All the elements that you would choose to be good in a book are here. Bennett’s writing reflects skill with words, as he uses them both effectively to tell the story and provide vivid imagery. The characters are well defined, evolving consistently as the story develops. There are no breaks in continuity, and the plot device of the world created for the tainted cup is unique— a fresh perspective. Consequently, I wanted this book to be a 4.5 or a 5. But even with all the individual working elements, it was not a page-turner. I had no trouble putting it down—and that’s the difference between a good book and a great one.

Ana is an investigator, both brilliant and eccentric, who has been assigned to the small town of Daretana to open a newly created office. She avoids stimulation, wearing a blindfold and in four months she hasn’t left her cottage. She depends on her assistant to be her eyes and ears.

Ana selects Din as her assistant, an engraver who has been magically modified to have perfect recall. He seems an odd choice for Ana, having just barely passed the requirements for the position and is still an apprentice. A problem that soon became noticeable was Din’s difficulty reading, needing to sound out the words, he can only remember the spoken words. The story is told in Din’s first person POV.

Although the story started out slowly, soon things started to heat up and it was hard to put the book down. There is a lot to learn about this world and it just kept getting better, richer. It kept me on the edge, questioning who is killing people, and how many modifications could be created in this world.

The book opened with a map of Khanum and a ranking of the military ranks. This helped me later in the book, especially the map.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. This is my honest review.

I liked this one but didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. Definitely interesting but I wish there had been more plot development and less character development.

Sherlock Holmes and Watson if Holmes is a recluse living in a world of magic, contagion, and a corrupt plutocracy and Holmes is her beleaguered assistant with an enhancement that gives him perfect recall but is terribly embarrassed by his dyslexia

I don’t usually enjoy murder mysteries, but I loved the world building, the dynamic between the characters, the political intrigue, and how some things were cleverly foreshadowed while others were total surprises.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey!

I loved the world-building, really liked the characters, but by the end the central murder mystery was only so-so for me. I'll definitely read any sequel, because I want to know more about this world that RJB has created.

*4.5 stars

Christmas comes early with this new RJB book - an Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery that starts with one murder and ends with -redacted- more.

True to form, Bennett crafts an interesting and weird world in which plants have been bio-engineered into everything from mansions to neuro-enhancers. This dark, tropical world was built by and exists under the purview of the Empire of Khanum, an advanced medieval civilization that must annually go up against a mysterious and ever growing threat. Within this backdrop, we meet our protagonist the Assistant Inspector Kol.

Kol is an extremely likable protagonist - sincere, long-suffering, with a strong belief in the rules. On the other hand, Dolabara - the Imperial investigator and Kol's eccentric boss - does not have much patience for rules or propriety. It's a classic trope for a reason, and Bennett has fun with it, giving Dolabara some truly hilarious quirks and one liners. I was also really struck by the fact that this was possibly the only SFF book that I've read with a dyslexic protagonist. It added some additional challenges to the fact finding section of the plot, and gave Kol's character a new dimension of depth.

There were certain portions that moved a little too fast for me - I wish we'd have seen Dolabara do more, and seen a more gradual unfolding of Kol's character. The end felt just slightly rushed for this reason - or perhaps because both the murder mystery and the world-building were unfolding at the same time. Overall though, I read this book in half a day, so perhaps I moved a little too fast for myself (it's very easy to read this book fast, but I encourage others to not make the mistake I did, and savour it a bit more).

I hope that Shadow of the Leviathan is an ongoing series rather than a trilogy because, yes, I'd love an opportunity to dig more into the fleshy underbelly of the Khanum Empire, but I'd also just love to see more weird gruesome deaths and have a little game of psychological unmasking.

Thank you, thank you to Random House and Net Galley for the ARC

A murder mystery set in high fantasy. There were many elements that I enjoyed in this novel. The main character, Din was extremely resourceful considering that he had some limitations. I also loved his investigator. She was a unique person. I did however get lost in parts. I did find some of the names, places, and occupations a little confusing. There were a lot of different people to follow. I think this was more of my fault though and there were times that I was just not as focused. The murder in the novel was very unusual and I liked finding all the different connections made along the way. Overall, not a bad mystery but there is a lot to keep track of in the novel.

Thank you to Random House for this advanced copy.

I read the NetGalley ARC of this novel. This my honest review.

Thank you, NG and publisher, for letting me read this early!

