I was wondering if Bennett could repeat his success in the second installment of the series, and he did! Oh boy, he did! Again, the book was impossible to put down, and I loved how it expands the world from the Tainted Cup. This one is definitely darker, the murders are more gruesome, and we delve into the complicated politics of the region with colonial tones and shady imperial maneuvers. We get to know Dim more, especially his erm... "physical" side and family problems that force him to take up more financial responsibilities than he can bear.
The intrigue is cunning, layered and perfectly woven into this world's lore. Bennett creates a perfect example of what a fantasy mystery should look like, incorporating the rules of his made up realm into the logical puzzle. At the same time, he indulges his readers with more insight into the mysteries of Leviathans' world itself, making us want more.
I devoured this book and can't wait for another serving.
On the downsides I have only one remark - I feel that Din's problems with reading were completely brushed off here, while they were pretty important in the previous book.

⭐ Rating: 4.25/5

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for providing me with an early review copy!

***Spoiler-free review***

Robert Jackson Bennett’s A Drop of Corruption is a strong follow-up to The Tainted Cup, delivering another engaging blend of fantasy and mystery. It deepens the worldbuilding, sharpens its central mystery, and gives its characters more room to grow. While it doesn’t quite surpass its predecessor, it successfully builds on its foundation and keeps the series moving in an intriguing direction.

The story follows Imperial investigator Ana Dolabra and her assistant Dinios Kol as they take on an impossible case in Yarrowdale: a Treasury officer has vanished from a locked room under constant guard. What begins as a missing-person investigation soon spirals into a tangled murder mystery with far-reaching consequences for the Empire’s power structure.

Stronger Character Work

One of this book’s biggest improvements is its character development. Ana, who at times felt almost mythic in The Tainted Cup, gains more humanizing moments that make her feel more grounded. The introduction of Malo, a gruff and pragmatic new character, adds a welcome dynamic to the team, balancing Ana’s calculated brilliance and Din’s reserved nature. Din himself remains a sharp and entertaining narrator, with his dry humor and self-deprecating charm adding personality to the story.

A Cleverly Woven Mystery

The mystery itself is well-constructed, with Bennett planting clues throughout the narrative in a way that rewards attentive readers. The investigation unfolds at a solid pace, and the mix of deduction and fantasy elements keeps things unpredictable. At times, the added complexity of the world’s mechanics makes certain aspects of the mystery feel a bit abstract, but overall, Bennett keeps the twists engaging and well-earned.

Expanding the World

This installment takes the story beyond the Empire’s core into Yarrowland, introducing new customs, dialects, and perspectives that make the setting feel richer. The deepening lore surrounding Titans and augmentations adds new layers to the world, though it raises more questions than it answers.

My biggest criticism with the book is that while the story is very enjoyable, it feels a bit like a side-quest, one of many potential installments (A la Nero Wolfe). Your mileage may vary as this probably comes down to personal preference.

Final Verdict

A Drop of Corruption is a satisfying sequel that delivers another compelling mystery while expanding the world and deepening its characters. While it doesn’t fully surpass the first book, it continues the series in a rewarding way, setting up intriguing possibilities for future installments.

Recommended for readers who enjoy:

✔️ Fantasy mysteries
✔️ Expansive world building
✔️ A mix of serious stakes and occasional humor

For fans of The Tainted Cup, this is a must-read. A strong continuation that keeps the series moving forward, even if some plot threads remain unresolved.

This book was perfection. I've always loved robert jackson bennett's books, but this series might be his best yet, proven by how superior the first and this book are. I love reading about the characters, their dynamic, and i love how much more depth they have here. The mystery aspect was not lacking at all! I was still left speechless on every turn, and discovering how we reach a certain point is a joy to read. All in all, more people should read this book and series

Wow. You know how you read a book and it’s just amazing and fantastic? Then you read the sequel and it almost always comes up short? That is not the case with A Drop of Corruption, the second book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series. This book was so dang good, as enjoyable, if not more so, than book one. It truly was such a satisfying read.

The relationship between Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol is so fun to read. Their crime solving skills are so impressive, I find myself wondering, how in the world did the author come up with this? And his world building of the lands of the Empire and beyond, the Leviathans, the way they deal with them and their corpses, just leaves me impressed with the author’s unique imagination.

RBJ is truly a gifted author and storyteller. Can not wait for the next book in this series!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for sending me an advanced copy of this book.

