The Tainted Cup, written by Robert Jackson Bennett, is an inventive, clever mystery constructed like a Russian nesting doll. The story is set in a secondary world where contagion runs rampant and the threat from leviathans rising from the sea and wrecking havoc on land is real. This novel is told from the first person perspective of Din, an “engraver” whose memory has been altered so that he remembers everything, allowing him to gather evidence for his investigator boss, the elusive and eccentric Ana. They quickly become embroiled in a mysterious conspiracy when a tree erupts from the body of a respective military officer, killing him instantly. Soon, this escalates into ten more deaths of engineers who are responsible for maintaining the walls that keep out leviathans, threatening the Empire. I found The Tainted Cup to be an engrossing mystery filled with interesting, flawed characters. The theme of contagion being everywhere helped round out the world and create depth. I’m looking forward to future books in this series. Highly recommended. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.

📣 a 5⭐️ fantasy murder mystery with romantic elements!

📖 what was your last 5 ⭐️ read? This was mine!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I was totally taken off guard with how much I loved The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett.

But the book opens with intrigue & maintains a delicate & yet assertive sense of tension & suspense. Bennett weaves a powerful web of mystery & danger & in the background is more of that with the threat of leviathans attacking as apprentice investigator & his mentor Ana try to solve a case.

The interplay between Din & Ana is fantastic. She is a brilliant, vaguely frightening, quirky force of nature & he’s the anchor & the facilitator & the man keeping a secret or two as he tries to unravel the ones surrounding them.

The mystery is compelling, as is the worldbuilding—the safety & danger of Empire—the preciousness that can be enjoyed even when the leviathan stands at one’s back. The characters & the story mesmerize with complexity.

I highly recommend this book for fans of thoughtful mystery.

5 ⭐️. Out 02/06.

Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.

[ID: Jess, a white woman wearing a blue shirt that says “Just a small town reader who can’t get enough fantasy,” holds the ebook in front of a white wall.]

The Tainted Cup takes place in a different world, one where people are altered to perform better in specific roles, plant contagions proliferate, and leviathans regularly attack the outer walls. Bennett deftly builds both the world and the mystery, giving readers what they need when they need it. Kol manages to pass exams after several tries and is assigned to assist the brilliant eccentric Ana Dolabra with discovering who's behind an unusual murder. Din is keeping a secret. Ana is behaving peculiarly. But they work spectacularly together and use their secrets and peculiarities to discover the perpetrator while pushing against those in power. I can't wait to learn what Din and Ana will get up to next.

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley.
Jackson Bennett immediately draws readers in to this world where intrigue and human experimentation flourish. We meet an eccentric detective, Ana, and her rather serious assistant, Din. They have been called on to solve a rather gruesome murder. The mystery surrounding this death spirals down into further complications in the neighboring area and leads to more deaths. The author provides subtle hints about characters being more than they seem but leaves it to readers to sort out the clues or simply accept the variety of characters at face value.
Though this is the first in the Shadow of the Leviathan series, it reads as a stand alone as well. The story is contained and resolved by the final chapter. The reference to adventures to come opens the door for the next book without leaving the main plot points unresolved. I'm looking forward to reading it and the rest of the series.
This is light fantasy for those who may want a taste of this genre.

Fantastic. I am not usually into fantasy but I read this and was blown away. I loved the mystery/ detective element.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. The cover really drew me in. I was intrigued, and I found it very interesting to read, and I can’t wait to read what is next from this author.

Din, an apprentice assistant investigator to the crazy lady in town, Ana Dolabra, is sent to investigate a murder of a high-ranked Imperial Officer. Din's job is to report everything he sees back to Ana as he is altered to remember everything. The two quickly discover the cause of death, dappleglass. Dappleglass is a contagion, when combined with hot steam, infects the host and eventually kills them, sprouting trees from their insides.

The two are sent to the city of Talagray to investigate another murder. Upon arriving, 10 engineers are killed in a very similar fashion. Din is sent on a journey to figure out what is causing this, by interviewing a multitude of people and in some cases, breaking the law.

