Loved this fantasy world that was really well developed. I’m really hoping for a second adventure with Din and Ana.

This book is such a fabulous ride. This steampunk-y "Sherlock Holmes set in 'feudal Japan meets Roman legions'" has great character development and world building throughout. I am new to the Fantasy genre and sometimes get lost in all the world building, but the unexpected twists and the well-written crime/mystery kept me turning the pages. And I loved seeing Holmes, Watson, and even Moriarty characterizations in this new world. The entire time I was reading, I knew that I needed to share with my husband, who is the Fantasy and Science Fiction reader in the household. He read this in 2 days and loved it and can't wait for the next book in the series.

Thanks to #PenguinRandomHouse #Ballantine #DelRey #TheTaintedCup for gifting me this ARC and getting it on my radar.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. This book is outside my typical genre but it made me want to seek out more of its kind. It has fantasy laced with old school mystery vibes.

Thank you to Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am so glad that I gave this book a chance despite not having read anything by this author before! The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is what would happen if Sherlock and Watson took place in a world with magic. The story revolves around Din, who has recently taken up a new job as the assistant to an eccentric detective named Ana. When someone is murdered by a tree sprouting spontaneously from his body, it's up to Ana, with Din's help, to find the murderer. As the stakes get higher, and the investigation gets deadlier, it becomes clear that this isn't just a run-of-the-mill murder. Will Din and Ana be able to solve the case?

Here is a humorous excerpt from Chapter 1:

"I cleared my throat in what I hoped was an authoritative manner, and said, "Signum Dinios Kol, assistant to the investigator. I'm here about the body."
The princeps blinked, then looked me up and down. Being as I was nearly a head taller than him, it took him a moment. "I see, sir," he said. He gave me a short bow - a quarter of a full bow, maybe a third - but then did not move.
"You do have a body, yes?" I asked.

Overall, The Tainted Cup is amazing and innovative blend of mystery and fantasy that will appeal to fans of Magic for Liars or Howl's Moving Castle. One highlight of this book is how it effectively combined the genres of murder mystery with fantasy. Another highlight of this book is how funny it is. There were lots of moments of humor, especially the interactions between Din and Ana.

One final highlight is just how much fun this is to read! I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book. One thing I need to mention is that the book is told from Din's perspective, not Ana's, which wasn't really clear from the synopsis. Anyway, I will definitely be tracking down the author's previous books and will read anything that he writes in the future. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of fantasy or detective stories in general, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes out in February!

Thank you to Netgalley & Del Rey for granting me my wish to read this e-arc...in exchange for my honest review!

I described this book to my friend as pacific rim (minus the robots)-attack on titan-body mod nature magic all had wrapped up in an Agatha Christie/Sherlock Holmes-esque mystery.

This extremely poor description doesn't even hit the tip of the iceberg of how fun and horrifying a time this book was. Despite the murder mystery being complex and the world building extensive it did not feel inaccessible. I didn't feel overwhelmed reading at any moment and was thoroughly enthralled. I found the story being from the perspective of the "engraver" to be an extremely smart choice. It allowed RJB to fill in world building/plot info organically. It didn't feel forced.

Upon finishing this book my exact words to another friend were "I inhaled it. I have like no constructive criticism, my critical thinking skills just *poofed* away -- I just got sucked it. RJB created a really wild ride."

I loved it and cannot WAIT for the next ones.

This book is astonishing on all levels. It’s a gripping mystery, a fascinating character study, and a world building masterpiece. It starts on page one with a body and an assistant investigator, and does not let up until almost the end. Who killed this man by having a tree erupt from his body, and why did they do it at the mansion of one of the empire’s richest families? Why does the investigator herself never leave her house and spend most of her time blindfolded? And what is wrong with her assistant, the narrator, who can remember everything but cannot seem to read or write? After just having finished the Founders trilogy, it appears that Robert Jackson Bennett can write heists (Foundryside), war novels (Locklands), and now a perfectly plotted mystery. I am all ready to follow him wherever he wants to go next.

Annihilation meets Sherlock Holmes in the world of Pacific Rim.