I absolutely adored The Tainted Cup, so I was thrilled to be offered the chance to get an early peek at A Drop of Corruption in exchange for this review. If you’ve already read The Tainted Cup, I will promise you this, everything you liked about The Tainted Cup is still here in A Drop of Corruption. Intrigue? Check. Din being a bisexual impulsive disaster? Check. Ana acting like a mad scientist? Check. Convoluted mysteries? Check. Weird fungus. Check. Obviously. So if you liked The Tainted Cup, you’ll have a grand old time with A Drop of Corruption. If you didn’t like The Tainted Cup, I’m not sure why you’re reading this review, honestly.

While you could probably read The Tainted Cup and A Drop of Corruption as stand alone novels, I don’t know why you would when you could read them in the proper order and have everything make significantly more sense. So if you haven’t checked this series out and “Sherlock Holmes is a woman, Watson is a bisexual disaster, cthulhu is weird, it’s biopunk and they solve crimes” sounds like a good time to you, get on this series. If you think that sounds like a bad time, you’re probably right, and you should pass.

I recommend this for fans of Bennett’s other work, and people looking for their next Six of Crows fix.

(will post and add links closer to the pub date)

Ana and Din do it again in this vivid dystopian mystery. I feel calling these characters Sherlock and Holmes does not do them justice. Both characters have their strengths, and the first-person POV of Din makes this even more endearing. The minor characters stand out as well. The setting is lush and very detailed, the dialogue is snappy, and the plot pacing is out of this world.
Besides the subtle horror elements, I admire this series for lack of triggering content! I read an AMA the author wrote where he talks about his inspiration for this novel, and it endeared me to the work even more.
Thanks so much to Netgalley for the eARC and the opportunity to read this early.

Fantastic book, it's even better than the original, witch is rare these days. Plot just drives from beginning to the end, fast paced, interesting, intelligent. Great stuff. Can't wait for the next one.

He’s done it again!!! I am absolutely in love with this series, the characters, the world building, all of it. The mysteries are also twisty, dark, and fun to watch Ana and Din unravel!!

If you loved book 1, you will absolutely love this one too.

Din and Ana are back in this sequel that continues the world building of the first installment. They're in a new realm exploring the disappearance of that turns out to be much more complicated than originally thought. These mysteries tend to be extremely complex since the characters are bound by the real world, but they'er ultimately clever and enjoyable.

Ana seems a bit angrier in this book and it might be a tad too long for my preference but it's a worthy follow up.

A Drop of Corruption is everything I wanted in a sequel and more—a brilliant blend of mystery, political intrigue, and mind-bending world-building that kept me hooked from start to finish. Bennett continues to impress with his intricate magic system, weaving together the bizarre and the brilliant in an utterly immersive way. Ana Dolabra is as eccentric and sharp as ever, and Din’s arc in this book adds layers of depth that make him an even more compelling narrator. Their dynamic remains one of the most enjoyable parts of the series, full of wit, tension, and genuine growth. The mystery itself is masterfully constructed, full of twists that had me second-guessing every theory I formed, and the expansion of the world—especially the deeper dive into the Shroud and the political machinations of the Empire—adds an even greater sense of urgency and stakes. I cannot wait to see what Bennett does in the next book—this series is shaping up to be one of my all-time favorites.

I really love the way Bennett builds worlds and magic systems, and his characters are fascinating. Ana and Din are fun to read about and their interactions are delightful - and I feel like both had solid development over the course of this novel.

The mystery and main plot in this are excellent and really pulled me in. I was curious and fascinated the entire time and had such a blast seeing how things got solved!

I can't wait to see how this trilogy ends - Bennett has set up SO much and I am excited to watch him tie it all together.

Absolutely fantastic sequel to one of the most inventive series I have read in a while. Highly highly recommended and am very much looking forward to more. I loved the characters, world building and lore. I had a great time reading this book.

a fantastic sequel that lives up to the heights of the first book.

robert jackson bennett has quickly become a standout author for me; i loved the tainted cup, and the founders trilogy is some incredible fantasy writing. i was so excited to read this sequel, and it lives up to the first book.

we're back with din and ana, this time in yarrowdale, a canton of the empire that din and ana serve. there, din and ana are faced with an impossible mystery, and as they start to unravel it, they start to reveal a dangerous conspiracy that involves the shroud, an all-secret compound that the empire relies on. the plot is fantastic; in the first book, there were times where i was confused and befuddled, but i was able to follow the plot of this book completely. there were moments where i was shocked; that ending was so unexpected. this book definitely dives more into the leviathans and the magic, and i liked the worldbuilding with the shroud. the politics of this book were engrossing, especially with yarrowdale not formally being in the empire.

