Another great book for Dinias Kol and Ana Dolabra! I loved the previous book and this one also did not disappoint. I wish that I had gotten the chance to reread the previous story first, but I didn’t have time to. That would have made it an easier re-entry into their world, but I caught up quickly. I generally don’t like this genre but these books are different in a way that I enjoy.

Huge thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for this arc!

I devoured this so fast! I don't know how it's possible to build such an intricate, immersive world and make it digestible, but here we have it.

A Drop of Corruption takes us in a different part of the world, where the empire's reach is not as solid. The first book dealt more with the celebrated Engineers of the world, who build the walls to keep out Leviathans, while this book deals more with Apoths, who harvest dead Leviathan bodies for alterations—very much like the one our main character, Dinios, has. Din is once again using his enhanced memory to aid in this investigation, but the secrets and political machinations involved in this part of the empire makes his job harder.

"What are we, if not instruments in service to one another?"

Ana, our "Sherlock," is eccentric as ever as the circumstances of the murder they're investigating leaves them stumped one too many times. Ana's strangeness and Din's resigned handling still makes for an amusing dynamic. What I loved about this book, though, is that we get to see a little more vulnerability between them. We learn more about Din's reason for taking on such work, and we see his struggle with wanting to make tangible contribution versus continuing the unsatisfying task of bringing justice. We even learn a bit more about Ana, and although her past is still shrouded in secrets, we are one step closer to figuring her out.

If I were to complain about anything, it would be that some things from Book 1 weren't as prevalent in this book. The most obvious being the absence of Kepheus. At least he was not forgotten, as Din often pined over him. But I also missed Captain Miljin, who was not mentioned at all. There's also little mention of Din's dyslexia or his new found abilities. Although, none of this detracted from my overall enjoyment.

As is the case for any of this author's works, the side characters as so well fleshed out. Their motivations, their fears... all of it entangled into a very human tapestry. That's what makes these books such satisfying mysteries. One character, in specific, becomes an unexpected friend to Din and is sure to be featured again.

I could picture this series continuing in endless episodic installments, and I never want to leave this world or these characters!

Bennett does it again! Those who enjoyed the first installment of this series will also A Drop of Corruption. What Bennett delivers is an action packed sequel that expands the world and takes us on another crime solving spree. I won't say too much about the plot because those who have read The Tainted Cup know exactly what they are getting into reading this novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see more of Din and Ana's partnership, as well as meet a whole new cast of characters. Ana continue's to make me belly laugh at her craziness and wit, and Din became much more fleshed out to me in this book. I appreciated seeing him struggle with what he's seen and the duty that has been placed upon him to take care of his family. This book as a whole felt more trippy to me, but I enjoyed every second of it. This series continues to get better and better and I can't wait to read the next book!

As was my complaint with The Tainted Cup, I would get lost in the amount of characters and had to re-read a couple times to make sure I knew who was present. However, I still really enjoyed and had a great reading experience.

I highly recommend to anyone who likes unique fantasy and mystery/crime solving books!

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Ray for the eARC in exchange of an honest review!

Rezension zu A Drop of Corruption: An Ana and Din Mystery von Robert Jackson Bennett
Robert Jackson Bennett, bekannt für seine Fähigkeit, spannende Geschichten mit meisterhaft konstruierten Welten zu verweben, liefert mit A Drop of Corruption eine faszinierende Mischung aus Fantasy und Detektivroman. Als Nachfolger von The Tainted Cup vertieft dieser Band die Welt der Empire-Gesellschaft und ihrer Magie, während er zugleich einen nervenaufreibenden Kriminalfall präsentiert. Das Ergebnis ist ein Buch, das gleichermaßen Fans von Fantasy, Rätselgeschichten und cleverer Charakterarbeit begeistert.