What a wild, unique ride! This is nearly the perfect mix between a verdant, sprawling fantasy backdrop, and Doyle- and Christie-like murder mysteries. With an amazing protagonist with a special set of skills, and her trusted assistant investogator, with a secret of his own, the tension is ratcheted up by an impending walking disaster depending upon the city.

I LOVED this book, and while portions of it did my mind in (hard to do real fantasy world-building while laying the clues for an empire-ending conspiracy), ultimately I cannot WAIT for Ana and Fin to return...

And this one isn't even out yet!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for providing me with the ARC

Robert Jackson Bennett is one of my favorite authors and, in my opinion, is criminally underrated as a worldbuilder in the fantasy genre. I absolutely flew through this book and read it from start to finish in a day. The magic system really shines in its creativity, taking seriously the premise of "what if we bioengineered plants to provide all of our infrastructure needs and also used them to bio-hack our bodies to give us superpowers?". Also, there are leviathans.

I found this novel to be well-paced, although the first few chapters were a slow build. This is probably an artifact of easing into the world RJB is creating, and because we arrive in the story just after a moment of violence, rather than during the violence itself. The pace picks up quickly, however, and then moves propulsively through the central mystery.

I really appreciated the character work in this book, which helped to establish strong connections to the two main leads. The relationship between Ana and Din is compelling, invoking the best of the genius detective/long-suffering assistant trope without either of them ever veering into caricature. Unlike the Founders trilogy, which I also loved, but at times found to have a jarring mix of camp humor and violence, the Tainted Cup was able to keep its moments of humor in balance with the darkness of the plot. It would have been nice to get a bit more into the psychology of the central villains and few more breadcrumbs about the broader lore of this world, but hopefully we will see more of that in the next books. The murder mystery plot is intriguing, and the clues are laid out in such a way that an attentive reader can put most of the pieces together before the big reveal without everything being too obvious.

Overall, I enjoyed the heck out of this book, and can't wait for the next in the series.

Ebook/Fantasy: I want to thank Netgalley for a copy of the book. This book doesn't publish for a while, so no spoilers. To me, this was one of the better literally fantasy realms. It reminded me a lot of the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher I enjoy so much. I can actually picture this novel as another part of that world. This book deals with a murder investigation, which always livens a book up.

This is a twisty murder mystery set in a wholly new fantasy world of bio-engineered plants and people, threatened every year by rampaging titans from the sea. The characters were fun and deep, with plenty of flaws and hidden back stories. The mysteries were good and kept me guessing until the end.

I enjoyed it immensely.

RJB is such a good gateway author for people who are looking to get into fantasy, but aren't ready or don't want to dive into the deep end. I'm always so impressed with how accessible his storytelling/writing is. It has a highly immersive quality, but never to the point where you are in over your head.

The particular magic system in this book is subtle. It plays a significant part in the story, but it doesn't demand attention. It feels natural and is integrated very well into the setting and plot. It lends well to the murder mystery atmosphere and provides a good vehicle for the two main characters to really shine.

I also really enjoyed how this feels like a self-contained story within the series. I have no idea if this is going to be the pattern moving forward, or if there is going to be a more central/connected plot across the following books, but I'm super excited to see what mystery Din and Ana are going to solve next regardless!

What a fantastic read! A little bit of Sherlock Holmes vibes but set in fantasy world. Thrilling and mysterious tale of deceit, corruption and murder. And there is Ana and her assistant investigator Din to solve it all. I hope there is another book coming soon!
I received a free copy of this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ever heard of death via plant? Probably. But death via a tree growing from inside someone in a matter of minutes? That's new.

When a high-ranking official is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Ana and her assistant Din are called to investigate. Along the way, they discover that this death is just one in a dozen, and race to uncover the assassin before they can strike again.

This book was absolutely unhinged in the best of ways. Ana is eccentric, cusses like a sailor, and a nuisance to the general population while being absolutely brilliant. I adored her. Din is uptight, black and white, and constantly exasperated with Ana's shenanigans. It was the sunshine x grumpy trope but in a platonic relationship. It reminded me of Sherlock and Watson if you gave Sherlock Holmes an overload of caffeine.

