The second book in the Din and Ana mysteries picks up a year or so after the two main characters began working together, as they arrive at another sensitive Imperial location and find themselves involved in a locked-room murder mystery. As with the first book, they navigate complex Imperial and interpersonal politics while attempting to figure out who the killer is before he strikes again. After about six rounds of this, they succeed.

I was actually extremely engrossed in the crime and the investigation this time around, which kept up a sprightly pace and kept me wondering, before leading to a conclusion that struck me as pretty fair. As always, mixing science-fantasy in with a murder mystery requires you to pay careful attention to the rules in order to be certain the author is playing fair, but I'm prepared to call myself satisfied with this one. As for the political aspect, I can definitely say that this is certainly a book written for the world of 2024 and leave it at that. I'm sure it will resonate just as the author intended it to.

However, I was less satisfied with the interactions between the two protagonists in this book. People often compare Din and Ana to Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe, and I don't want to belabor the comparison, because it's not like the author promised me "Wolfe and Archie, but with leviathans and a modern understanding of neuroatypical behavior", but I can't help thinking about how Wolfe and Archie have a more-or-less equal partnership, where Wolfe is a genius but genuinely needs Archie to keep him on track and moderate his bad decisions, and Archie acts independently on his own initiative and has his own strengths. By comparison, whenever Din and Ana are on different pages, whether it's about Din's choices or Ana's use of illegal psychoactives, Din is wrong and Ana is right. Din is now two-for-two on spending the entire book feeling sorry for himself about problems that turn out not to be problems and could have been solved easily if he asked for help. He had his reasons for not being able to trust Ana, sure, but from the perspective of the reader, he wastes a lot of time looking sad (although it appears to be a good look for him, if the ladies are to be trusted). Anyway, hopefully if there's a third book in the series, we'll see Din mature into an independent partner rather than a physical extension of Ana's brain.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I also noticed what seems to be a significant discontinuity in my EARC, where events are referred to as happening that don't actually appear in the book. (SPOILERS AHEAD) Ana asks Din if he was approached by moneylenders and whether they asked him for information, and he tells her that they did. We see one scene at the beginning where the moneylender approaches Din to let him know about the modification to his debt, and another paragraph later where he briefly mentions handing over most of his paycheck, but the scene where Din is actually asked for confidential information and refuses to give it doesn't actually appear in the book. This could be intentional, but it seems like it might be a versioning error. There's also at least one typo where a character refers to a "seat e".

My thanks to Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore and NetGalley for a free eARC of “A Drop of Corruption” by Robert Jackson Bennet.
“A Drop of Corruption” is the second installment of “Shadow of the Leviathan”, another Ana and Din Mystery Murder in a High Fantasy setting.
Before raving how much I loved this book, I need to mention I never read blurbs for sequels and especially avoid doing so when it is a Mystery. I prefer to unravel everything alongside our characters and fell as I am by their side along the way.
I was so excited to witness the wonderful relation between Ana and her assistant Din and not only were they as entertaining as I expected, but they showed much growth behind their peculiarities.
So I got a compelling Mystery that I refuse to ruin by revealing anything about it, except that it was excellently executed, great character development with some humor mixed in, but the best gift of this second volume was the gradual revealing of this fascinating world. The glimpses of the past, the developments and uses of the flora, new genetic enhances and what they could mean, not only for the Empire that Ana and Din serve, but also to the evolution of this whole world, all these create a vivid picture of this Universe.
As any well crafted world, the socio-political elements also play an important role and the author let us the readers view this from different angles so we can form our own thoughts and opinions.
I am looking forward to see what other mysteries and conspiracies Ana and Din will tackle in the next volume of the “Shadow of the Leviathan”.
I highly recommend fans of Murder Mystery in a Fantasy setting to start with “The Tainted Cup”, then continue with “A Drop of Corruption”.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC!

“The Tainted Cup” was my favorite book that I’ve read so far this year. The world building was incredible, yet somehow, the characters were even better, and the story had me hooked instantly! I was so excited to jump back into this world! I dropped everything else I was doing and reading to start this. I’ve had the second book preordered for months, so to get access to this early was really awesome!

Din and Ana have another case to solve, and this one takes them to the edge of the Empire. I don’t want to give much away, due to the book being a mystery, where details matter, so I’ll keep this relatively short, and may expand on it after the book is actually published. Basically, a treasury officer with the Empire vanishes from his lodging, and Ana and Din are called in to find out happened, and who did it, and why.