Handlung und Setting
Die Geschichte beginnt mit einem klassischen Locked-Room-Mystery – einem scheinbar unmöglichen Verbrechen, das die besten Köpfe des Empires überfordert. Ana Dolabra, die brillante und unkonventionelle Detektivin, wird gerufen, um das Rätsel zu lösen. Begleitet wird sie von Dinios Kol (Din), ihrem loyalen, aber oft erstaunten Assistenten. Gemeinsam müssen sie nicht nur den Mord aufklären, sondern auch eine Bedrohung abwenden, die die gesamte Magie-basierte Infrastruktur des Empires zum Einsturz bringen könnte.

Das Setting ist ebenso beeindruckend wie die Handlung: Yarrowdale, ein abgelegener Kanton am Rand des Reiches, wird durch seine Mischung aus Wildheit und imperialer Kontrolle lebendig. Besonders faszinierend ist die Vorstellung des Shrouds – einer Anlage, in der die Magie aus den Überresten gefallener Titanen gewonnen wird. Diese Idee verbindet epische Fantasy mit einer fast industriellen Perspektive auf Magie, was Bennett’s Welt einzigartig macht. Die Spannung wird durch die Gefahr erhöht, dass die empfindliche Balance dieser magischen Ressource durch die Machenschaften eines tödlichen Gegners gestört wird.

Charaktere
Ana Dolabra ist das Herzstück der Geschichte. Sie ist intelligent, scharfzüngig und in ihrer Exzentrik unwiderstehlich. Ihr brillanter Verstand wird durch eine Persönlichkeit ergänzt, die gleichzeitig faszinierend und schwer zu durchschauen ist. Ana ist keine einfache Heldin; sie hat Ecken, Kanten und Geheimnisse, die sie umso menschlicher machen.

Dinios Kol, ihr Assistent, dient als das Publikum, das die Genialität und Komplexität von Ana bewundert, aber auch als Kontrapunkt zu ihrer oft unnahbaren Art. Seine Perspektive gibt der Geschichte emotionale Tiefe und Bodenhaftung. Die Dynamik zwischen Ana und Din – eine Mischung aus Respekt, Ungeduld und leiser Zuneigung – ist ein absolutes Highlight des Buches.

Der Antagonist, ein scheinbar allwissender Mörder, ist ebenso faszinierend wie erschreckend. Seine Fähigkeit, Ana immer einen Schritt voraus zu sein, sorgt für eine konstante Bedrohung und hebt den Konflikt auf eine persönliche Ebene. Das Katz-und-Maus-Spiel zwischen Ana und diesem rätselhaften Gegner ist spannend und unvorhersehbar.

Stil und Erzählweise
Bennett’s Stil ist prägnant und elegant, mit einem besonderen Talent für stimmungsvolle Beschreibungen und clevere Dialoge. Die Handlung ist vielschichtig, aber nie überwältigend; sie bietet eine perfekte Balance zwischen Rätsel und Action. Der Autor legt großen Wert auf Details – von den Regeln der Magie bis hin zu den Intrigen des Empires – und schafft so eine Welt, die sich lebendig und greifbar anfühlt.

Besonders hervorzuheben ist, wie Bennett Spannung und Humor ausbalanciert. Ana’s scharfzüngige Bemerkungen und Dins oft staunende oder entsetzte Reaktionen sorgen für Momente des Aufatmens inmitten der düsteren und gefährlichen Handlung.

Fazit
A Drop of Corruption ist ein brillantes Fantasy-Mystery, das sowohl durch seine komplexe Handlung als auch durch seine einzigartigen Charaktere überzeugt. Robert Jackson Bennett erschafft eine Welt, die faszinierend und voller Geheimnisse ist, und füllt sie mit Figuren, die man nicht so schnell vergisst.

Für Fans von Detektivgeschichten mit magischen Elementen, die intelligente Rätsel und epische Gefahren gleichermaßen lieben, ist dieser Roman ein absolutes Muss. Die Geschichte fordert ihre Leser*innen mit überraschenden Wendungen und tiefgründigen Themen heraus, während sie gleichzeitig ein spannendes, temporeiches Leseerlebnis bietet.

Ein Muss für Leser*innen von Autoren wie Brandon Sanderson oder V.E. Schwab, die clevere Fantasy lieben, die sich nicht scheut, neue Wege zu gehen.

