In <i>The Tainted Cup</i>, Robert Jackson Bennett masterfully blends the classic whodunnit into a unique and alien fantasy setting. The book opens with a bang, as a corpse is discovered with a most unusual cause of death - a tree has grown out of him. Between the compelling characters, the mysterious setting, and the well-paced mystery, Bennett weaves a narrative that is both chilling and captivating.

<b>You might like this if you're into:</b>

<b>Genre Mixing:</b>
This book has the familiar characteristics of a classic whodunnit (the anti-social genius detective, her earnest sidekick, a villainous victim who left many with a motive to want him gone) but takes place in a fantasy world. There is as much mystery in figuring out how this world works as there is in revealing the killer.

<b>World-Building:</b>
The world of Daretana is a character in itself. The narrative invites readers to unravel the mysteries of a world where much is left to the imagination and strange histories are hinted at. The exploration of culture and magical elements adds depth to the plot and leave the reader wanting to continue the series and learn more about the world.

<b>Engaging Characters:</b>
Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol form a compelling detective duo. Their evolving relationship is fun to follow, and the characters' depth and complexity contribute significantly to the overall enjoyment of the story.

<b>The Start of a Series</b>:
The conclusion leaves readers eager for more about the main characters and the society they live in. The anticipation of future adventures for the characters is a testament to Bennett's ability to create a world and characters that resonate with the audience.

One potential stumbling block for readers is that the alien quality of the world, and the way readers are dropped into this strange culture without much context may pose a challenge for some readers. The initial disconnect requires an investment of time and effort to start to grasp the intricacies of the world and culture.

Ulitmately, <i>The Tainted Cup</i> is a clever mystery that will captivate fans of genre-bending, world-building, and character development. While the initial immersion might be challenging for some, the payoff is a compelling narrative that promises an fun series ahead.

Fantastic writing and world-building. The characters were very well done and the mystery was solid. While I was a tad bit confused at times, I found it an enjoyable read.

The Tainted Cup follows the investigator’s assistant as they try to untangle a complicated set of poisonings. It’s a fun read in a high-fantasy world, but a bit hard to follow at times.

This was a quick and fun read for me! I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story line. The world building was fantastic and really sucked me in. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Ana and Din. Great overall!

I chose to read this because I had just finished and roudnly enjoyed Martha Wells's The Witch King, and was hoping for more high fantasy adventure. I wasn't disappointed. I was also very excited to reread the title page and see that this is Book 1 in the Shadow of the Leviathan series. Robert Jackson Bennett does an admirably thorough job of painting a civilization encircled by a forbidding ocean that is built on what has been extracted from the titans that come out of the sea. Though most humans in this world have been altered with chemicals and grafts to enhance their abilities, they also live in constant fear not only of attack from creatures, but of contagions and poisons that may come from the barely controlled natural world. This murder mystery full of political intrigue is told by Dinios Kol, newly appointed assistant to brilliant but eccentric investigator Anagosa Dolabra, and since Din is an engraver, enhanced to recall every detail of every scene he percieves (though not to make sense of them), little detail is spared. Din is a charming youth, endearingly humble and doubtful of his own abilities, so that almost all he meets seek to take him under their wing, for good or ill intents. I can't wait to read more.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennet the first in the Shadow of the Leviathan series lived up to all my expectations. I am a fan of City of Stairs and Foundryside. In this book we meet Dinios Kol an engraver and apprentice to Ana Dolabra, a Iudex investigator known for her intelligence and eccentricities. One of which is that she likes to blind herself by covering her eyes so that her other senses become sharper. They are sent to investigate why a high imperial officer is found dead because a tree erupted from his body. Now this is a word full of strange creatures and magic but even in this world a death like this unusual and frightening. We get to know this world through the eyes of Din and his abilities to remember everything as an Engraver. As they race to solve the mystery they are also caught up in the wet season where the leviathans rise up from the ocean. This book has great world building and memorable characters. The story builds up at a fast pace and it was hard for me to put this book down once I started reading. I thought the ending wrapped up everything nicely but I hope there are more books in featuring Din and Dolabra. Thank you #NetGalley for my ARC.
#thetaintedcup

Absolutely in awe of Robert Jackson Bennett's world-building and creativity. This book is so gorgeously atmospheric that I was pulled in from the first line: the magical system is fascinating and feels accessible, yet complex. The dynamic between Din and Ana is perfection. I love the nervous, slightly bumbling younger guy working for a sharp and incisive older woman. I really hope we see more of these two.

Early released ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This will be a spoiler-free review.

Robert Jackson Bennett is such a creative storyteller, as we've seen in the Divine Cities Trilogy and the Founders Trilogy. His characters have great long-term development, his writing doesn't bog down the reader, and (my personal favorite) he has such creative settings established within the stories. I've enjoyed his past works, so I was sure to request an early ARC for the entry to his newest series, Shadow of the Leviathan.

Here in The Tainted Cup, we follow Dinios Kol, apprentice to investigator Ana Dolabra. Officially, he is "Assistant to the Investigator" and not "Assistant Investigator". These two characters for a dynamic relationship, both as business partners but friends too, as they work to solve a murder mystery in the neighboring state in the empire. The partnership between Dinios and Ana can be compared to a Holmes/Watson duo.

The setting holds up very nicely, giving readers a very interesting picture of the empire, but at the same time with much more to be revealed in future works. In essence, the eastern part of the empire, close to the coastline, is designed to keep giant leviathans (described to be the size of a small fortress) at bay. These monsters show up more often during the "wet seasons", so the empire has the Legionaries work to fight them off. Various other jobs (i.e. The Engineers) are also involved in the defense.

The ending fit well. The story is self-contained, with more to look forward to.

Final rating: 4.5 stars. Shaping up to be one of the top SFF releases of 2024.

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.