I just absolutely love the world where these stories take place. Yarrowdale is a city surrounded by jungles and swamps. Those jungles and swamps are filled with criminals, and these areas are where a good portion of the story takes place. There’s actually a few chapters in the book that gave me major “Apocalypse Now” flashbacks, in the best way possible! Some of the locations in this city/area will be forever seared into my brain (The Shroud, and a certain area of the jungle come to mind immediately!)

I love the new character, Malo, that we’re introduced to early in the story. She is such a badass! She was a definite highlight of this story. I hope there’s a lot more of these stories to come! The amount of love that went into writing these stories is massive, and I can’t wait to see what else this world has to offer!

Read this as soon as you can!

tl;dr
Another twisty mystery set in an ever-evolving kaiju world. Builds on the first book with more world-building, more mystery, and some sneaky reveals.

Thoughts
Great news, everybody! This book is very good. If you've already read the first one, you probably guessed it would be. (And if you haven't read the first one, I heartily recommend it.) Nearly everything that made the first book amazing is back: A tightly plotted mystery, more plantcore world building, Ana's wild genius, and Din's relatable narration. (I say nearly everything because sadly Kepheus Strovi is not present, leaving both Din and this reader bereft.) In my previous review, I did note some concerns that the story would begin to drift away from solving murders towards more of the leviathan stuff. Interestingly enough, while plenty more big plot pieces are revealed, I didn't feel like the mystery aspect was lost at all. We've got locked rooms, impossible thefts, government secrets, and political shenanigans aplenty. It's a fairly seamless genre blending, and I now have my fingers crossed that we'll have plenty more to come.

This book was a great sequel, and still one of the only books I have ever read for adults that managed to capture the feeling of the random novels that seemed to only exist shelved in the wrong place in public libraries. which is a good thing.

also i love a good fantasy bisexual manwhore. and that is our narrator

The Shadow of the Leviathan series is quickly becoming one of my favorites in recent memory, and Robert Jackson Bennett once again knocks it out of the park with this sequel to The Tainted Cup. There's more of Din and Ana and more seemingly impossible murders to solve, along with a colorful new cast of characters (Malo was a standout for me). The unique worldbuilding of the Empire is further expanded on with Yarrowdale and the Shroud. The most enjoyable part of these books, to me, is how they blend the best aspects of the fantasy and mystery genres: an intriguing, fantastical setting for a murder, and fast pacing that made me fly through the pages of this fantasy novel. This book was so addictive that I was riveted to my couch for two days, practically unable to tear myself away from my e-reader.

I'm praying to the publishing gods that RJB gets to write many more Din and Ana novels to come!

‘The Tainted Cup’ was one of my favourite reads of 2024 and ‘A Drop of Corruption’ was lined up to be one of my most anticipated reads of 2025, so I feel both incredibly blessed, and also kind of cheeky, that I was fortunate enough to get an early copy of this book, which I then fell upon with reckless abandon.

I find it so fascinating how much this series seems to draw inspiration from various popular mangas. If Book 1 had strong ‘Attack on Titan’ vibes, then this one, with all its blooming humans and jungle vibes, aesthetically felt heavily inspired by ‘Hells Paradise’ (a personal favourite of mine).

One of my biggest complaints with book 1 was that the first 40% or so felt like a bit of work to try and understand and familiarize myself with all the heavy world building. Thankfully coming into this book with that knowledge already in place meant that we could dive into the story head first and straight into the latest murder mystery for Din and Ana.

As far as the story goes, this book, set months into the future of Book 1, is cut from the same Sherlock Holmes-esque deductive reasoning and mystery as the first book but we get the opportunity to see more depth of character in both Din and Ana, whilst continuing to see more to their dynamic working together as well. I loved the mystery in this one and was kept guessing throughout (although I had my suspicions early on and some of them even turned out to be pretty close).

Malo was a fabulous new addition to this cast of characters and I dearly hope we get to see more of her into the future.

In Book 1 I became immediately enamored with Captain Strovi (as Din himself evidently did as well) and the little crumbs of romance we got between them were a highlight for me and I had hoped to see more of him in this book. I understand why we didn’t, but I was still a little disappointed that we only really see glimpses of him in Dins poor little heartsick mind. I must admit I was a bit taken aback by the development of Din becoming a bit of a fuckboy, but I guess when you’re looking for distraction and comfort you take it in whatever form you can get it. The flip side to that is that it’s genuinely delightful to see some completely normalized and unapologetically bisexual representation (it’s never discussed, it just is a fact that exists)

No middle book syndrome here. Book 2 has taken the groundwork of book 1 and has expanded upon the world building and produced a fantastic mystery and enjoyable adventure. Now I just have the horrible wait for book 3 to endure.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide my thoughts.