I expect good work from Bennett, but he hit this one into orbit. Unique worldbuilding, very twisty plot full of murders and other nasty business, all during an oncoming terrifying annual national threat. Great characters, but with a single point of view which is my favorite narrative choice to read. Creepy, creepy world. I'm very curious where this series will go!

It comes out Feb 6, 2024. Highly recommended!

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I didn't know what to expect going into this, but I really loved this adventure! The scifi/fantasy woven into the murder mystery made me feel like I wasn't reading, I was LIVING with these characters. It's such an odd concept for a story to be balanced on, but it really works, and works WELL. I finished this in two days, and will certainly be picking up more of Mr. Bennett's works. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

I received this book through NetGalley and Del Rey publishing. It does not influence my review.
I’m a big Agatha Christie fan and I’m always on the hunt for a crime novel that’s not utterly predictable. THIS is it.
I stayed up all night reading this book because I just had to one how it ends. HAD To.
I did not see the twists and turns coming a mile away ,as I do in other crime novels, so the plot twists were actually a surprise.
And on top of all of that it has magic!!! What more could you want!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free arc. All opinions are my own.

This book was so good! It was captivating and magical. I truly couldn’t put it down.

The Tainted Cup is one of my new favorite books. It’s imaginative with amazing world building and an incredibly unique magic system. The book reads like a murder mystery but the twists are so unexpected! The characters are lovable and diverse. I seriously couldn’t put this book down. I read it in less than 24 hours.
There was disability representation, LGBTQIA+ representation, commentary on wealth and political status, corruption and all sorts of interesting topics. I sincerely hope that there is another book coming. I feel like there is more to be said about the Leviathians…. I’m thinking they might not be all that evil in itself.

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!

The world-building and characterization in this book are the strongest elements of the author's brilliant talent, which drags you into a whirlwind of a unique and surprising adventure that you never want to end. I am a little sad because I read this book faster than I planned; I couldn't help myself. The opening chapter gives us a glimpse of one of the strangest murder scenes: a high empirical officer is found dead in Daretana's most sacred mansion (he was just a friend of the owners spending time at the place with their blessing). The identity of the victim is not the strange part (even though his face is barely recognizable); it's the position in which he's found that is the most bizarre thing: a tree is literally sprouting out of his body, damaging the rest of his remains. The death seems suspicious and raises questions about whether the officer has been affected by the contagion spreading through the Empire, including the Leviathan blood that creates strange magical abilities in those affected.

Ana Dolabra, the primary investigator, has already been called to the outer ring of Talagray, where engineers are hired to protect the lands from the contagions of Leviathans.

As a highly eccentric investigator with unusual methods and straightforward comments that scandalize her new assistant Dinios Kol, who was assigned just four months ago, she finds herself working with a young, scruffy, and enigmatic Signum detective with a photographic memory that enables him to recall conversations and details from crime scenes. Dinios becomes Ana's senses, making unique observations at crime scenes and sharing his discoveries. This becomes especially handy when Ana refuses to leave her house for years, wearing blindfolds to strengthen her senses. These are not the only strange methods she applies during her investigations. However, as they delve more into the strange crimes, even Dinios senses that he's working with the best kind of investigator in the Empire, someone who might be the only one capable of finding the perpetrator.

The magic system and the perfect execution of the mystery keep you guessing until the end, and the remarkable characters make me wish this book should be adapted into a streaming series. I'm absolutely sold, and I feel personally touched by the magical writing talent of Robert Jackson Bennett. I cannot wait to read the other books in the series and spend more time with Ana and her sarcastic tunes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Del Rey for sharing this AMAZING book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A murder mystery with fantastical world building? Yes, please!

If you’ve read Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett, then you can trust that he has some incredible world-building skills and employs them in his upcoming book.

A murder occurs in one of mansions of Daretana’s richest family. It isn’t your average type of murder and this isn’t your average kind of investigation. The victim was found with a tree sprouting from his body. The investigation is undertaken by our narrator Signum Dinios Kol, an engraver, who is the assistant of Immunis Anagosa Dolabra, Iudex Investigator of the Daretana Canton. As an engraver, Kol has the ability to remember details, conversations, the scene of the crime—everything—by associating memories with aromas from his vials. While Kol goes out to investigate, Ana remains blindfolded in her office, making brilliant deductions based on the details recounted by Kol. As Kol and Ana try to unravel the mystery of the murder, they find that a string of deaths have occurred and they seek to get to the bottom of these crimes.

