“The Tainted Cup” by Robert Jackson Bennett offers a captivating blend of mystery and fantasy, introducing readers to the contrasting personalities of Ana and Din as they navigate a unique and intricately crafted sci-fi dystopian world. Ana’s scandalous nature and Din’s naivety create a dynamic duo that kept me engaged throughout. Bennett’s imaginative world building sets this book apart, offering a fresh take on the genre. As a first-time reader of Bennett’s work, I found “The Tainted Cup” to be a compelling introduction, leaving me eager to delve deeper into the series. Overall, a must read for fans of mystery and fantasy alike.

If you had told me that I would be five starring a murder mystery book with little romance, that borders on fantasy and science fiction, AND written by a man, no less, I might have been a bit incredulous. And then this book happened. And it kept on happening.

There was a lot to take in. What started off as a murder mystery unfolded into something much grander. It involved the political machinations of an Empire that also happens to be facing monstrous sea creatures of calamitous proportions every few seasons. It centered around an eccentric investigator and her trainee assistant and the hazards that come with investigating crimes that seem much more dangerous than what they've signed up for. And honestly, all that chaos melded into one spectacular masterpiece. Don't even get me started on the mushrooms.

The dynamic between Ana and Din was definitely my favorite bits of this book, and Ana is a neurodivergent creature of beauty. I loved her chaotic character the moment she entered the scene. And I greatly respected Din for the fact that in those few months he's known her, he's managed to match her in conversation with the monotone way he speaks and reacts to her chicanery. I felt like this duo was a match made in Sherlock Holmes heaven. And to be honest, the lack of a romance between them--despite the blatant hints of protectiveness between mentor and trainee--really helped in this case.

Can't wait to read the next book! Absolutely devoured this zombie velociraptor murder mystery apocalypse!

I requested this book as background reading for a review we ran on BookBrowse. Sadly, I have not yet had a chance to read it (but hope to); however, our reviewer thought highly of it, rating it 5-stars, and we featured it as our of our four weekly Top Picks across BookBrowse:
https://www.bookbrowse.com/casbah/books/index.cfm?fuseaction=edit_book&book_number=4772

When I heard RJB was writing a Sherlockian fantasy, I knew I'd love it. There was no doubt in my mind that if anyone could pull it off, it would be him. I was right. I absolutely loved the twists and turns this book took. It was fun seeing this from the "Watson" character's perspective. I also really enjoyed that there was this underlying sense of dread from the titans. We never really knew when one would attack making the book have a sense of urgency from start to finish. Fantastic! Can't recommend enough.

Imaginative and deftly plotted with plenty of intrigue, witty prose and colourful characters. A pleasure to read.

My two favorite genres merged into one: What more could a girl ask for!

I really do need more fantasy/mystery mashups! This book, like the few other similar ones I've read, was incredibly good! Cool magic system and governing body, eccentric madwoman genius investigator with an apprentice with some badass secret talents of his own, secrets and plots aplenty! This book had it all, and it was funny and on top of it! I'm so mad it's the first in a trilogy though, because I don't want to wait to jump back into this world!

I absolutely adored the writing and world building in this book. There were many different elements to the story and they were all tied in so nicely. I also really loved all of the representation in this book. It’s hard to get that in a fantasy book and the author did an amazing job of incorporating it.

I’m very excited to see where this series goes!

This book was a DNF for me. I read the first 25%, but could not get into it. Just not the right book for me!

Although The Tainted Cup took me quite some time to get into, once I did, it sucked me in and I couldn’t stop reading. Ana and Din make quite the pair, and the out of the box thinking made for a fantastical investigative read.

Absolutely obsessed, new favorite series, I need more and more and more!

Bennett's world is my favorite new fantasy world in ages, and I don't think it's a coincidence that it so strongly reminds me of my three most recent favorite fantasy worlds: The Witcher, Bloodborne, and Dishonored. But the story is pure Holmes and Watson, with the two MCs, Ana and Din, being the same sort of character archetypes as Holmes and Watson, respectively.