I enjoyed this story. It was paced perfectly and every chapter led itself to revealing more of the story. There were no chapters that I struggled through or thought were simply filler chapters. I liked the idea behind people being altered to allow them to do tasks that ordinary people cannot, although they are all still flawed as characters.

I also really enjoyed the apprenticeship between Din and Ana as Ana was one of the realest characters in the book. I absolutely loved her and her intolerance for putting up with a lot of social interactions.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes stories about mysteries, fantasy, or sci-fi.

Dinios Kol is a quirky apprentice to Ana Dolabra, both are assigned to investigate the suspicious death of a high imperial officer. If you think you might enjoy a combination of fantasy and murder mystery, give this one a try.

While I liked the overall concept and underlying themes, I found this novel to be partially bland and it dragged a bit. I have seen many glowing reviews of this book, so I keep wondering if I somehow missed details along the way.  In my opinion, the story was quite promising, but something crucial was lost in the translation . . . a delivery of facts, somewhat lacking in excitement or tension.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Tainted Cup for my unbiased evaluation.  3 stars

This book was a little bit of a slow burn for me. I had a difficult time understanding the alterations and the complex government system. In all honesty, I think there were parts I still didn't understand after I finished the book. However, I still found it to be a pretty enjoyable read, and by the end, I was flipping pages so fast to see the conclusion.

While other characters in the book have had alterations done that make it so they can see in the dark or smell contagions, Din has been altered to have perfect memory and recall. These alterations seem to be a combination of magic and technology. It wasn't ever really explicitly stated. I don't think that's a bad thing; it gives the world room to build across other books. There were several minor plot points that make the world seem magical, like how many worm species a person could get or the highest level of "government" personnel basically living forever while also being as large as a house. It's also made clear that the leviathans have earth-altering blood and are studied to help with grafts and other scientific advancements.

This book at its heart is a murder mystery, and it's done very well. While we have a suspect pretty early on, the book continues to draw the reader in by slowly revealing new deaths and new angles. The author does an excellent job of relaying the stakes and of making Din's anxiety pop off the page. Din has dyslexia, though in this world, there isn't really a word for it. Din worries that his difficulty reading and writing will cost him his apprenticeship or make him bad at his job. This constant fear ups the stakes several times while he's looking for clues. His boss Ana is too sensitive to the world and, as such, Din must be the eyes and ears.

One other thing I really didn't enjoy about this was that the author continually mentioned the size of Din. Almost every chapter had mention of Din's height. It was kind of annoying. No one's inner monologue refers to their own height that frequently. I'm tall, and I don't constantly compare myself to others. It was a weird character quirk.

Overall, I had fun reading this even though the beginning was a bit of a slog to get through. It felt like I was reading the second book in a series and that there was something I missed from the beginning.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to enjoy this book early!

While this had a slow start for me, it was such a good time.

It was an intricate new world to explore and had a lot of ins and outs that I definitely didn’t perfectly keep track of.

I love the Sherlock/Watson vibes and it was absolutely delightful to experience Din’s POV. The characters were enjoyable, the world was intricate and diverse, and honestly once I got into it I didn’t want to stop reading (I’m writing this past my bedtime).

This has definitely pushed me to go find and read this author’s other works.

If you like
- Sherlock Holmes inspired fantasy
- fungus and mushroom magic
- complex murder mystery plots
- a dyslexic main character

Then you simply absolutely must read The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett out in Feb 2024!

4.5 Rounded up

I was so excited for this book as Foundryside is one of my favorites series (no I haven’t read locklands yet I’ll get there) and it did not disappoint!!

I am fascinated by RJB’s magic development and world building. He creates worlds that rely on magic, use it as a commodity and in their technology. It was the same in foundryside, the magic is not inherently in the people but they have monopolized what their world has.

And Din, oh Din, I adore our honest and rule following main character. And the JOY I felt when his dyslexia was revealed. To see myself in such a well written character who does such important work was so incredible.

