5 🌟
I love that this author's books are not surface level and this one is no exception. This book is more than a murder mystery novel with fantasy settings at least for me as a reader. There's a sense of purpose clad in intriguing story line.

If you like this author's previous trilogies (The Divine Cities & The Founders), I think you will like this book as well. The worldbuilding is interesting (unique building structures) and the magic system is less complex than The Founders Trilogy. Definitely don't want to miss out Ana and Din's adventure as it's enjoyable to see their journey.

However I have to mention that the first chapter was rather confusing as it's dense. Fortunately the second chapter sort of ameliorated that. Overall, it's an engaging murder mystery to read.

Big thanks to both Del Rey and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this early copy. Expected Publication : February 6th, 2024.

Wow! This is a beautiful magical mystery, but there is nothing "cozy" about it! This will make you think about - plant and other life mutations and how that can go all very very wrong, or very good. The main characters are adorably prickly and yet I would call them friend. I love the progression of the mystery and intrigue. It doesn't disappoint. The magical system is intriguing for sure, mutations of the body for specific areas of profession, and the Leviathans from the sea... the pictures that were built in my mind - just wow! Also, love the blindfold with the predatorial grin. I'm not sure if I would say this is a dystopian setting or just a mythical fantasy setting. Either way it worked for me.
A wild ride with grotesquely growing trees, magic, military, intrigue, love interest (clean), leviathans, mutations of body and plant life, also some sword fighting. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend.

Inspector Ana Dolabra is called in to investigate the death of a Imperial officer, assisted by
her new assistant Dinios Koi. The inhabitants of Daretena have been genetically altered with various
abilitires. Dinios is an Engraver, altered to have a perfect memory, the better to observe and report.
He also has a rare ability which come to light later. As the officer was killed in a closed room, how was
the contagion introduced. As the investigation continues, more murders are discovered. Will Ana
and Dinios be able to find the contagion and discover who is behind the murders before more die.
A page turner, interesting characters and world.
#TheTaintedCup #NetGalley

I received a copy through NetGalley for review, I'm also super grateful to the publisher who pre-approved me for this! Thank you so much!

RJB is one of my favorite authors, so I was delighted to see a new series coming out. And honestly this one feels very different to me than the rest of his work. Still a new world, with new complexities but the reveal was slow, and Ana and Kol are both a delight.

Ana seems like she's absolutely going to be a mad woman from the start, especially with her peculiariaties of being blindfolded the majority of the time, almost never leaving her place of residence and being able to decipher information by touch of any printed or written materials by touch, and auditory process in which I'm sure she hears in a way that helps her work (although we don't have confirmation on that yet!), and she eats raw meat if she eats at all. And she's constantly trying to get her assistant to buy her hallucinogenic mood grafts.

Dinios Kol is a strait laced, by the book assistant Engraver who through smell can photographicly and auditory recollect anything he is exposed to in a space. Like Ana they have both undergone Grafts to be altered to physically or mentally, they are permeant, and people often die undergoing them just so they can better their station and serve their government. But they don't always go exactly as planned, there are always drawbacks to being altered. Din cannot read words any longer, and has cheated and bumbled his way into his position by nearly sheer will. No one must find out or he will be stripped of his station and possibly killed or exiled for it.

A great and deadly contagion had spread killing 10 Engineers, one very high up Gentry and a high powered individual. And Din and Ana find themselves set on the case. Din is deep in the waters on this one, and he must not bungle his first job as an Engraver. Ana is although well respected as an Investigator her eccentricities and rumor of pissing off powerful people has landed her in a backwater Canton. With her last assistant seemingly dead, she requests Din as her next assistant, and he is floored and shocked to land himself such an infamous Investigator as a boss.

This one took me a bit to get into, since it really didn't take off until about the 50% mark but it is goddamned good, and after Ana revealing some of her very closely held cards and Din loosening up a little I think I'm really going to love them!

It's very Sherlock Holmes and Watson if Sherlock was a blindfolded recluse, who enjoyed a hallucinogens for fun, and Watson was a nervous straight laced assistant who was terrified his secret was going to be found out he cheated his way in. Ana is glib and funny, incredibly smart and absolutely vicious. And the Empire is corrupt and I'm sure Ana and Din will find themselves in many more tight places in the future.

