Jackson Bennett and I don't think it'll be my last time. What a ride! I was so impressed with how deeply thought out this world was. Everything from the monsters, to the food, to even the races of people within this world are entirely made up and so intricate you can just imagine it to be a real life society. As a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, I was definitely intrigued by this one!

The story itself felt like I was watching a movie, but with depth. You had this murder mystery that they were solving with a Holmes/Watson-style relationship between two of the main characters. But on top of that was this complex story of a world fighing to stay alive against the giant leviathans that threaten the borders of their land constantly. And of course, this book features that threat very prominently creating a level of suspense beyond knowing who the killer is.

The story is told through the perspective of Dinios Kol (aka Din) who is the Watson of this Sherlock/Watson outfit. He's an engraver, who was modified with the ability to remember everything down to the very details of a situation, a piece of evidence, a person's account of the situation. Of course, this is due to the modifications he receives (there's little worms swimming in his brain giving him this ability), which is such a cool feature and almost makes this story feel like science fiction. Of course, Din is new to the job so everything around him is a new experience and seeing it unfold from his perspective really gives the reader this sense that you're along for the ride and nothing is being left out.

The murder was also something out of science fiction where people were being poisoned by a mysterious spore that would basically grow a tree inside your body. It's pretty gruesome and I loved the clues and evidence that Din would uncover throughout the story to reveal an even bigger plot that obviously threatens the lives of thousands of people all while worrying over this leviathan coming to destroy life as it is. It's wild!

While I wasn't wholly impressed with the way things turned out in the end or how Ana came to the deductions that she came to (it felt like she was trying to be Sherlock, but didn't have that magic Sherlock usually has), I loved getting to know Din and Ana and the rest of the characters introduced here. The world itself is vast and while we only get a small piece of it in this book, it's enough to keep you wondering what will happen in the next book. Perhaps the murder will be a bit more of a surprise, but I know that it will be immersed in a world completely unique and can only be created by a master of world-building.

I really enjoyed this book. It is good murder mystery set in a fantasy world. The world building was great. The characters are likable and quirky. The story is told from the POV of Din, the assistant apprentice to Ana. The mystery isn’t easy to figure out and there are a lot of twists and turns. This book did not feel like 432 pages and was hard to put down. I can’t wait for the next book to come out! I want to learn more about the Empire and the leviathan and I am excited to read about Din and Ana’s next adventure.

HIGHLIGHTS
~magic mushrooms!
~which are magic because MONSTER BLOOD
~the murder weapon…is a tree
~the greatest detective!…who never leaves her room
~how much would you give to keep your world going?

I don’t know how to tell you how much sheer FUN this was!

Any story with a genius detective + sidekick combo is inevitably going to get Sherlock Holmes comparisons, but every aspect of The Tainted Cup is wildly original. This is not Katherine Addison’s Angel of the Crows or even Alexis Hall’s The Affair of the Mysterious Letter, both of which are deliberate Sherlock retellings that draw significantly from the source material (the Watson character in both is an ex-military man with a limp and cane, for example, and Angel in particular recreates a number of the cases Sherlock and Watson investigate in Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels).

THIS IS NOT THAT.

AT ALL.

AND I AM SO GLAD.

Bennett has, AGAIN, created a ridiculously interesting world like none I’ve ever seen before – I’m willing to argue it’s his most unique one to date. Here, we have an Empire where life revolves around plants – specifically, magically mutated ones. Houses are built out of fernpaper, while enormous mushrooms keep rooms cool and pillows are stuffed with moss, and potted plants detect whether any guests have been exposed to contagions before they enter the property. More radically, we have hundreds of forms of human augmentation – people who can see in the dark or whose sense of smell is incredibly heightened; people who grow to enormous size and strength; and even people who are functionally immortal. All of these abilities and transformations come from plants and fungi, a little like how we get a lot of our medicine from plants – but much more extreme! Everyone seems to have some kind of augmentation, especially those who work in one of the all-important government branches, and Bennett has made sure all of this is reflected in how people act and even speak; the Empire, for example, has ‘rings’ like a tree, with the inner rings being safer and richer, and the outer rings being in far more danger from the annual attack of leviathans…

<Lashes as thick as a stonetree’s trunk>

This is the kind of worldbuilding I live for, and the attention to detail made me so happy. Rings! Rings like a tree!! YES THANK YOU MORE PLEASE!!!