The mystery was very clever and had so many twists and turns. At first, the combination of a dystopian world and plot seemed like too much, but the author did a great job of including both in a way that made sense. The mystery is intricate but entirely plausible and put together in a way that you can combine the clues yourself.

If you love dystopian novels, iconic detective sidekick teams, and brilliant mysteries, I'd recommend this to you.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballentine for the advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Ana Dolabra is a unique investigator in a world of the impossible. She wears a blindfold to avoid distractions as she “sees” the facts present themselves clearly in her mind. Her assistant, Dinios Kol, is an engraver, a person who memorizes exactly what he sees and hears while seeking the facts surrounding any incident he is investigating as part of his job. Din is Ann’s constant companion while they investigate the strange events surrounding the death of a high imperial officer who died as the result of a giant tree sprouting from within his body, tearing him apart. Just the tip of the story, this death signals a change in the Empire that could lead to its total destruction.

This is a fascinating story of subterfuge and wits battling it out in a world that is, itself, bizarre. A little unsure when I started reading, I was soon engrossed in the brilliant and unpredictable storyline woven by the author, Robert Jackson Bennett. A must-read book for all mystery lovers.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House, and Robert Jackson Bennett for an advance copy of The Tainted Cup. This is my honest review.

4.5/5 - In full disclosure, I went into this novel completely blind; fantasy is one of my least-read genres and had I not received an invitation to read an early copy of this novel, I would have completely overlooked it. Needless to say, one weekend and 432 pages later, I'm very glad I did.

"The Tainted Cup" is a unique story that blends elements of fantasy and mystery wonderfully. We open on the remnants of a brutal death in the canton of Daretana, where assistant investigator Dinios "Din" Kol has been called to inspect his very first crime scene. Din is an engraver, a being altered to have near-perfect memory, and his skills are put to use as he works with Ana Dolabra, an eccentric and at times incomprehensible investigator, to understand what underlies the murder. Their search takes them across the Empire as each discovery leads to even more questions, and the loyalty of the Hazas, one of the most powerful families in the empire, is deeply questioned all while corruption within the very pillars of their society is brought to light.

I have to commend Robert Jackson Bennett for the incredible world-building and imagination employed within this novel; the complexities of the different cantons across the Empire, the different political and military structures that are developed, setting the frequent attacks by Leviathans against the borders, the many types of alterations and grafts that enhance different abilities in individuals... There was clearly a lot of thought that went into the structure of this world, but it was all introduced in a well-paced and understandable manner for readers. His prose is descriptive and complex, and the action scenes had my heart racing in a few passages. For mystery lovers, Bennett also does a great job of throwing in small hints and clues, with plenty of red herrings of course, that tie together incredibly well at the end. What I loved most however, is his development of our protagonists Ana and Din and the eventual trust and respect they develop for each other after their near-death trials and tribulations.

The ending of this novel is well set up for a subsequent one - and I'm excited to see what the rest of the Shadow of the Leviathan series has in store!

Start with the first murder by a tree growing out of and consuming the body of an official of the Empire couple that with fantastical individuals altered with enhancements to give them extraordinary talents and humongous creatures attempting to breach the sea walls, you find yourself immersed in a clever, fast-paced novel. It has elements that will appeal to most readers from murder mysteries, fantasy, political power, plots and corruption, magic potions, contagions, science fiction, adventure, duty to save the Empire, trust, friendship and plenty of twists and turns.

Kol Dinios is an engraver who has been altered to remember everything he sees, hears, smells, etc. He has been selected as an apprentice investigator to Ana Dolobros, a brilliant, eccentric investigator with a past, who prefers to be blindfolded and alone to process what she has heard or read through her fingers. She is assigned to uncover the mysterious death that occurred on one of the estates of the most powerful clan next to the Emperor. Along with death a contagion is discovered. Could this spread throughout the Empire? As deaths mount and intrigues abound, the quest for answers has an immediacy. The wet season is imminent, bringing mass evacuations with the threat of the leviathans breaking through and causing death in its wake. Can Ana and Kol unravel the mysteries and stop the threat to the Empire?