the characters are enjoyable as always; din and ana's dynamic is such a fun one and you can really see how their relationship has grown from the first book. i also loved some of the new characters, especially malo. her quips and dialogue were enjoyable to read, and i loved her relationship with din, with her teasing him. thelanai was a very complex character as well; her arc is engrossing and a bit sad.

honestly i think i like a drop of corruption more than the first book! one of the best books i've read this year. if you're a fan of fantasy, mystery, and robert jackson bennett, this book is a must-read. 4.5 stars for this book!

thanks to netgalley and random house for the arc!

Tainted Cup was one of my top five reads of 2024, and I can tell Drop of Corruption is going to be a top fave for 2025. Book Two had nearly everything I was hoping to see, along with an expansion of the world, politics, and lore.

We see more of the fantastic world building as a murder takes the investigators to the edge of the Empire, and we see even more of the graft-magic system as different super-human abilities take center stage in this chapter.

Din, our resident bisexual disaster and certified pretty boy, is back. He is depressed. He is in debt. And he gets right to the bisexual disastering we love him for. His grafts give him the ability to remember everything he sees, which is a fun narrator device, especially as he recalls the information previously learned as it becomes relevant.

Ana is wonderful as the pattern seeking crime solver, and she is just as inappropriate and crass as the first book.

The mystery was fun, the easter eggs of clues were a delight to chase down and ponder, and RJB does a great job of explaining the science technique before it is done--so you feel like you have an opportunity to keep guessing at the weapons, guilty parties, motives, and potential future targets. And the leviathan blood and eldritch plants keep that horror/suspense element without being too grotesque.

There is more dry humor and hilarious dialogue in this one, which is an easy way to my heart.

This is a wonderful Sci-Fi/Fantasy/mystery read with a queer MC, in a queernormative world, and diverse cast filled with strong and interesting male and female characters.

I didn't want to put this one down at any point. I've already called my local shop to pre-order it. I only wish the book had a glossary, as certain titles refer to the abilities granted.

Thanks to net-galley for access to the ebook!
4.5 stars.

Worthy sequel and well written. The e-arc had a few grammatical mistakes and needs another pass to fix that.
But beyond that, The writing was similar to the first and the mystery has a satisfying conclusion with some more light shed on the characters and motivations.
I enjoyed this book as much as the first one but there were some parts where it dragged a little. Could use the deft touch of an editor to trim down some parts.
If there is a third book in this series, looking forward to it. quite an enjoyable read!

4.5 stars.

I absolutely loved A Drop of Corruption. It was so much fun to be back in this world with Din and Ana.

In A Drop of Corruption, Ana and Din are called in to solve the case of a murdered Treasury official in a region that is in the process of becoming an official imperial canton. From there the case snowballs into a much larger conspiracy, and Ana and Din have to race against the clock to stop a catastrophe.

I thought the mystery in this one was great. The clues were set out in a way where I felt like I was solving the case alongside the characters, which made the reading experience really satisfying. I also loved the twists and overall just had a lot of fun with the plot.

I also really enjoyed the political aspect of the plot. There are a lot of characters with different perspectives and opinions on the impending shift of power from the Yarrow king to the Empire, and that felt like a very well-developed, thoughtful conflict that raised questions around cultural differences, justice, and power. I feel like the book left me with a lot to think about, and I feel like this quote, presented without context, helps give you a sense of what this book is doing:

"[redacted]…that though the Legion defends our Empire, it falls to us to keep an Empire worth defending.”

Across Ana and Din, as well as some of the side characters, I feel like this book has some deeper character development, which is one of the things I was missing in A Tainted Cup, so I'm excited to be learning more about them.

In this book, Din is really struggling with feeling like his job is valuable, and he's dealing with some family difficulties as well. His relationship with Ana develops in significant ways as they debate about the importance of their role.

We also get some big reveals about Ana that I think raise even more interesting questions that I want to know the answers to. We learn more about how she is the way she is, and yet we still don't get any clarification on why. I appreciated the way these reveals were laid out, and I'm very intrigued to learn more about her and why the Empire needs her.

The only quibbles I have with the book are that 1) it kept repeating some pieces of information as if it didn't totally trust the reader to remember them or get the significance, and 2) multiple characters had the same vocal quirks which I found jarring in a book that's so much about cultural conflict in a politically tense region. That said, neither of these impacted my enjoyment to any great degree.