The world is fascinating and so well thought-out, but it’s the characters who stole my heart. Kol is our first-person narrator, altered so that he remembers perfectly everything he sees – making him the perfect assistant for a detective who wears a blindfold and rarely leaves her bedroom. Theirs is such an odd set-up that I can’t help but love it; Kol goes to the crime scene, memorises it, then comes back to tell Ana all about it, and Ana then puts the pieces together. Hi, I adore this utterly. And while it’s obvious from the beginning that Ana is a(n extremely eccentric) genius, if you’re paying attention it becomes quite clear that Kol is no slouch either. I don’t think he would recognise it as such, but he does investigate – if he didn’t, he’d be much less use to Ana. He doesn’t just walk through the rooms and take note of all he sees; he puts together what he sees to uncover clues that aren’t immediately apparent, and brings those back to Ana too.

That’s very, very important.

But even the most minor of characters is fully realised; and not just fully realised, but interesting, packed full of quirks and secrets. Possibly (probably) I am far too trusting, but even when Ana swiftly realises that someone on the investigation is, at best, compromised… I couldn’t suspect a single one of the cast. I liked them all so much! Even the ones who are not likeable make for brilliant characters (the best characters are often the ones you wouldn’t want to be friends with in real life, am I right?) Which is not weird, because at this point, I think Bennett’s known for his compelling characters as much as he is his very unique worldbuilding. I just feel like it needs emphasising: the characters here? All of them? Are SO GREAT.

As for the plot – as a general rule of thumb, I don’t care about murder mysteries/investigative type stories, but Bennett held me glued to the pages. Kol’s slightly dry, very ProperTM voice is wonderful, and as he’s from the backwater, we get to discover more about how the Empire works and what kind of people live in it right alongside him when he and Ana move to a more urbanised area. He doesn’t even know the nobility are a thing! And that’s the least of all we get to learn and explore.

I thought Bennett did an excellent job of balancing the investigation (and why we should care about it) with…all the other things going on; the more we uncover, the more complex and Big Picture the case becomes, until we reached a point where, personally, I was firmly on the side of the murderer. (Not that I had a clue who it was. I never do, unless a story is predictable to the point of pain.) Bennett engages our emotions when it comes to the case, to its complexities and the motivations behind it, and that’s something I don’t think I’ve ever seen a murder investigation plot do before. More often, an investigation feels like an excuse for the author to do or show the reader something else – and there was definitely more going on, a lot more, than ‘just’ figuring out a murder! But at the same time – I am immensely impressed with how much Bennett made me care, maybe not about the victim, but about the crime itself and how it was accomplished and what led to it.

Bravo, sir.

<“Civilization is often a task that is only barely managed … The towers of justice are built one brick at a time. We have more to build yet.”>

It’s a little funny, and a lot impressive, that when you take a step back and look at this world Bennett’s come up with…it’s pretty bleak. Every Wet Season – so, every year – impossibly immense sea-creatures called leviathans do their best to…enter the empire. I don’t want to say they attack it, because that implies a level of aggression and/or maliciousness that doesn’t seem to be present, but they do an enormous amount of damage. Even when successfully repelled by the defenders of the enormous sea walls, dead leviathans leave their mark, with their strange blood wreaking untold havoc. And when they do make it past the walls, you can add devastating levels of destruction and death to the unpredictably mutating magic of their blood. Why do the leviathans do this? Where are they trying to go, when they breech the walls and head inland? No one seems to know, and in the outer rings especially, people live knowing that the leviathans are coming every year – never knowing if this is the year, the day, the hour that one gets through.

Bleak, right?

But what’s so impressive is that very little of Tainted Cup feels bleak. Instead, it’s so much fun, and I’m really struggling to understand or pinpoint how on earth Bennett manages such a juxtaposition between world and tone. We’re talking about a world where humans have to give up their humanity – with the magical plant augmentations – just to hold their society together–

<“That’s the nature of Khanum, eh? Safety and security for strangeness.>

–and yet…things don’t feel hopeless. I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say Tainted Cup feels optimistic, as such, but…there’s definitely something being said about the resilience of humanity; about how we find ways to adapt to just about anything; about our ability to build civilisation in circumstances and places that, if we thought about it logically, ought to be impossible. No one plans to build an empire that is annually raided by giant sea monsters, and if you asked people beforehand, I’m sure they’d prefer to build somewhere else. But finding themselves in the situation of having to deal with leviathans? They deal. And you cannot say that’s not impressive. You can’t not feel…proud? Almost? Respect. You can’t help but respect that.