Kol and Ana, think Holmes and Watson, are aided by a former legionnaire, now an assistant investigator, whose body has been enhanced by strength. He had belonged to the department of fighters, There are other players who belong to the department dealing with medical alterations, others to the engineering department dealing with maintenance and enhancements to the sea wall. Along the way, there are interesting characters whose alterations will surprise you and add to the fantasy.

I really enjoyed the creativity and plot twists, Although this is the start of a series, it is a standalone novel. You don’t have to be afraid that you will be left without resolution. To me, that is important.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this advance copy.

Absolutely fantastic new (hopefully series!) debut from Robert Jackson Bennett. Between the Knives Out cinematic universe, Kenneth Branagh's obsessive revival of Hercule Poirot films, and countless other streaming miniseries, it feels like we've been pretty inundated with new murder mystery works. However, RJB manages to keep this novel feeling fresh and interesting, with a rich new world, layered political intrigue, and a deep, surprisingly non-cliche cast of characters. There's a pretty ambitious scope here - simultaneously introducing a totally new fantasy world and magic system and building up a whodunit is a lot to juggle - but the resulting story and revelations feel balanced and earned. The pace is excellent, with just enough carrots on sticks (between character interactions, new clues / leads, and nuggets about the broader world) to keep the pages turning. At the same time, there's enough balance between these different elements that the "murder mystery" in question doesn't feel like the only thing of consequence.

Hallmark themes from RJB's two other main series - an interest in systems of government, bureaucracy, and organization, juxtaposition between small humans and massive, looming creatures/constructs/gods, an intentional-feeling deviation from the typical hallmarks of "Western" fantasy - all show up in The Tainted Cup, though RJB seems to have new things to say on each of those elements. There's also a strong resonance with themes from China Melville's excellent "The City and the City", with detectives struggling against larger, seemingly unknowable forces and the sort of existential dread that it takes to deconstruct a murder step-by-step.

If I could levy a single critique (with the most implied of spoilers), it would be that the final revelation at the end of the novel doesn't get quite enough room to breathe in scope of the broader work. The reveal of the primary antagonist is certainly satisfying (if a bit predictable - but that's almost inevitable in these works), but I felt that there were quite a few emotional and thematic consequences for our main character that deserved a bit more exploration. That said, the point of a murder mystery is very rarely the conclusion, and more than anything, I hope we get even more follow-up stories to see these excellent characters grow.

As a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, reading the blurb for The Tainted Cup immediately peaked my interest - and a huge thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC.

First, I just want to acknowledge the cover of the book, which is fantastic. Looking more closely at it after reading the book made it more interesting to me - once I had a better understanding of leviathans and contagion and the landscape of Robert Jackson Bennett's Empire of Khanum.

For the story itself, Din, our Watson, is an engraver - someone who has been magically altered to remember everything they see/hear/witness with the ability to recall and repeat at any time, which makes him the perfect fit to assist Ana Dolabra, the investigator of Daretana. Ana is our Sherlock, an over stimulated genius seemingly exiled from the center of the empire for reasons we do not know. Four months into their partnership, a man is murdered in inexplicable fashion, which sends ripples through the outer rim of the empire, and leads to Din and Ana being asked to investigate the larger impact of this murder in the region's capital, Talagray, where more mysteries and murders lie in wait.

The setting and backdrop of the story is creative, original, and something I wish I had more details on. The Empire of Khanum is layered in rings, with those at the center being the safest; the first, second and third rings each are enclosed within their own great walls, while those past the third ring have great sea walls that are seasonally attacked by leviathans - massive creatures that wish to land in Khanum and follow a land path (perhaps in some sort of migration?). The blood of the leviathans killed onshore creates contagions, dangerous plants, worms, parasites, flora, fauna, etc. that require citizens to be on high alert and to immunize and protect themselves. To gain the potential to move further inland, citizens join the military and civil ranks of Khanum and some go so far as to magically alter themselves to be more beneficial - even it may mean shortening their lifespan and turning their skin pallor shades of grey. Din is an engraver, but there are many other types of alterations that allow citizens to gain all types of skills and tricks. Given what felt like a closed ending to The Tainted Cup, I am interested if the other books in the trilogy will encounter a larger internal struggle within Khanum, or whether they will turn toward the leviathans. Again, the setting is really interesting, and the danger of the leviathans and the attacks upon the wall while Din and Ana work on the case almost felt like background noise at times - but I would have loved to know more and hope to see that in the sequel.