My threatened riot from my Book 1 review on Captain Strovi’s behalf has been put on pause cause I still hold a hope that they’ll be end game.

I'm going to start off with the disclaimer that I was craving this book before I even finished the last page of The Tainted Cup. Did Robert Jackson Bennett set a high bar with the first book in this series? Definitely. Did I have high expectations for this book? Absolutely. Did it meet my expectations? Meet, exceed, surpass, and left me craving book 3 ...and more. When I started the first book, I was contented to see that the author's prior series seemed to top out at trilogies because I did not want to commit to an indefinitely long series, but now I find myself so curious with, and fond of, the main characters and interested in this world that the author has created for these stories that I simply am not ready for it to end anytime soon. The dynamic between Ana and Din has progressed since their meeting in the first book and their interactions were as appealing as the mystery that they solved. The mystery in this volume was even more curious than the first and Din was pressed into several precarious situations. And, of course Anna puts together all the clues that we were fed through the course of the story and presents a clear solution to the murder mystery by the end. Din's first-person narration continued in this story, much like Dr. Watson narrates Sherlock Holmes' adventures. But I would not dare compare this duo to any other mystery as they are wholly unique. New supporting characters were introduced and they were ideally tailored to fit into the mystery and bring out more depth in Din's personality through their interactions. I hope to see at least one of these characters return in a future book of the series. The ending of this book abandoned me to my ever growing curiosity about Ana and I eagerly await at least partial answers and an even more suspense-filled mystery in the next book of the series. Anyone who enjoyed the fist book of the Shadow of the Leviathan will absolutely relish this one and those who have not started this series yet but enjoy a blend of mystery and fantasy, interesting characters, curious situations, incredible world building, and fantastic plot should consider this series. Though the mystery in this book is technically independent of the first, I would still start with The Tainted Cup as a better introduction to Ana and Din.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

I was very excited to have the opportunity to read an ARC of A Drop of Corruption because I loved first installment of the series. The worldbuilding in this series is just so interesting and unique. Din and Ana are both excellent characters and I really hope to read more about them and Malo was an interesting side character.

The mystery itself was a little convoluted and I did partially guess the ending, but I did really enjoy the story.

Did you like Book 1? Then you'll love Book 2. It takes all the best elements to a higher level. Ana is much more active, accompanying Din. The action takes us to different and most interesting sceneries, including jungles. Malo is a great character and not the only one added to this story. All small details are not in vain and have a purpose in the story. The first murder seems impossible to resolve, but we are giving all the answers and explanations during the entire novel, and the revelation doesn't seem like out of the blue. The author is creative and careful to answer all of our all questions. It's always fun to see Din blush and being taunted by Ana, and now Malo as well. I love her dialogue. I love this fantasy world, and in this volume, we go deeper into the augmented characters and lore to explain these complex extra "magic system" and skills. Great way to use the five senses in a mystery fantasy novel.

Robert Jackson Bennett is one heck of an author. First with the Divine Cities trilogy, then with the Founders trilogy, now with the ongoing series of Shadow of the Leviathan. Bennett is very well-thought with how he crafts a story, especially the setting of such story. No stone overturned. There's something realistic with how people would adapt to such scenarios of living. Such as with this ongoing series, of empires, biotech, and leviathans.

A Drop of Corruption follows up on The Tainted Cup, this time with the "Holmes and Watson"-type duo of Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol in a new setting and dealing with a new mystery. What starts as a murder of a mid-ranked official quickly expands out to be a larger conspiracy. The premise is not too different than the series debut. However, what makes book set its unique tone, is a larger focus on the bio-technology that exists through the setting. The specialty bio-tech impacts the bodies, minds, and spirits of those who apply it to oneself. The biology entities of the leviathans (the Titans, they are known as) serve as capable reagents for ongoing advancements for technology and medicine. Bennett successfully combines science-fiction with modern techniques of medicine and studies of microbiology.

The character development continues to be consistent, both with the duo's interactions with characters in the new setting, Yarrowdale, but most importantly, their evolving relationship with each other. Din balances the fact that Ana is both 1) his superior, 2) his mentor, and 3) his friend, all simultaneous, even though there is much that Ana is aware of and purposefully leaves Din in the dark about. Din grapples with pressure to provide for his family, along with the pressure to be impactful in the Empire, to make a better place out of a land of perhaps tens of millions. Ana meanwhile continues to have intriguing motives, providing Din with some half-truths but keeping some other information concealed...at least for the time being. Finally, the new recurring and side characters, pertinent to this book (and not the first), all have their key moments too, where again, no store is unturned.