⭐ 4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

A book that is a mix of two of my favorite genres: murder mysteries and fantasy. Never came across a book like this before and I thought this could not go wrong. Plus, Ive been wanting to read a book by this author for a while, so this seemed like a perfect place to start! And I was right, honestly, it would be hard for me not to enjoy this.
The worldbuilding was so interesting and the mystery kept the plot gripping and Robert's writing it's so easy to read I could read for hours. Plus, the book's duo made it even more fun. I LOVE Ana and having her working with someone thats almost her opposite with his serious and reserved personality was so entertaining, their banter was gold. These two was my favorite part of this book.

I will definitely recommend this for anyone thats a fan of both genres (or even just one of them tbh) and I can't wait to read the next one!

If Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a futuristic murder mystery with the threats of Leviathans to destroy an empire...it'd be this book. The Leviathans are secondary to the run of the mill murder mystery (it's not really your average death and all but the bones is it are there) so it's interesting and fun and the characters are great. I didn't know what to expect going in but I very thoroughly enjoyed it once I got my head around the basics. An excellent new team of investigators is here!

I enjoyed the world building of this story. The mystery was engaging enough that it kept me turning the pages. I recommend this to fans of fantasy and mysteries.

Hilarious, complex, everything you love about the first book in what looks to be a sprawling epic fantasy world. Economics, power hungry, and enough mystery left to leave me excited for book 2.

The banter between Ana and Dinios is top notch. Their vastly different life experiences make them the perfect duo to go on a quest. We get bits and pieces of their past throughout the story, and each nuggets of Ana's creates more of a mystery around the characters leaving us with a nice pay off by the end of the book.

The way the author plays with economics, and social constructions is fascinating. There are so many moving parts that we get snippets of it feels like a lot of care and thought went into the world building. Especially how the magic system works. I am 100% here for worlds that realize with great power, comes great sacrifice.

As fast as the mystery goes, everything is not what it seems in so many ways. Each character has many motivations for wanting specifics people dead and there's a lot to unpack. Which is crazy when you think about the magical ability Dinios has. But it goes to show, even if you have the majority of the pieces, you still don't know the whole story.

Not to mention the epic 'monsters' that I am dying to know more about. We only glimpse the reason for the walls and science, but I am on edge to get more backstory on how they fit into the world. This book was packed full of suspense all the way to the end of the story.

You'll enjoy this book if you love multi level epic fantasies that create series long mysteries while solving single book mysteries. It's got chosen one vibes, with the crotchety wise one, wrapped up in a sea of 'anyone's a suspect' characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this book!

Having read a number of other books by Robert Bennett, I had high expectations for "The Tainted Cup." I am delighted to report that this is another excellent book. It is a mystery/fantasy/survival/discovery story set in a complex and thought provoking yet understanding and interesting world. I found this story to so completely entertaining and engaging that I really had a hard time putting it down. And I really look forward to Bennett's next mystery in the same setting. I recommend this for anyone that enjoys mysteries, fantasy, or adventure novels.

I thank Robert Jackson Bennet and Del Rey for kindly providing a temporary electronic review copy of this excellent work.

Do you like the stories of Sherlock Holmes? Do you like Fantasy worlds with a ton of world building? Do you like political mysteries? Then this one is for you!

The story follows Ana, our investigator and Din, her assistant as they track down a murderer. Ana is absolutely wonderfully written--she's snarky, she's brilliant, and she's hilarious. Din is a young man with his first real job, and is determined to follow all of the rules to a T. The added bonus? Din has been augmented with a true photographic memory--he remembers EXACTLY everything that he sees, hears, and smells with EVERY interaction. The murders? Politically driven with a small catch--most of the victims have died from an explosion of trees coming out of their body from a suspected contagion that is HIGHLY contagious. Not enough? Oh, they're running out of time to solve this before the leviathans destroy the sea wall and come to overtake the city.