In terms of characters, in Arthur Conan Doyle style I don't feel like we got really deep into the motivations and emotions of Din or Ana - or really any of the characters. As the larger mystery of the story grows and entwines multiple plot points together, it felt like the focus was more on worldbuilding and action points as opposed to character development. Ana, while brilliant, still seems a mystery - though I could imagine her shooting "VR" into her wall when bored. Perhaps she is intentionally still a mystery, given the way the story ends. And while we spend almost the entire story with Din, I felt like his troubles and worries were a bit nonexistent - besides those around his hiring as Ana's assistant. We don't know about the family he sends money home to, and even when he feels desperate it feels surface level. This isn't a bad thing - I think it may be a bit more common in mystery novels - and this is a novel with so many things happening in the setting, in the rankings and political aspirations of those involved in the murders and mystery, in the magical system, etc. that if immediate character development has been delayed, I can wait. Maybe it's just that the description in the book blurb seemed to focus on Din trying to understand Ana - which I don't agree with. Din follows her instructions, helps people navigate Ana, does not ever doubt her skill, etc. -- the story is so much larger and more layered to limit it to just Ana and Din.

In the end there end up being three large mysteries within this story, and they fairly seamlessly snake and twist around each other to create a very compelling tale, and to give a wide view into understanding the setting and players of the series. There was only one part I was able to guess at because the character in question makes a pretty obvious statement toward the end that I won't write here - but all other aspects of conspiracy, revenge, magic, etc. were fantastic.

All in all this was an excellent story, and I am very excited to read the next books in the series. I also might check out Robert Jackson Bennett's other series, as the worldbuilding skills in The Tainted Cup were phenomenal.

I feel that when it comes to authors we’ve read and liked, we readers tend to put them in this rather strange position: on the one hand, we give them credit and are prepared to appreciate the new things they make, but on the other - we whole-heartedly expect them to deliver. Heavy is the weight of this expectation (and utterly unhelpful at that), but oh, what a true delight it is to pick up a book by an author you’ve enjoyed reading before and find that it does, in fact, deliver.

I’m way past the point in life when my primary genre of choice was detective novels, but this one really got me. It has all the best elements of a Sherlock Holmes story married to an Attack on Titan (on steroids) type of situation, with hideous monsters of unknown provenance trying to get through the walls keeping the Empire and its somewhat augmented citizens safe. From Sherlock Holmes, we get an aloof and rather blunt detective armed with her intelligence and a capable assistant, nobility hiding their dirty secrets and the unavoidable politicking and corruption that come with it, and of course a murder mystery so convoluted it borders on unbelievable - which just proves that when you handle even the familiar tropes right, they will blend in seamlessly and add to the story rather than take away from it.

As for the story per se, the way the world-building is introduced and the mystery unravelled is excellently paced, the characters fleshed out and fun to follow. While the focus here is undoubtedly on the murder that quickly escalates into a matter of national importance, I'm looking forward to the next books telling us more about the way the Empire functions and the real reason why it’s under near-constant siege, which seems to be where the larger story arc is going.

This was the kind of book that you race through because you’re having so much fun reading and you just want to know what happens next, while at the same time you actually don’t want it to be over. In the Acknowledgements, Bennett says that his first attempt at a murder mystery novel turned out to be something else entirely and he basically had to rewrite the whole thing - well, even though throwing away words sounds like a profoundly painful experience, I’m really glad that it eventually led to The Tainted Cup in the shape and form that it is now.

With many thanks to #Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of #TheTaintedCup. It was a delight start to finish.

Part fantasy, part mystery, and a lot of fun - the apparent the start of a terrific new series!

The Fantasy: The novel is set in the Empire of Khanum which spends many resources to build huge sea walls and create weapons with the primary goal of keeping the mysterious Leviathans out. To help in this endeavor, many people undergo alterations, enhancing their strength, speed, eyesight, or even memory, ironically using technology derived from the remains of the Leviathans to create the alterations.