How disappointed I was then when, after a solid first 15% of the book, (which presents a really interesting locked room mystery and a re-introduction to my favorite detective duo that I’ve read in a long time) the book quickly evolves into something that is both overwhelmed by its own complexity and exceedingly dull.

I read this book and I read it and I read it. Hoping beyond hope that at any point the narrative was going to straighten out and bring back some of the elements that I love from the first book. I wanted the fun banter between Ana and Din. We don’t get that here. Everything is so serious all the time.

I wanted some of the interesting fantasy elements. The incredible plant magic construct that I loved from the first book, the legend and the ferocity of the leviathan. We get none of this year. Where there is discussion of the magic it simply is in the most scientific terms.

And then, it just becomes so weighed down by a very complicated political plot line that spirals into itself to the point of collapsing the entire narrative.

By the time I got to the end, I was just exhausted. And very much wanting to move onto a different story.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for Robert Jackson Bennett’s second ARC A Drop of Corruption in The Ana and Din series! I was so happy and thankful to get this ARC as I loved The Tainted Cup, and this was one of my top anticipated books for 2025. Now when it comes to mystery series I was super worried that the second mystery would fall flat compared to the first book, but A Drop of Corruption managed to exceed all my expectations. Even when I thought I knew, the story kept twisting and turning. Ana and Din have quite the locked room mystery on their hands, with an addition of Yarrow royal court intrigue, and some shocking revelations about Ana. The world building gets even stronger, and o did worry I would forget how this world’s system works, but I was right back into the thick of it without having to flip back through The Tainted Cup (though I definitely want to reread both books now!) RJB does more dives into the Empire’s history and of course the terror and awe of the titans. I cannot wait for more from Ana and Din!

This was such an enjoyable and satisfying read. I honestly think that, despite being Fantasy first and foremost, Robert Jackson Bennett is writing some of the best quality mysteries in publishing right now.

Overall this book both removed some of my complaints of the first book (namely Ana's character development) and left me much more confused on how this could ever be wrapped up in a single additional installment with all the ground left to cover.

The Characters:
In book one my only minor complaint, really, was that Ana felt more like a caricature. Sure, I was seeing her through Din's eyes and she's a larger than life type of person anyway, but I couldn't get a good grasp on who she was and what made her tick. But I'm happy to report that she got so much more development and backstory and humanizing talks with Din in this installment. For those who wanted more Ana and more Ana answers-- you're gonna get it!

I also really loved the introduction of a new character in this location: Malo. She's got a real swagger and grittiness that the manic-but-poised Ana and proper-to-the-point-of-sometimes-near-roboticness Din could never bring to the story. It was good to see her play off the main characters here from her bravado to her on-her-sleeve emotions.

The Romance:
The Ana lovers are gonna eat with this novel, but I'm sorry for the Kepheus and Din shippers as there's not a single appearance of Kepheus in this. Perhaps in the next one, but not today.

The Mystery:
I really loved the mystery here. I think it took interesting twists and turns, I had multiple theories running from even just chapter 2-3 (several of which were right! which means he did a good job telegraphing clues to pick up on!), and yet the Fantasy elements and the way the reader learns more information about the world meant that it was never wholly solvable from just the beginning.

But the pacing and seeding of clues was impeccably done. And I like that whenever Ana started putting pieces together (usually dropping another clue in her speech, but not a full unravelling) it was my cue to start thinking about what further pieces I could put together myself. It led to a lot of interest and engagement on my end so that I could often feel clever, invested in finding more clues, and also amazed by the cleverness of Ana, our Sherlock analog.

Based on the percentage of this story that's truly just devoted to the continual layers of the mystery, this felt more akin to an installment in a Mystery series than a middle book in a Fantasy series. If you're here because you liked the mysteries of book 1, I think you'll be very satisfied with the amount of screentime devoted to the mysteries of book 2.