You can’t not feel impressed, and proud, and respect the fact that, leviathans or no, they’re still here. There is a lot to be said for that.

For my money, we’ll eventually find out what’s going on with the leviathans – the trilogy is called Shadow of the Leviathan, after all – and I’m sure it will turn everything upside-down. But even without giving us those answers yet, Tainted Cup is an amazing series-opener – if you haven’t read anything of Bennett’s before, I think this is the perfect book of his to start with – and I can already say, with great confidence, that this is going to be all over the Best of 2024 lists come December.

Put simply, this book rocks, and I loved it, and I’m pretty damn sure you’ll love it too!

The Tainted Cup was everything I'd hoped it would be. Both the fantasy and mystery aspects of the story were spectacular, and I never wanted to put the book down. The plot, characters, and world-building sucked me in from the very beginning, and I stayed up until 3 AM because I could not sleep without knowing how things turned out. If that's not a sign of a great book, I don't know what is.

I was excited to read a murder mystery, and The Tainted Cup didn't disappoint. The plot was twisty with plenty of puzzles. Nothing was quite what it seemed at first, and the investigation went to some pretty surprising places with far-reaching consequences. I was able to predict some things, but many of the reveals were great surprises. I particularly enjoyed the moment when I finally realized the meaning of the title. It was such a fun and brilliant aha moment.

The real standout thing in The Tainted Cup had to be the world-building, though. It was effortless and easy to digest while also being key to understanding the mystery. Everything about the setting was intriguing, and this book gave just enough information to feel satisfying and make me want more at the same time. The empire was a beaurocratic behemoth with the primary goals of containing contagions, creating human modifications, and defending against the leviathon creatures that crawl out of the sea to destroy everything in their path. It was all so fascinating, and I especially loved how they used plants in the architecture. The world felt alive and deadly at every turn.

The dynamic between the main character, Din, and his boss, Ana, was absolute perfection. Ana was ridiculously insane and made incredible deductive leaps based on the information Din collected for her. Din was a bit of a washout in his training, but his modifications allowed him to perfectly remember everything, which made him the perfect assistant to the investigator. Both he and Ana had secrets, though, and I enjoyed getting to know them both as the story unfolded. Din's seriousness was the perfect counterweight to Ana's chaotic madness, and I adored every scene where they were together doing their thing.

Despite being primarily a murder mystery, The Tainted Cup tackled some pretty serious themes, as well. It addressed how corruption can subvert systems meant for good and turn them into something ugly. The theme of justice, and how best to go about getting it, was explored, too. I especially enjoyed the commentary on what holds an empire or civilization together, and I'm always down for stories about taking the rich down a peg. There was a lot to think about beyond the plot and setting, but it was also super easy to just get lost in the puzzles and fantasy of it all if you're wanting to turn your brain off and have a good time.

All in all, The Tainted Cup will likely end up as one of my favorite reads of the year. It was the perfect blend of fantasy and mystery, and both the story and the setting left me wanting even more. I need book two now, and this one isn't even out yet. Therefore, I give The Tainted Cup a rating of 5 out of 5 stars.

*4.5 stars*

This was a really fun murder mystery set in a uniquely lush, and atmospheric world.

I loved Din as a main character (we love a chaotic bisexual) and I really enjoyed the Sherlock/Watson dynamic that Ana and Din had, but I think what really made this book so great was this kind of damp, dark, leviathan filled world that they were navigating while trying to solve these crimes. The magic system of grafts and adaptations felt very much like science fiction within this fantasy world which I also really liked. The world felt very unique to me and I can’t wait to see it expanded upon in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

This was a fantasy field adventure, murder mystery. That had a lot of twist and turns. I have not read many murder mystery’s so this was a unique one for this genre. I enjoy it. You can tell that the author put a lot in this store. There are meany places you can go in this world and meany more mystery to solve.

Thanks Del Rey for the ARC. I really enjoyed this book. It’s a fantasy/murder mystery, wherein a contagion that infects people with a bloom is killing. All set admits wet seasons that being dangerous, giant leviathan monsters to the empire. I loved the main characters; Ana is HILARIOUS and Kol is so endearing. I’m excited to continue this series. Only reason it’s not a true five star is I just am not the biggest mystery girlie. But the magic system is really interesting and the characters endearing, so if you love a murder mystery, with a sprinkle of fantasy, I highly recommend.

murder mystery with a touch of fantasy • my first 5 star read of the year! well-paced and kept me engaged. i found the main and even side characters to be interesting. i don’t delve into mysteries quite often so i’m almost always surprised how these are solved. i’m hoping there will be a second book to this even though i’m sure it’ll be awhile but one can wait.

thank you to netgalley for the arc! i’ll def be picking up a hard copy once it’s published.

