Rating 3.5 stars.

This is like if a high fantasy Attack on Titan were a murder mystery, where the foliage is just as dangerous as the Titans.

When an Imperial officer is found murdered, speared by the roots of a tree through his torso, the Empire is at a loss as to who or what the culprit could be. Enter Dinios Kol, fresh from his military training and fitted with a magical alteration that allows him to "engrave" memories into his brain assisted by scents so that he'll remember even the most minute details. Din is assigned to support the lead investigator Ana Dolabora, whose intelligence and skill are a great asset to the Empire. As the pair start to connect the dots of this case, secrets are discovered and more questions begin to arise leaving them to wonder who they can trust. All the while, an enemy of epic proportions lies in wait at the Outer Wall.

Robert Jackson Bennet took us on quite the roller coaster in The Tainted Cup. The magic system was subtle and the mystery of it all was at the forefront. The author is adept at describing the environment and the suffocating feeling of the wet, hot, heavy humidity of a tropical jungle climate was ever-present. Din's alteration was fascinating to watch in action and I'm unsure if it's intentional for the sake of future books, but Ana's are still a bit of a mystery. The characters are an interesting crew, and I hope that in the next book, we get more of their background. It was difficult for me to read most pages with Ana - her use of contemporary curses was puzzling, and the sheer frequency of her cursing was so very hard to stomach, as speaking this way is not realistic, nor does it add anything to her character or the story. There was also some modern slang: "You sound a touch shook there, Din" which was strange and out of place with the setting as it was.

The story itself is rife with mystery and full of Sherlockian intrigue. The action scenes were thrilling, and the way horticulture was weaved throughout was an enchanting aspect of the plot. I had fun reading it, and I look forward to seeing where it takes us in the books to come.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC, which I received in exchange for my honest review.

As expected at this point from RJB, this was a fun book. A unique magic/science system and a murder mystery with twists that actually made sense! The world building wasn't as thorough as some other fantasy books, but I thought it was handled well without an info dump, but instead getting tidbits as the investigation went on. I expect much more detail as the series continues.

The Watson/Holmes dynamic was right up my alley, with their interactions easily being the highlight of the book. If you enjoyed the Clef's humor from The Founders Trilogy, I think you'll enjoy the humor in this book as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for the ARC, even if it means a longer wait until I can read the sequel...!

I just read The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett and here is what I thought about it:

The Tainted Cup was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, it comes out on February 6th and I had incredibly high expectations seeing as RJB’s Founder’s Trilogy is one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. Conclusion? It didn’t quite live up to my unfairly high expectations, but it was a solid book that was doing some really interesting world building and I’ll definitely read the next book in the series.

I have determined that the perfect media comparison to this book is Attack on Titan meets the BBC’s Sherlock. We are placed in the POV of the assistant to a “quirky” TM genius detective as they are tasked with solving a series of murders during the wet season, which is a time of the year that massive sea Leviathan’s are attempting to break down the walls that protect their ocean-side, ringed empirical city.

My Thoughts:
The set up for the plot is interesting, the pacing of the story is well-done. Once I understood the rules of the world, the unfolding of the mystery kept my attention, but honestly, I found myself feeling apathetic towards the characters in the book. I really wanted more palpable personal stakes from the main characters and more scenes with them behaving as humans with real want, needs, and feelings. So much of the story was spent describing evidence and drawing conclusions via interrogation that I really missed out on developing any emotional connection to Din or Ana (our Watson and Sherlock respectively) and at a certain point the mystery itself was just plot—I wasn’t particularly interested in who did it or why—which feels like a miss when the whole story is the murder mystery.

I was much more interested in how the murder impacted the characters and the politics of the world that is literally being threatened externally by monsters and internally by corrupt politicians, but that incredible tension was fumbled in my opinion. I think I am mourning what could have been, because this book had everything I could ever want, and I just didn’t get that HOLY SHIT I LOVE THIS feeling like I did with Foundryside.

But that doesn’t mean you won’t feel that way. It’s a good book. I want more and I think a sequel to this has so much potential now that we know who and what we are dealing with. The book really started making headway with the characters in the final 20% of this book, I just wanted that through the whole thing. Surface level quirks do not equate to complex characters, and I think that’s been a fairly consistent weakness of RJB’s (I say as a fan).

Reading this back, I am not sure this will be a helpful review. So, here’s the deal. I recommend this. I think a lot of people will really like this. It’s a great idea that is shaking up the traditional immersive fantasy novel and I want to see fantasy trend this way—I want more fantasy that has us following people just doing their jobs while the traditional main quest action is unfolding in the background. This book could have been about the people fighting the Leviathans, but it wasn’t, and I love that choice.
4/5

I seldom find myself *without* an entire grocery list of criticisms for a book after finishing one. I always find the littlest thing to make me not fully love a book or want to give it a 5/5 rating. But this? The Tainted Cup? I think this might be the first book that I’ve read in a long while that I can honestly say has left me in a position where I will be heavily recommending it to friends who are fans of fantasy and mystery.