I love RJB’s writing style. It’s descriptive and witty. He writes in such an engaging way that was perfectly applied to the mystery genre. His characters are incredibly compelling. Din was complex and well developed. I would have liked a little more depth from Ana and the side characters though.

The plot was so engaging, I really had no clue what was going on but as things were revealed, they made perfect sense. There was a side plot/conflict/impending doom with the leviathans and I found I wanted more from that. I expect that will develop more in the rest of the series considering it is the series name.

This was a fantastic read overall and I hope it finds its way into so many readers homes.

Thank you Del Ray for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve always been a fan of murder mystery books, and something about this mystery unfolding in a fantastical world full of plant contagions and leviathans just made it so enjoyable. The world building was definitely the highlight for me. I was constantly wanting to know more, and I loved visualizing all the organic elements, as well as the different character designs. It was all very vivid, and I would love to see this in a graphic novel format as well.

The majority of the focus of this book was on the plot, and unraveling the mystery of a series of murders. Din was a great protagonist to be following on this journey. He is the assistant to the very intense and enigmatic Ana, who was one of my favorites. Din’s humor was another highlight of the book for me, and I love the way he seemingly flails his way to success. That’s my boy!! I was so hoping for him to have a romantic rendezvous with one of the other characters, but I foresee lots of pining in Din’s future.

Overall I really enjoyed the plot, but I was wanting the characters to be just a bit deeper. Many of the emotions felt more on the surface level, and I wanted things to go past that. The biggest challenge I had was the end of the book. The last few chapters felt like there was way too much dialogue and everything was just being told to us through that, which started to feel a bit monotonous.

I would give this a solid 4⭐️ and would definitely love to read more stories either with these characters or in this world.

I cannot even tell you all how much I loved, loved, loved this book. After I started I was like this is genius can the intensity and world building continue and it did. Every pages was a sumptuous treat. I loved the characters so much and want more. The story is fast paced and keeps you flipping through this book. So much to enjoy so much to love. I read a NetGalley copy of this and will definitely be buying the book when it comes out. Do yourself a favor and get it.

The writing was a little hard for me to catch on to at first but after a bit I caught on. This was a very engaging story to read about. I’m very excited for the rest of the series. I really loved the characters here.

This was such a light fantasy, great for people who are interested in getting into the fantasy genre, as it is very reminiscent of the movie knives out (unfortunately not a favorite of mine). So while this isn’t a glowing review, don’t let that deter you. I recommend this to anyone looking for a humorous novel with great writing and bisexuals that will steal your heart, my favorites.

The Tainted Cup was so good! This is my first book by Robert Bennett and it will not be the last! I very much hope this will be a long running series! It was absolutely fantastic. The world-building and characters where fantastic an I was completely hooked from page one. Ana a Din Mike a perfect crime solving duo and the magic system which is based more on human augmentation than actual powers was intriguing and fresh in a genre that is very hard to be original in. This was a bit
sci-fi an old old technology with sea monsters in tainted blood that could create endless possibilities for future augmentation as well as spell doom for any city in their wake requiring fortified sea walls armed with bombardments to kill the creatures if possible.

Ana comes to a small canton in which she is assigned after an investigation goes wrongly. Only whisperings a rumors are known of what happened but it is said her investor was murdered so when Ana arrives she is in need of a replacement investigator o b her eyes. Due to her augmentations being in public unless absolutely necessary can be over stimulating to her mind as she has been created to link everything she knows or learns into a nearly perfect crime solving process that seems almost entirely impossible to understand to others yet she is able to understand and connect event the smallest of details.

For this she needs what is called an engraver a person augmented to literally be a walking encyclopedia of information which he collects by recording every detail of an investigation scene and links the memories by scent and can recall to the smallest detail with perfect recollection anything an engraver sees, hears, is told, smells or deduces thru training while investigating the scenes. Ana must end her engraver to be her ears and eyes taking all knowledge the engraver collects and thru the retelling process solves the crimes.