The worldbuilding is beautiful and very detailed but doesn't bog down the story as often can happen. In fact, there were moments where I actually wish there had been more worldbuilding and more explanation of the history or the landscape of a new area. Ana and Din have such a fun dynamic that reminds me a lot of the BBC version of Sherlock--it works very well and I wish there was more of it!

The mystery itself is pretty simple and easy to solve yourself if you're a mystery reader, but it was still a fun story to read through. The story is a little on the slower side, but it's still an interesting read, and I'm looking forward to reading more about this world.

Such an amazing story and such unique and interesting world building. Loved the plot and characters and the mystery driven story telling.

The Tainted Cup is my first read by Robert Jackson Bennett and was certainly very enjoyable!
What initially drew me to this book was its description of a murder mystery in a fantasy setting, full of magic elements. This book surely delivered what it promised. Personally, it was a slow beginning for me because I was adjusting to the (very intricate and cool) worldbuilding and the terminology but the book’s pace itself was perfectly adequate. It starts right away with the action and only keeps building from there. I loved the characters, especially Din, and the relationships between them. The different layers to the murder plotline were also definitely a strength of this book. I think this is one of those books you wish to re-read even after you already have just to see what details or cues you missed before. I know that many people are wary of on-screen book adaptations but this book makes me curious about what it may look like and how it may translate visually. Can’t wait for the book’s release date (to get a copy for myself!) and any subsequent books.

I am not an avid fan of fantasy books but I love mysteries. However, this book blended both together with such smoothness that it was a very enjoyable read. The author did an outstanding job of creating a fantasy world with such great details that you could almost believe you had been there. The main characters that reminded you a lot of Sherlock and Watson were super investigators who solved the mysterious deaths that had confused others.
This is a great standalone book but I think that it would also make a great series.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel.

I tend to keep my fantasy and mystery stories separate so it's a refreshing change when I find a book that does both really well. The world-building so familiar to readers of fantasy is some of the best I've read, and the mystery is tightly plotted and laid out with some cleverness.

I hope to see more blends of genres in future releases from this author!

Immensely readable murder-mystery/fantasy combo featuring characters I can't wait to read more about in sequels!

Frankly, this book fucking rocked. I am not the target audience for mysteries normally but I really got into the way the mystery(ies) at the center of this story pulled you through learning about the world, which was FASCINATING. I am also terrible at translating visual descriptions in text to anything worthwhile in my brain but I spent the time to attempt it with this book because it really laid out a sense of place. I have every intention of reading it again when it comes out because?? I cannot wait until the next one!! (And yet I must). I haven't even gotten to the characters yet, but this book did a great job at filling out a pretty large cast. Our two main investigators in the center were both great, and I especially liked that I felt Ana's eccentricities were humanized, rather her just being ~quirky~ for quriky's sake. Also, and this always helps, it is gay. Have I mentioned?? that I want!!! the next book!! now!

PS I made a joke close to the end that I was too quick to decide who the culprit is of the mystery but it turned out!! That I guessed correctly and I feel very chuffed by that and think it's the mark of a good mystery that you have any chance of solving it yourself. :D

This is SUCH a cool new world! I went into this book with no expectations or knowledge of Bennett as an author. I simply thought the description of this book sounded cool and interesting and different and I was right! It is a murder mystery at its heart, but the methods used are extremely unique. The characters are all extremely well written and developed, and the world! the world is incredible.

Its a complex and often complicated world, with what I would call magic at the center of it, but Bennett does a wonderful job introducing the reader to each aspect of the world until it really sinks in and makes it easy for the reader to simply exist in the world. The things they talk about don't seem fantastical; they seem like they could be every day occurrences.

Part of the appeal of the description of this was billing it as a bit of a holmes and watson buddy novel, and boy let me tell you, it WORKS. neither character, Ana nor Din, truly resemble those counterparts (not only because Ana is a woman) but you can understand the logic. Ana, as our holmes stand-in, is incredible. She is such a unique character and she is hilarious, often because of how other characters react to her. She spends a lot of time talking/explaining, but it doesnt feel like information dump. It feels like someone who is smarter than you taking you to task. It just works so well.