I was so intrigued by the description of this book and it totally delivered! I now have to read everything by this author. The world was insanely unique and cool - it was eerie and very like heavy alchemy vibes. Murder + super unique fantasy elements js a key to my book enjoyment. Din and Ana were such great main characters and so interesting and unique and I loved how their bond grew. It is for sure giving Sherlock Holmes especially in the beginning but the setting really makes it stand out to where it didn’t feel like an imitation to me. One of my favorite ARCs I’ve read lately. Will be purchasing for myself and our library.

I had heard great things about this author previously and when I got an email to check out his new book I jumped at the chance! It sounded like an exciting world to explore and you can’t go wrong with a good mystery. Although there were bits and piece I liked here and there it wasn’t enough to keep my attention.

The book is slow paced and even though the beginning drops you right into a murder it felt like a slog to get through. I don’t think the writing style helped either. It felt dry and I just had a hard time with it. There was a lot of dialogue on top of that too and with already being disinterested it made it a lot worse. The author does come up with a unique world, but I don’t think I fully grasped everything that was involved like the politics or the magic system.

It does remind me of a Sherlock novel and maybe that is also where in lies the problem for me. I have tried to read different Sherlock books and didn’t enjoy them at all. If you do like Sherlock then you maybe enjoy this!

Overall, this wasn’t for me and I do feel like the odd one out here. There are a lot of positive reviews for it. So, if it sparks an interest then definitely give it a try!

The Tainted Cup combines a beautifully designed fantasy world (from the creator of the Foundryside series) and the sensibilities of a classic mystery duo like Holmes and Watson or Poirot and Captain Hastings. Luckily, fans of either genre will enjoy the book as the two genres are seamlessly entwined.

“A large clutch of trees had spontaneously grown from within the deceased, tearing him apart from the inside […] It was… It was one of the most horrifying sights I’ve ever seen in all my life.“

All the questions are asked and answered in the investigation of dead Commander Blas. Was he murdered? If so, how? Why was he even in the house when the owners were out-of-town?

Meanwhile, the reader is enchanted by a fantasy world threatened equally by external leviathans and internal bureaucracy. There is no better designer of believable but unique fantasy worlds than Robert Jackson Bennett. The civilization’s culture gives an extra twist to figuring out the mystery. Even if fantasy is not your usual genre, give The Tainted Cup a try. 5 stars!

Thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

In a magical world where both external and internal forces are intent on destroying everything, first time assistant Din finds himself trying to solve a murder and work with an eccentric and brilliant mentor.

The fantasy world building is superb, and the magical elements add intrigue. Mixing in the rich character development the story becomes a page turner. I loved the professional and personal growth that Din showed throughout the story. Each interaction between Din and other characters added to the complexity and depth; his relationship with Ana was delightful.

This is a book is the start of a series for those who love magical worlds, mysteries, and celebration of neurodiversity.

Sherlock Holmes in a fantastical world is the elevator pitch. I was offered a copy of The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett via NetGalley and happy to accept.

Waiting to read high fantasy until I had a newborn was not my smartest move. Still, Bennett keeps things accessible and does a decent job establishing the world. As long as I could focus, I knew what was going on.

One thing that always bugged me about deep genre fiction was using all the same language and phrasing to describe things in a clearly alien world. This was a very nice blend of invented language and existing convention. The Empire had months but with totally different names, for example.

I enjoyed the representation with Ana having some form of ASD and Din having a raging case of dyslexia. There’s also just a lil bit of queerness. Ana is definitely ace and Din is undefined but I get pan or demi vibes. This is the first book so I’m sure there’s more to come.

I was sometimes fuzzy about the world but that could have easily been me. Overall, it was very well constructed and made sense. I just like to picture the world so a smidge more exposition in places may have helped.

It was such an intricate mystery with so many loving pieces, I wasn’t sure it would all be resolved in this book. Bennett pulls it off, leaving things comfortably resolved but room for more adventures. I saw it’s listed as book 1 so I hope to see these characters again.