This brings us to Din who is way past the age of apprenticeship he has what he considers a defect in his augmentation and struggles to conceal he can barely read or write and took so long to pass exams he was on the brink of being considered a failure in the augmentation process. When he applies to be Ana’s assistant apprentice it is his last chance to pass the required testing and after failing all other exams scores perfectly. The shock is so great he is tested again multiple times with the same results and is selected by Ana.

Together they prove to be an uncannily strong team and quickly solve a convoluted puzzle of o inconsistencies surrounding a strange and terrifying murder scene. Although they did not have complete closure it was enough for the largest city in the District to notice and quickly summon them to solve what prove to be a larger and calculated scheme that threatens to topple the entire city putting it and surrounding areas deeply at risk of falling to ruin by titan attacks on the walls as those that keep the wall in place an fortified are targeted in gruesome murders.

Absolutely fantastic plot characters and world. I truly hope to see more in the future it is a must read!

I'm a big fan of Robert Jackson Bennett's Sci-fi and horror novels, but I read one of his previous fantasy novels and didn't like it as much. But as this book is being described as Sherlock Holmes-ish, I figured I'd give it a try. It took a while to get into, as there's a lot of world building, strangeness and odd jargon that takes getting used to. But after the character introductions are over and the mystery really gets going, the story picks up pace and gets better and better the farther it goes. The world is a unique one, where those who protect it have numerous augmentations befitting of their roles, and much of their materials come from various plant life. Elements of the plot bring to mind Attack on Titan, as civilization resides within various walled rings, with the aristocracy located towards the center while the Outer Rim houses the most important wall of all, as it protects the inhabitants from kaiju-like monsters known as leviathans that come to attack every wet season. Kol is a recent academy graduate who is now assistant to the enigmatic Ana, a highly intelligent woman who is called in to solve the worst crimes, mostly staying in her rooms, blindfolded to avoid over-stimulation while Kol, who can imprint all he sees an hears into his own mind, serves as her eyes and ears. The plot is intricately layered and plays out in an engrossing fashion, as the pair try to solve bizarre murders while under the imminent threat of a leviathan attack. I ended up liking this a lot more than I expected, and would definitely read further adventures in this series.

"The Tainted Cup" is (I hope!) the first in a series of a profoundly unique science fiction take on the Sherlock Holmes mythos; think mystery solving with a dash of Pacific Rim. I'm not sure what I was charmed by the most: the characters or the worldbuilding! The world was so utterly foreign but it made a cohesive, detailed sense that I thoroughly enjoyed as its horrific murders began to be revealed. Ana, our Sherlock, and Din, our Watson, are charmingly rendered. I was particularly pleased that Ana was as endearing as she was infuriating; so many Sherlocks forget the former in their bid to be the smartest in the room. All in all, I highly recommend this one - truly a unique undertaking, and I enjoyed every minute of the mystery unfolding (and it's exciting conclusion). Did I mention there were massive town-destroying monsters coming from the sea, too? Because there are massive town-destroying monsters coming from the sea, too,.

I recieved a free e-arc through NetGalley. This is my own opinion about the book. And I liked to thank the publisher for a chance to review.

I would give this a 3.5/5 stars. I am not normally a murder-mystery reader but was given a chance to read this book and it seemed interesting. The plot is well thought out, the world is very well built, the magic is more a "science" and part of everyday living and is not an extra element to the world. The author does a very good job or repetition to help readers remember what is what. What lost my interest is how the dialogue to me is very monotoned to me. I couldn't tell the difference between characters by their speech and the urgency of the world was never really developed. The main character and his interaction with his master is very good but the other characters to me feel flat. There is no real action it's just a detective reading and plotting through evidence of a book and it was enjoyable to a point where to me it started to feel repetitive. Overall decent story to me probably won't continue the series.

DNF- I keep trying to read fantasy-type books and I just can't get into them. This book currently has a lot of good reviews on Goodreads so I love that it works for others, but it just wasn't for me.