This is a fantasy jungle that I kept imagining as Karnaka, a tropical strip of land in a massive empire, which just so happens to be the favorite location of this world's particular brand of kaiju, leviathans. They really are the back drop, though they're woven into the story in ways that feels natural. I cannot wait to learn more about them in future books (fingers crossed), because they currently remind me of something between the whales in Dishonored and old ones in Bloodborne.

Bennett is a very skilled writer as well. He drops hints, clues, and red herrings like he's Doyle while building a world so weird but so familiar at the same time. I was initially tempted to put this off as the language was so strange and I wasn't sure I had the energy to pick it up, but thankfully I decided to give it one chapter, because that's all I needed to realize that Bennett knows how to write the strange in surprisingly approachable way. Even with the archaic speech of the characters lol

I really cannot recommend this book enough to anyone even remotely interested in fantasy or a good detective story, because The Tainted Cup delivers both in spades.

This was quite the adventure!

I liked the murder mystery aspect of this story, the adventure and the unique characters, but I had a hard time grasping the world and understanding the world building, and I think that make some of the reveals at the end not as impactful.

They were revealing one thing after the other near the end as the mystery was solved, and I was like ooooh okay, and I got it, but just had the hardest time getting into the world this story took place in.

The narrator did a wonderful job, I enjoyed all the different voice tones for the different characters, but with all the different names and the fantasy elements, reading the physical book would be the best choice here.

Overall, not a book for me, though I enjoyed the mystery element, but if you like fantasy/mystery, I think you’ll enjoy this!

Thank you @netgalley and @delreybooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I have a complicated relationship with Robert Jackson Bennett books. It’s complicated because they all sound amazing and people love him, but for some reason I never seem to like them. This is the third book I’ve tried to read by him, and it’s also the third book I’m deciding to DNF. I gave this book until the 30% mark, but I’m just incredibly bored. I will not be reading any more books by this author, but I encourage others to try them if they sound intriguing because he is a popular author.

I hadn't read Robert Jackson Bennett before, and I'm so happy that I got to experience his writing for the first time! The Tainted Cup is a wonderful detective novel, set in a dystopian world where leviathans regularly threaten to destroy civilization. The world-building was ingenious–both in terms of the larger concept and the smaller details–and the characters were well thought out and engaging. I hope this becomes a series, I can't wait to read about the adventures of Ana and Din again!
4.5/5, rounded up.

WOW! I did not expect this to be one of my new favorite books, but I am so glad it is! I enjoyed one of Bennett's books before (Foundryside), but it did not stand out. This book, on the other hand, is unique, mysterious and engaging. I listened to it as an audiobook and kept wanting to keep listening or get a print copy to keep reading.

I absolutely loved the world this is set in. It is extremely unique from other books. Here, things are made with plants, and people (and plants) are augmented by chemicals created by giant leviathans that threaten the land every wet season. Din, our main character, is one of those augmented people who can remember everything and is the assistant of a quirky detective, Ana. They are tasked to find out the murder of an officer and to solve a larger plot as the leviathan threat is ever present. The mystery mixed with the fantasy is highly engaging, and Din is such a great character. He is the Watson to the Sherlock of Ana, whose probable dyslexia makes him even more endearing to me. The last 15% of the book puts everything together in such a satisfying way that you want to reread it and find the clues yourself. I only figured out one of the answers; the rest was a surprise. The pacing was just right, and there was no point where I was bored or thought it was going too fast.

I cannot wait to read more of this series and hope to get my hands on a special edition of this book because I love it so much.

Robert Jackson Bennett has been on my radar for what feels like forever now. I was lucky enough to score a used hardcover edition of Foundryside a couple of years ago and it's been sitting pretty on my shelf, unread, ever since.

I know, I know.

I don't really know what possessed me to pick up The Tainted Cup first. I'm not even sure if it's a good place to start with this author. Surely, I should have begun my journey with one of his completed series, but oh well. I just love a mystery in a sci-fi/fantasy setting.

I'm not even sure how to begin describing this book. It's a little like if Sherlock Holmes, Attack on Titan, and Annihilation all had a weird mutant baby? Kind of? I don't even think that fully covers it, honestly.