If you’re a fan of fantasy/sci-fi and murder/crime novels, then this book will not disappoint. There’s quite a bit of terminology and ranking/roles within the Empire with different types of cerebrally suffused and augmented “Sublimes” (like engravers and axioms), but once you get the hang of it, it’s very fun to see how investigations come together with different skillsets. Also, from a murder-mystery standpoint, the storyline is intriguing and I was trying to guess the entire time the identity of the murderer(s), the method, and the motivation.

While this particular mystery wraps up by the end of the novel, there’s plenty more left to be explored about this world, the system and governance, and levitations. (I am definitely looking forward to more about leviathans… LOL!) This is Book 1 of the Shadow of the Leviathan series and I’ll definitely be reading the sequel!

Thank you @netgalley for reaching out with this eARC! The Tainted Cup comes out on February 6, 2024!

I didn't know quite what to expect when I first picked up this book- I was intrigued by the description and gave it a try. I was hooked from the first page. I'm talking staying up late (to my detriment) multiple nights, trying to squeeze in pages when I could, obsessing over it when I couldn't, wondering how it was all going to play out. The characters? Stunning. Intriguing. Captivating. Incredibly unique. The plot? Insanely good. Nothing felt rushed or out of place. I cannot wait for the sequel (I'm not even going to look, I am convinced there should be a sequel and am manifesting it into existence).

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book!

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book, I requested to review it on a whim and ended up really enjoying it. The easiest way to describe the overall vibe is "high fantasy/mystery" which now that I've read, I'm not sure I've ever experienced before in another novel; I'm into it. In typical fantasy fashion, there's a lot of worldbuilding, but it doesn't feel overwhelming (sometimes I do feel like it can all be a bit much, I shouldn't need to crossreference seven things to make sense of a book imo).

The overall plot revolves around a Sherlock-and-Watson-esque pairing of detectives solving a murder mystery that unravels into ~something bigger.~ I specifically won't get too much into the plot for spoiler reasons but there are, as one might expect from a mystery, many twists and turns, some of which I predicted but most of which I did not.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC! I'll probably be looking into this author's other works to see if I enjoy them as well.

The world building in this is impressive. I devoured the book in one sitting! Ana is a genius and Din (my favorite) is the likeable but smart sidekick. It gives me Sherlock Holmes but romance vibes and it’s great!

A mystery fantasy thriller? Sign me up. Unfortunately, I don't think this book was for me and that's okay. It was very confusing, and the world building was tough. I could not follow it. I didn't really like any of the characters so it was tough to keep my focus. I did find the concept very intriguing though, I feel like it would make a good live action take. Overall, 3/5 .
Thank you, Del Ray, Netgalley, and Robert Jackson Bennett for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

How does he do it? How does he write such a great story that truly feels like he personally wrote this book for me? The mystery in this story was such a great aspect
World building fantastic! Characters amazing! Pros awesome

Read this book?!!

Thank you NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

The Tainted Cup is part fantasy, part murder mystery. Like I've come to expect from his works, Robert Jackson Bennett has built an incredible world. The "magic system" is unlike anything I have ever read. It is entirely plant based, and by using certain plants, one can enhance humans. Everything from unnaturally long life, to super strength, to incredible skills in mathematics, to being incredibly fast, to having a perfect memory. (And so so much more) The last one is the ability our protagonist is gifted with.

Dinious Kol is the protagonist, and his job is to observe crime scenes, which he memorizes, and then brings the account back to his boss, the eccentric Ana. Ana is gifted with incredible analyzation and observational skills. Between the two of them, they are tasked with solving a string of murders.

Unfortunately, I struggled with a few things in this book. The first is that there are a LOT of characters, and official roles that they fill, and I had a very hard time keeping track of all of them. A dramatis personae might have been the saving grace for me in that regard. Without it though, I had a very hard time getting into the story, as I regularly felt like I couldn't track what was happening. Eventually I got the characters straight, so the last 40% of the novel was great, but I STRUGGLED with the first 60%. I likely would have DNFed if I had bought the book.

I am not 100% sure if I recommend this one, but I will definitely be picking up the next book. There are enough questions and teasers sprinkled into this novel, along with the highest expectations from the way The Founders Trilogy played out, that I am so curious to see where we go from here.