There are still so many questions I have about this world and I hope they get answered in subsequent books!

Anything I finish reading and want to read all over again deserves five stars, right? Having patiently waited for RJB to finish up his YA series that began with Foundryside, when I learned his newest was a mystery wrapped in a fantasy, I was at Netgalley two seconds later. I found it to be an utterly absorbing mystery that kept shifting, RJB-like, under my feet. A murder investigation. No, a coming-of-age. No, a political fantasy. No, a murder investigation. No… well, I don’t want to spoil it. Let me just say that I found it rather delightful how my expectations were simultaneously met and thwarted.

In the afterward, RJB writes, “I’d had the idea of writing a fun murder mystery novel for a while, and then I sat down and pumped out something that was very decisively not a murder mystery novel… I then had to go through the rather tempestuous process of chucking it in the garbage and starting over.” But I find myself wondering what remained from that early process? Was it a full on, ecological-disaster fantasy novel? Was it this strangely genetically-obsessed culture, that had no problems with modifying the life around them in service of their needs? The giant mushrooms as room air purifiers and sheets of fernpaper leaves as housing material (useful in a tremor-quake prone land) were just the tip of the fascinating iceberg in this world. The story is told from a first-person point of view, and while immersive, I thought it did a nice job of providing information and contextual clues without overwhelming with weirdness.

I thought the characterization was well done. More than a couple passages brought me back to a post from K.J. Charles about indirect characterization. Din is our narrator, a young man who has finally been selected into the ranks of the Sublimes a mere four months ago. He has been assigned to Ana, a somewhat eccentric new Investigator, assigned to Din’s very outlying district in a very new position. Din finds himself wondering if she’s been exiled from the Empire’s center.

“She went totally still. And for the first time that day, all the wild madness in her eyes went dead. ‘My goodness gracious,’ she murmured. ‘Did you hear that, Din?’ ‘Hear what, ma’am?’ ‘That emotion,’ she said. ‘Pardon?’ ‘That was the most emotion I’ve ever heard in anything you’ve ever said, Din! This must be a real corker of a death if it’s cracked your dull demeanor and summoned forth such wild passion.’ She pulled on her blindfold, grinning. There was something unsettlingly predatorial about her grin: too many teeth, and all too white.”

Judging by other reviews, I imagine negatives would be a great deal of what I found attractive about this story: the intriguing interplay between the immediate murder and the larger context that continues to ripple out as the investigation continues; the neuroatypical leads; the world-building questions raised with a population that has to deal with regular disaster (oh, now I get it. No parallels here, RJB, none at all). My own most nagging issue was the cursing. I have absolutely no problem with cursing (ask my friends), but all the words used were oh-so-common ones, including a ‘goddamn,’ that was really quite puzzling when we didn’t have any theology anywhere I can recall. I wasn’t quite sure if this was a far-future sci-fi dystopia, where we could allow for some language anachronisms, or pure fantasy, but at the end of the day, I decided to let it go. Still, it was one of those niggling things, a small stone in the shoe.

“So instead of committing robbery, I made tea.”

Despite that, I found it absorbing. The sense of a larger puzzle being completed, Din’s growing confidence; Ana’s entertaining deceptions. I also love the underlying messaging in the book, a point periodically needed to be made in a society where genetic modifications determine options and profession.

“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.”

As I was unable to immediately start the next book in the series (RJB hints he would like to write more in the afterword; I dearly wish he’d get on it), I had to content myself with a leisurely re-read. This time the pieces fell more clearly, enabling me to see, with Sherlockian-clarity, the complexity slowly being unveiled. Truly a delight.

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for an advanced e-reader copy of this book. Of course, all quotes are subject to change in the final edition, but I feel that they’ll give you a good flavor of the voice.

What a fascinating twist on Sherlock and Holmes. I liked most of the story but would've liked more world-building. Overall very successful though.

Loved it! Who can resist the charm of an Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes kind of murder mystery transported into a dystopian world where plants provide humans with more secure, healthy, and higher quality life sources? These plants not only provide light and clean air but also serve as a complex security system!