The World-Building:
This is part of where I start to become concerned about everything I know, and everything I feel I've yet to know, and where the series could possibly conclude. For while I did get a lot of answers in this novel about the Titans and the Empire and augmentations... there are still so many questions left from book 1, questions introduced in this book, and bombastic action I predict will happen but was not developed at all in this installment. It all needs so much time to cook, still!

Granted, after reading several RJB trilogies before this one, I suspect our next book will feature some sort of significant time jump in order to accomplish everything that must be in place before the finale (several years into the Fifth Empire). But with how much time each book devotes to its particular mystery... it's gonna be a narrow squeeze or an impressive feat for sure.

The Politics:
Rather than expounding further on the politics of the Empire we were introduced to in book one, this novel takes a full reprieve and bounces over to Yarrow, a land not yet fully incorporated into the Empire. As such it is Yarrow in the limelight and Yarrow that we are better coming to understand, and only the occasional tastes and teases of the Empire-- mostly through history lessons and quotes from their most famous ancestors.

(Just how big is book 3 gonna be to tie everything up? Or will we be blessed with more books?)

The Author:
The world is a funny place, these last few years. It's almost impossible to escape the politics of our particular moment in time. And based on the author's note at the end, it's something that weighed heavily on him while writing this book.

While he overall did a good job of keeping it a Fantasy novel first and not so outwardly and obviously political, there were a few moments toward the end that could get a tad preachy. Though I don't feel like it's so much more egregious than his usual flavor in prior books, just perhaps a tad more noticeable here? ymmv

Overall:
Overall I really loved this book. I absorbed it slowly over multiple days because I didn't really want it to end. I care so much more about these characters than I did at the end of book one, and I'm so excited by many of the revelations and world-building nuggets we were given in this book.

I think this is an excellent follow-up to book one that will satisfy Fantasy readers, Mystery readers, and both character and plot-driven readers alike.

The Arc:
For the sake of all Americans who are too terminally online or know too much US slang, I really hope they change the colors of the rockets before they go to print. My immature little brain could not handle so many people talking about "red rocket." 😅😅😅😅 whoops

A Drop of Corruption is such a good book. So so good. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic and the storyline is immaculate.

We return to Din and Ana’s story. This is everything and more on what we saw in the first book. More world building, more murder, more mystery, more Din/Ana, and more aberrations. This book does not suffer from the middle book syndrome, instead it is better because it doesn’t need to concern itself about exposition as much as the first book (and wrapping up everything akin a final book, as seen with City of Miracles and Locklands). It continues to feel episodic while slowly dripping tidbits about the world that will definitely become relevant in future book(s). I look forward to the final book in the trilogy.

I give my thanks to Del Rey and NetGallery for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Once again, Robert Jackson Bennett doesn't disappoint. He does everything so well. Considering it's a new world with its own complexities and a mystery that needs just enough hints to be solvable but also make sense and have it all wrapped up in the end? It's literal perfection.

It really had everything. A murder mystery that keeps getting more complicated the further it gets. Absolute horror upon horror at what terrible nature magic can do to the frail human body. The leviathans in general and their secrets. A discussion on kings and empires and the people within. Extremely likable characters. Ana's backstory that opened up brand new avenues to explore. Din's entire psyche. And all wrapped up in Bennett's witty and beautiful prose. Maybe the one thing we all wanted and needed was more Kepheus content we are all waiting for him just like Din.

It completely blew my expectations out of the water. I genuinely didn't know how book 1 could be so good and here he goes and does it again with this one. I'm gobsmacked actually.

Robert Jackson Bennett always creates the most confounding magical mysteries that seem totally impossible... And then he leads me onto a long, winding journey where I'm trying to pick up on clues and hints but I miss most of them, and then I reach the end and realises that it all makes sense. The Tainted Cup is one of my favourite books I've read this year, and this sequel was just as good. This was a ride and a half and I loved it! The world-building continues to fascinate me, and Din and Ana are the best modern Holmes-Watson duo. Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A good sequel worthy of its first installment. The worldbuilding continues to be great as well as the mystery vibes, which aren’t even usually my thing.