There were a couple of things that weren’t necessarily negatives, but they did have me saying ‘hmm...’ until the fifth part of the book came to an end.

I found some of the characters and their relationships to be a little flat in the beginning, almost suspiciously so... Which, in hindsight added to the mystery aspect of this murder mystery story. After reflecting on the book once I finished it up, I realized that while they seemed flat to me, that’s what ultimately kept me guessing who did what as I read. Normally, I would find flat characters a drawback that would ultimately skew my rating, however I find that the way RJB unravels the story for readers eliminates that for me. I can appreciate that he gave bits and pieces and circled back and had Din re-evaluate situations and people, over giving the readers overwhelmingly obvious clues as to who was the culprit.

One thing that I enjoyed, but also seemed to be a bit of a detriment after a while of reading, was the writing style. I thoroughly enjoyed the way that RJB presented the story and did find myself drawn into the story because of it. However, I did notice that when I would pick back up, it would take a bit to get back into the groove of the book. I will say that this part is largely a personal problem. That being considered, it doesn’t really affect my overall rating of the book, though. RJB’s style of writing is decently verbose, but I found that it had its purpose in developing the story.

I did see that several people stated in their reviews that they weren’t fans of Din and Ana, claiming that Din didn’t really give much and that Ana was too erratic to enjoy, but I enjoyed them. It took me a while to figure out who they reminded me of and then I finally landed on Sam and Dean Winchester. I don’t know what it was about Din and Ana, but once I made the connection, I couldn’t let it go. I liked their interactions, and found that Ana’s “erratic behavior” served to advance Din as an Investigator without him really knowing it. I think working alongside Ana created challenges for Din that caused him to adjust what he was doing in real-time. She was also pretty accommodating for him when it came to his issues with reading, which I adored. I will say that Din was pretty rigid to start, but as the story went on, I saw a bit of my own self/personality in Din and was able to relate to him. For me, character relatability is something that I really appreciate and strive to find in a book. If a character is relatable, I find that I’m more interested in the story overall and am eager to continue reading to see how they fare.

Goodreads has this listed as the first of a trilogy and I am extremely eager to read the other books that RJB has planned for this story. If they are offered as ARCs on NG, I hope that I’m able to get this opportunity again.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Ballentine, Del Rey, and Robert Jackson Bennett once again for being given the opportunity to read The Tainted Cup ahead of its publishing date, and I look forward to reading more of RJB's works.

Having loved everything I've previously read by Robert Jackson Bennett, I didn't even pause to read the book description for THE TAINTED CUP on NetGalley before clicking the "Request" button!

While I adored the characters of Dinios Kol and Ana Dolabra - the intrigue of the mysteries these two raced against time to solve - the excellence of Bennett's writing - it was the world building that won top marks from me in this novel.

I was fascinated with the "rings" of the Empire that the citizens that populated this world. Depending on how wealthy you were - or weren't - determined your proximity to the sea walls. These walls were massive, and with good reason. Every wet season, these walls and those who were posted there, were all that stood between the titanic leviathans that came from the deepest part of the ocean to launch an attack.

In addition to the added danger of the start of the current wet season, there was great importance on plant life - mushrooms that were altered to take in the air of your home, cleanse it, then release it at a cooler temperature. Ferns that were made into paper and walls for buildings and homes that helped prevent bacteria and contagions. All organic life could be altered, including people. Certain grafts could be applied to make one stronger and larger, there were those that could alter one's brain so that they could remember everything they saw and heard.

THEN we have the mystery that is the heart of the story - who killed an Imperial soldier in the mansion of one of the Empire's wealthiest families? Why was he killed? It must have been something serious, as his death was horrifying - a literal tree sprouted from inside his body, killing him painfully as it erupted from his body. (Anyone else remembering when their parents told them as a kid if they swallowed an apple or orange seed, it would make a tree grow in their belly??) Of course, this leads to a much bigger mystery and the road to solving it is a bloody one.

I can absolutely see the comparison of Sherlock Holmes and it's warranted. Ana Dolabra is a brilliant investigator whose sarcasm, eccentric quirks and foul mouth combine to keep readers laughing throughout the book. Her assistant investigator, Din, is constantly in a state of bafflement at Ana's actions and never seems to get a grasp on her deductive reasoning abilities.

This book was incredibly fun and over much too soon. I look forward to seeing more of the Empire and its rings, but more than that, I can't wait to see what case Ana and Din will take next!