The Mystery: One of the senior engineers tasked with maintaining the sea walls has been murdered, killed by a rapid growing plant that sprouted out of his lungs. Investigator Ana Dolabra is tasked with solving the crime. Ana is eccentric to the extreme, rarely going outside, and often wearing a blindfold; she relies heavily on her new assistant Dinios Kol to act as her eyes at the gruesome scene. Din is an engraver, one of the people altered to have a photographic memory. Aided by various scents, he visits the scene, and is able to later provide Ana the verbatim details which allows her to solve many elements of the case. However, no sooner have they finished investigating the first scene, when word comes from the neighboring canton of the murders of ten more engineers, using the same method. Ana’s quickly recruited to investigate those crime as well, again bring along her assistant Din to act as her eyes. Meanwhile, a Levithan is approaching – a big one, based on the rumblings from its footsteps. If it breaches the walls, it will cause lots of death and destruction.

First, a disclaimer: I primary read mysteries and typically avoid fantasy novels. All too frequently I get caught up in the odd sounding names and places, having to flip back and forth in the book to figure out who's doing what, soon reaching a point where I no longer care enough about the plot to finish the book. And while this book had some of those elements, I never reached the point where I no longer cared – I was hooked by the plot and the characters.

The characters were great! The book blurb mentions a 'Holmes-and-Watson pairing'; I disagree with that. It's more like Rex Stout's Wolfe-and-Goodwin pairing. Like Nero Wolfe, Ana prefers no not leave her residence, only doing so when absolutely necessary, and like Archie, Din has an amazing memory. I think Din is more intelligent and resourceful than Watson too, and Ana would never be caught running around with a magnifying class like Holmes is frequently pictured.

Din is the narrator; he’s young – around 20 years old – and has a case of imposter syndrome where he’s constantly questioning why someone would follow his orders, respect him, etc. For example, Din almost always addresses people as ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’, while other characters frequently refer to him as ‘boy’ which he doesn’t object to or even comment on. Early in the first chapter we discover at least partly why – he has trouble reading, which my not-so-professional diagnosis is dyslexia (or something similar) that he hides from everyone, including Ana. This has slowed his career; he mentions several times that he’s still an apprentice while others his age have already graduated. However, he is also shown to be very intelligent and observant, noticing details about the cooling plant (yep, they have a shroom for an air conditioner) and figuring out connections that other, more experienced people don’t. (Side note: While engravers remember everything they see, I’m assuming that they have to notice it first – they couldn’t remember that the ball was a baseball unless they actively observe it to begin with). He has a sly sense of humor: Ana asks if he can say a sentence of “more than ten words in length,” he replies with a smirk, “Could, ma’am.” He’s also well-liked by other characters; at the end of the first chapter, for example, after investigating the first death, the character he was intimidated by at the beginning of the chapter tells him “well done, sir.” His only flaw is maybe that he’s too serious, too formal, and too concerned about being a perfect officer, something that I think starts to change by the end of the book.

Ana, the other part of the investigative duo, is also likeable. She’s eccentric, as mentioned above, but never cruel and cares a lot about Din. After he’s in a fight, she takes some time out from the investigation to check on him, make sure he’s not limping, his pulse is good, that he’s not injured; she values him as an assistant. She has a lot of experience and is very confident in her abilities which is a nice contrast to Din who lacks both.

This is implied to be the first of a series, by both the subtitle, “Shadow of the Leviathan: Book 1” and a comment in the author’s acknowledgement about planning to write more mysteries. Thankfully, there are numerous unanswered questions that help good series stay interesting, beginning with both Ana and Din’s background: hints about her past dealings with the Hazas family and hints about his family, for example. There are also questions about the nature of the empire and the Leviathans; they come ashore during the wet season causing lots of havoc, but it’s not clear if they are intelligent and have a reason for their actions or if it’s just instinct like salmon heading upstream to spawn. There’s certainly clues that they might be trying to communicate with markings that look like human and “an open maw working ….as if trying to speak.”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, a lot more than I was expecting. The world building was terrific, revealing enough to get the reader interested, but leaving some secrets for future books.

Highly recommend.

I received this book from NetGalley.com which I voluntarily chose to review.