Overall, I think this one is even better than book one, and I hope we get more books in the series!

I read A Tainted Cup just this year and knew I had to get my hands on A Drop of Corruption. RJB brings back a lot of what made the first book so engaging to read. Ana's scathing wit. Kols dutiful yet conflicted commitment to the job set in front of him. World building that is well woven into the details of a complex mystery. At first I thought I was in for almost a repeat of the same rhythms from the first book (which there definitely are but in a good way like RJB is playing the hits from his last album), but I felt there definitely was a deepening of the world along with exposing more of the main characters' own vulnerabilities that made the second book feel fresh. Note on the world building - this has to be one of the more fascinating settings that I've read for a fantasy in quite some time. The lore of the titans and the empire really gets expanded on here where at times I found myself more in it for that versus the mystery itself. Great read overall, with a great message that feels so relevant to today's current events.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this ARC publishing April 1, 2025.

I think Robert Jackson Bennett could write a dozen of these “Ana and Din Mystery Novels” and I would eat up EVERY SINGLE ONE. Beyond being two of my favorite characters of all time, the way RJB weaves fantasy world building and character development into a murder mystery story is just utter brilliance.

A Drop of Corruption darker in tone than The Tainted Cup and as such, allowed for a deeper dive into the “dark underbelly” of the magic system and what has created the society, so while the mystery itself stands alone from book one in the series, the expansion upon the world and unraveling of the main characters secrets (arguably my favorite part about this second installment) would require knowledge obtained in the first book. It also took place in a completely different setting and while I mourned the loss of some supporting characters from book one, that feeling was quickly replaced with the introduction of Malo who was an excellent sidekick for Din and emanated masc lesbian vibes that I was LIVING for. I have very high hopes she will show up in some of the other books in the series.

The mystery component was solid, starting as a locked-room type murder mystery that has you wondering how Ana will solve it and while I was able to guess components of how it would all be wrapped up, I was kept on the edge of my seat to see all the pieces finally come together in the end. I am typically very annoyed by books that do reveals via “tell and not show” but because the tendency is integrated into who Ana is as a character (monologuing her brilliance in connecting the seemingly unconnected), I honestly can’t mind it.

As a side note, Robert’s author’s note at the end talking about the dangers of autocracies (as is a theme throughout the book) literally gave me chills as I read it during inauguration week. Its relevance to our current political state and tie-in to the underlying theme of what you just read is worth a few minutes to read.

I loved it! I will read as many of these stories as RJB is willing to put out and that is no lie.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group – Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey and NetGalley for an E-ARC copy of this book.

Fantasy • Sherlock & Watson • Murder Mystery
Expected Publication • 1 April 2025

‧₊˚‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊ ♡⊹ Thank you @delreybooks for the ARC! ⊹

❥ A blend of Sherlock Homes mystery combined with fantasy, augmented abilities, court politics, and queer normalization.

Read The Tainted Cup first for best results. If you’ve done that, read on...

Ana and Din are back. Ana continues to be highly eccentric, leaning autistic. In this book we learn a bit more about her backstory and why her tastes appear even more eclectic than before.

Din in this book somehow turns into a gentleman fu*kboy which I found honestly a bit bizarre, but I’m hopeful that this particular proclivity will tamp down once he reunites with Captain Strovi, hopefully in a future book in the series.

My favorite scene in this book involved the Augars, a group of neurodivergents who can easily spot patterns and communicate nonverbally.

·˚ ༘₊·꒰➳: ̗̀➛ Final verdict: An enjoyable followup to The Tainted Cup, especially when read with buddy reading friends! 🥐🍵

Usually when you read a modern mystery the clues are stacked one on top of another until your sleuth has their ah-ha moment. RJB on the other hand is over here building the Great Pyramid of Giza. Clues are spread far and wide and build not in a linear manner but on themselves and others until the very end. So looking at this from that standpoint alone - wonderful murder mystery.

Now. Add in the exceptional world building we’ve all come to know and love and you have an enthralling and immersive novel.

Our dynamic duo of Ana and Din are back and better than ever. The supporting cast is also wonderful and bring such a balance to Ana and Din’s dynamic. What I love about the writing here is that there’s a right and wrong way to have a lot going on in a book. Done wrong and you just roll your eyes - oh look another random thing! But when done right you get a novel like this. So many quirky and crazy things happen but you can see they have importance even if you don’t know what it is at the time.

I can’t wait to see the next installment of this series.