When I saw this I had to have it, Thank you netgalley and to the publisher. I was captivated by the authors writing and the plot of the story. From the very beginning I was taken in. I found the pacing to be mid-level and it was perfect. I can’t wait to see what else the author writes.

As much as I enjoyed The Tainted Cup, I have enjoyed A Drop of Corruption even more. Diving right back into this world was an immersive experience that I didn't want to end. The pacing is exceptional and kept me engaged from beginning to end. I can't wait to recommend this is 2025.

This is the best novel I have read this year. Words escape me, feel inadequate to convey the sheer genious of Robert Jackson Bennett. This second installment is incredible, ingeniously expanding the world. we were introduced to in the first book. We learn so much more about the Empire, the Levithans. The imagery Bennett crafts is haunting, memorable and utterly mesmerizing. The mystery is unlike anything I've ever experienced: it's fresh, gripping, masterfully executed.

Honestly, I'm at a loss for words. In short: this novel is perfect. I didn't think that it could surpass the brilliance of the first book but... I love when I am proven wrong.

thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Second book in Bennett’s new series (?) about a Sherlock Holmes-like investigator sent to the fringes of an empire to investigate the most difficult crimes. This one threatens the safety of the Shroud, which processes the leviathans that both threaten human survival and provide the empire with the reagents used to transform people and environments. There’s lots of politics and complex plots, and corrupt regimes as well as people sincerely committed to them. Plenty of fun.

I love a good whodunnit story and the Watson/Sherlock dynamic does not disappoint. I also love that we got to expand the world more and it's even more creepy and weird than we thought.
Cannot wait to continue this adventure!

A Drop of Corruption is one of my most anticipated books for 2025 and yes, I am sitting here going - oh no, did I make a mistake by getting an eARC and reading it before 2025 has even begun?? Thankfully, rereading exists! I thoroughly enjoyed this and it continues to make me excited about this series as a whole.

I want to get the "negative" out of the way first. I think, in some ways, the character work was sloppier in this book than I would have liked. There are two external pressures on Din that are raised early in this book, and I don't really think they were well-integrated into the overall story. They were a bit of a surprise, when I started the book - I wouldn't have said they were really projected at all in the first book - and the execution and ultimate resolution were, in my opinion, clunky. Also, I recognize this is partly because I never really enjoy this in books, but: there was an inclusion of sex in this book that felt very unnecessary; I don't think it added to anything to our understanding of Din, and it honestly felt like it was there because Serious Fantasy Has Sex. (It was not explicit scenes by any means, though. But it felt like a diversion rather than anything that drove our understanding of Din and his struggles.) I thought some of the Ana elements were better integrated, however, adding to the overall mystery of the series. Finally, someone needs to either take away RJB's exclamation point key or edit him a little further on that front.

With that out of the way...

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I think Robert Jackson Bennett is building something really interesting with this world and his themes. This book dives a lot further into the worldbuilding of the Empire of Khanum and the leviathans that fuel so much of how this world functions. In this book, we move from the outer walls of the Empire to a nearby country that is promised to join the Empire in the future and, in the meantime, serves as the site of the Empire's experimental science lab, if you will, for dealing with leviathan corpses. A probable murder has occurred, bringing Din and Ana to this distant realm. Because of the location and the importance of the experimental site, we really get to learn more about the workings of the Empire and its fear-yet-reliance on the leviathans. Seeing the Empire and its people in part through the eyes of a country that despises and resents them brings some new perspectives on the work of Din, Ana, and the different Sublimes that we meet. While this dove into so much, it left me with more questions that I hope future books explore. I am especially curious about one particular element given RJB's author's note. We also learn much more about grafts and the augmentations that people take that are derived from leviathan blood. There was one bombshell at the end that I thought was very well set-up (I was able to see it coming) that has a lot of implications for the world and where the next books in this series go.