We follow Din, an engraver, genetically modified to remember everything he sees exactly as it is, a skill that helps him tremendously in his role of Assistant Investigator. His boss, Ana, is wildly eccentric, rarely leaving her house and often wearing a blindfold to avoid overstimulation. They make an unlikely but incredibly effective and humorous duo, using their unique abilities to solve mysteries and murders. Their latest investigation involves political corruption and plants bursting out of victim's bodies.

Oh, and there's the ever present threat of a Leviathan breaching the Empire's defenses and killing everyone.

The world is bizarre, but the characters are great and I never found the plot difficult to follow. All in all, a fantastically weird, fun time! Maybe now I'll finally pick up Foundryside.

Very interesting world building. I enjoyed the characters. Would like to see this world a bit more fleshed out though. I love Robert Jackson Bennett's work.

I’ve read some of Robert Jackson Bennett’s other books — this one, by far, has been my favorite to date. With intriguing characters, complicated relationships, and a plot that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, this has already become a book I’ve recommended to people. 4.5/5 stars!

The Tainted Cup begins with a strange and extraordinary death and Dinios Kol is dispatched to investigate. He is an assistant to a remarkable detective named Ana Dolabra in a relationship analogous to Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. Like Wolfe, Ana doesn’t go out and about but relies on Kol, (her Archie) to investigate for her. Unlike Archie, Kol has been genetically modified to enhance his observation and recall to be a sort of human videographer.

That people can be genetically and surgically altered to specialize in specific careers is just one of the ways technology makes the world Robert Jackson Bennett built so intriguing. In many ways, it feels medieval with city states dominated by land barons allied with a nominal king. However, it is also a technologically advanced civilization if you imagine an Industrial Revolution dominated by the doctors and gardeners rather than engineers. There is advance genetic and surgical technology to make people specialists in their various fields and plants are the foundation of commerce. Houses are grown. Plants provide the lighting, the furnishings, and just about all the stuff of physical culture. A plant is also the murder weapon.

Kol investigates and brings back the information that has been imprinted with his total recall. Ana makes amazing leaps of logic and intuition. They work together well despite being very different. Kol is stern and legalistic. His face might crack if he smiles while Ana seeks illicit drugs, makes inappropriate comments, and throws herself at life with abandon. What made them and how do they accomodate and adjust to each other while solving the mstery. Well, that’s for you to find out.

The Tainted Cup is a fantasy thriller that combines the political intrigue of a thriller with the conventions of a police procedural. It is nothing like what the members of the Detection Club imagined, but this book follows its rules. While yes, the technology is not of our world, it is all natural technology of their own world. So a fair murder mystery with an Archie & Wolfe detective team engaged in solving murders and political coups in a fantastical world very different yet similar to our own. What can I call it but a tour de force.

I received an e-galley of The Tainted Cup from the publisher through NetGalley

The Tainted Cup at Penguin Random House
Robert Jackson Bennett author site

The Tainted Cup is an absolutely stunning novel - part murder mystery, part political fantasy - with phenomenal neurodivergent protagonists. Familiar elements such as an eccentric older investigator or a terrifying assassin are blended into a thoroughly unique experience. This was so difficult to put down, and it was constantly on my mind when I wasn't reading.

Din and Ana are an excellent duo, both witty and entertaining and deeply heartfelt and touching. Their dynamic alone is enough for me to recommend the book, but I was also immensely captivated by the bizarre setting. Amidst the biopunk sci-fi augmented persons, body horror, and kaiju-style sea creatures is a truly human tale of perseverance and acceptance.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House, for this eARC!

This book fascinated me. I loved the world that Bennet created, something unique (I've never read something like it before) which for someone who reads as much fantasy as I do, is quite a feat. This also confirmed that I love fantasy murder mystery. Even though some of the fantastical elements, especially the manner of death for several of the victims, got a bit gruesome at times, I could not look away from the narrative, becoming completely enveloped. I also appreciated the way that this book wrapped up the mystery yet left the door open to more and even the creation/revelation of a macro-plot.