I give this 5/5 stars, as I view this as a powerful sequel: both establishing a well-thought story and laying the groundwork for continuations.

Oh my goodness, you must get into this series right now. I first discovered The Tainted Cup (Book 1) thanks to Aardvark Book Club's February 2024 pick, and I was instantly pulled in. I devoured it and needed more, immediately. Bennett’s writing style is captivating. I adored Din and Ana and couldn't get enough of this herbaceous, Attack on Titan meets Sherlock Holmes fantasy world. So, when I spotted this sequel on NetGalley, I screamed. Despite my terrible review ratio, I requested it with no expectations, but a few hours later, I got the approval email and was grinning like Ana. I would've finished it that night if it weren't for my pesky day job.

This sequel has all the familiarity of an old, medieval world with a fresh and progressive twist. The way new concepts are introduced without overwhelming or spoon-feeding definitions is gorgeous. You learn about the world alongside inexperienced characters. There were so many jaw-dropping moments that I was racing through the pages to find out what happened next. I don’t want to spoil anything but trust me, you need to read this series. A physical copy of the final version will be so satisfying to add to my collection.

I’m genuinely desperate for a massive-budget adaptation and a theme park! I know this series will explode, and I’m so excited to be along for the ride. Now, the agonizing wait begins for the next one.

The biggest thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for early access to this book.

<i>A Drop of Corruption</i> is funnier and sexier than <i>The Tainted Cup</i> was, and it is just as compulsively readable. I tore through this in a little more than a day, and found it infected my thoughts for all the time that I wasn't reading it. I appreciated the character development since the last book, I appreciated the drip-fed answers to the questions I had about the world, and I appreciated the atmosphere. It's a fundamentally competent mystery novel, with no plot holes or reliance on stupidity and no massive leaps of logic, which is not something I take for granted.

If I had to describe what a "Watson and Holmes" dynamic is, it's in the split between action and thought. Our Watson character goes and interacts with the world, bringing information back to a Holmes character who does the thinking (what the philosopher Daniel Dennett would call the difference between syntactic and semantic processing). This series represents the platonic ideal of a Sherlock Holmes story. Din, our narrator, is the essence of Watson, biologically modified to remember everything he sees and be able to report it perfectly, and he is all action. Ana, his boss and our Holmes figure, is the opposite: all thought, while she sits in a low-stimulation room and compiles information. The fun thing about this is that while Din isn't always able to figure out the mysteries, he has compiled all the information that Ana uses to do so, and so the reader is theoretically given enough to figure things out ourselves. I think that this book did that really well: several times, I could feel the edges of what the solutions were, but I never really figured every last bit out in advance, so the solutions felt like they made sense and like I could have figured them out if I was just as smart as Ana was.

The worldbuilding of the series continues to be excellent. There's real body horror in the ways that infections are described and everything is just weird enough to be fascinating. I really appreciated that the technology felt internally consistent, that nothing felt like it was breaking laws of physics or biology. I missed the commentary from the first book about the ways that the rich profit off of ecological disaster and condemn whole populations and lands for greed; instead there was commentary about the stupidity of non-democratic political systems, which felt relevant (in the Author's Note, Bennett talks about how the book is a reaction to authoritarianism in our world), but which felt less pointed and specific than the stuff in <i>The Tainted Cup</i>. The Empire of Khanum itself is an odd beast in that it doesn't really behave the ways that most empires, fictional or historical, do–it doesn't want to expand for the sake of expansion, it rejects notions of the central power and importance of the emperor, it works hard to crack down on corruption, it actively empowers its citizens to define what the empire is through their work. This makes it more or less the good guys in comparison to a monarchic system that still practices slavery, which muddled some of the ideas I got from the first book, where the damaging side of Empire seemed more on show.

I commented in my review of the first book that Din had absolutely no sense of humour, and it's really nice to see a version of the character that now does have a sense of humour and is no longer terrified of having his secrets discovered. There's a lot more sex, and while it's not graphically described or particularly erotic, it is a source of character development and humour and the book benefits from it. Ana gets more dimension, too, and by comparison with some other inhumanly weird characters she becomes more understandable.

I'm going to keep reading the rest of this series. I'm confident that all my questions will eventually be answered and that those answers are going to be satisfactorily weird. More than anything, based on the first two books, I'm confident that the journey is going to be fun.

I would take 50 more books in this series if I could. The world building is so unique, the characters are so enjoyable to read, and the mysteries unravel perfectly. Give us more!