What about the mystery, though, since this is a sci-fantasy mystery (and yes, I will argue till I'm blue in the face that this is a SCI-fantasy, not just a fantasy!)? I ADORED the mystery. I think it was incredibly well-done. It pivots from the mystery that is promised in the description rather quickly, and rightly so. As someone who has read a lot of Sherlock Holmes mysteries and Golden Age of Crime mysteries, there are very few mystery tropes that I haven't just read, but read many, many interpretations of. So starting with your classic locked room trope and then pivoting was a smart choice, I think, for people like me who've read it a thousand times and thus have a thousand potential solutions rattling in our brain. The mystery remains well-centered as a mystery, never devolving into a thriller (though this book is quite tense in moments!), and one of the things that I admire about this mystery is that it adheres to the rules of Fair Play. As a Sherlock Holmes fan, I've read many pastiches where lots of adventure happens, but the detective ends up gathering all the important clues off-screen, where the reader never sees it, and so the mystery gets wrapped up but the reader has no way of playing along. This book has plenty of adventure (SO TENSE IN MOMENTS), but it never forgets that, at its core, it is a mystery, and one of the joys of a mystery is trying to solve it. I am very happy to say that I did solve this mystery prior to the reveal, and it was a very satisfying feeling, putting all the pieces together. I have no idea if it was TOO easy to solve, because I read so many mysteries that it's hard to surprise me, but I did actually enjoy the entire experience, regardless.

I also want to add here that while I am somewhat critical of some of the character development, especially for Din, I think one of the areas where this book (and Tainted Cup) shines is in its secondary characters. I adore Din and Ana, of course - but Malo had my whole heart in this book, and there are two characters we meet later, connected to the Shroud, that I also found really fascinating. Whatever my feelings are about some of the conflicts given to Din in this book, I still think a lot of the character work was excellent.

Finally, I want to spare a moment for the atmosphere of this book. One of the things that I love about this series is its unflinching look at some of the uglier bits of running a society - and I genuinely mean ugly, as this book takes a look at the preservation of bodies, a run down and falling apart infrastructure, and a rather disgusting swamp. Fantasy often focuses on some of the nicer, more beautiful elements, and I can appreciate a book that looks at the opposite. It also continues the themes from the first book, of looking at the underbelly of running a society - the people who do the dirty work of maintenance, in this case the maintenance of justice, whatever that might look like.

Here's how I'll sum up my enjoyment of this book: upon finishing it, I babbled at my poor, patient partner about some of the themes that I thought were intriguing in this book, and then promptly started the book from the beginning once more. I don't think this was as strong as The Tainted Cup in several ways, but I think it still says something that I immediately wanted to read it again. I really love this series, and I find myself desperately hoping that it isn't just a trilogy (I want at least five books), because all the things I want this series to explore and answer cannot possibly be contained in just three books. I am very grateful to NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this book; all opinions are my own.

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett is a masterful fusion of fantasy and mystery, delivering a narrative that is both intellectually stimulating and deeply engaging. Set in the enigmatic canton of Yarrowdale, the story follows the brilliant detective Ana Dolabra and her perceptive assistant, Dinios Kol, as they unravel a perplexing case involving a Treasury officer's disappearance from a locked room.

Bennett's storytelling is exceptional, weaving a complex plot with rich world-building and multifaceted characters. Ana's sharp intellect and unconventional methods, paired with Din's grounded perspective, create a dynamic partnership that drives the narrative forward. The mystery is intricately crafted, with each revelation adding depth and intrigue, keeping readers on the edge of their seats.

The novel's setting is vividly depicted, immersing readers in a world where magic and reality intertwine seamlessly. Bennett's prose is both elegant and accessible, making complex concepts easy to grasp without sacrificing narrative depth.

A Drop of Corruption stands out as a remarkable addition to the fantasy genre, offering a perfect blend of suspense, wit, and imagination. It's a must-read for fans of fantasy and mystery alike.

I extend my gratitude to NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy of this outstanding novel.

A Drop Of Corruption was a fabulous sequel to the tainted cup. I didn’t think I could like Ana any more than I did in the first one. I only wish Din’s man from the first book made an appearance, but hopefully in the next one. Overall, this was one of my favorite series read this year and I can’t wait to read the next one.