I put off reading this because of my high expectations but they were absolutely met.

This was Sherlock and Watson meets, a world of weird plants, meets political maneuvering, meets the existential threat of a monster on the door step. It was like nothing I’ve ever read before.

We had a single POV which personally is a relief sometimes in the fantasy realm. But all the characters were so interesting.

The world building was some of the most creative I’ve read in a long time. There was moments it dragged with exposition but that was in the nature of the mystery overall it sucked me in from the beginning and I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I wasn’t reading.

If you’re looking for something unlike anything else, I highly recommend this one.

For more reviews and bookish posts visit: https://www.ManOfLaBook.com

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is a murder/mystery/fantasy story taking place in an Empire under threat from huge creatures known as Leviathans. Mr. Bennett is an award-winning author.

Ana Dolabra is a brilliant sleuth who has been assigned to investigate the murder of Imperial officers and engineers. They have been killed by a strange contagion that sprouts trees from their insides, ripping them apart.

Dinios Kol is assigned to be Ana’s new assistant. Kol is known as an engraver, a person who has been altered to have perfect memory. Kol’s job is to observe and report everything to Ana, who can assemble the pieces and put the puzzle together.

This is the first book in the Shadow of the Leviathan fantasy series. Even though I don’t read much fantasy or science fiction, I do like the genre and there’s something about the author’s writing which intrigues me.
I guess that could be said for all books though.

As in his other books, I enjoyed the ingenuity of the author in his world-building. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett takes place in a world where people learn how to manipulate plants and the human body. Creating enhanced beings each with their own specialty. These powers, however, also have a downside, sometimes unknown until it’s too late.

The characters work well in this book as well, even though I had to keep a mental checklist of who’s who, mostly because of the strange names. The investigator, Ana Dolabra, is very eccentric, yet brilliant. In the meantime, her assistant Dinios Kol is nothing of the kind, he is augmented and suffers for it.

The murder/mystery takes center page in this book, as opposed to the high fantasy and world-building. The Empire is attacked by Leviathans, breaking through walls with the intent to destroy it. That is always present but is never in the forefront. To be honest, I thought of Attack on Titan throughout the whole book, and wondered if it influenced the author in any way.

Anime and strange names aside, I enjoyed this book very much. Especially how the author tied up almost everything in the last part of the book in an elegant way which is worthy of the detective who influenced this book.

I really enjoyed this authors other work, Foundryside, but THIS?! wow - it is such a beautiful feeling to notice when an artist has improved on their craft. I thought this story was so unique, and the characters were so intriguing! I think the pace of this story is done perfectly, and you don't have that slog in the beginning where you're having to sit through a bunch of meaningless character introductions or world building, you're thrust right into the thick of it, but it still feels very digestible regarding learning the characters and their quirks and attempting to figure out what has occurred regarding the murder mystery.

I give The Tainted Cup a 4 star - there are a few things I'd change but those are strictly personal preference and don't hinder how well this story is written - I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

Absolutely obsessed with this book. From the second I picked it up I was immediately drawn in and couldn’t put it down.

The world building is fascinating, the magic (?) system is unique and lush and gruesome, and the central mystery has layer on layer on layer. I loved Din, the POV character, and the investigator he was assigned to assist. It’s very much, what if Sherlock Holmes was a middle-aged woman working to prevent the collapse of an empire besieged by leviathans and her Watson was a genetically modified bisexual with learning disabilities? Their growing friendship throughout the book was delightful. I loved how, even though it was clear that we didn’t have all of the information—even to the end there are still mysteries to unravel—I didn’t feel like the author (or the investigator) was keeping too much back for me to puzzle through some aspects on my own.

The next book in this series will be an auto-buy for me. I just loved this.

Robert Jackson Bennett is fast becoming an auto buy author for me. I was in love with the Foundryside trilogy and The Tainted Cup did not disappoint and will also be included on my shelves!

RJB is a great author to read as an introduction into the world of fantasy and sci-fi as the worlds created are easily accessible to all and the characters are thoroughly developed and engaging.

While Din is the POV we follow when discovering the complexities of the empire and its hierarchy I personally found Ana to be the star of the book. The quirkiness of her behavior and the brusqueness in which she speaks as well as her level of intelligence made her a fast favorite. She leads Din on an adventure to learn about himself while also honing the skills he will need to be her assistant.

If you are a fan of an eccentric Sherlock Holmes style mystery and also stories about finding truths in every experience you have this is the book for you! I highly recommend!!

This book was exactly what I was in the mood for. There is an interesting and unique world, a quirky cast of characters, and an intriguing mystery. To me, it just had that quality about it that makes books enjoyable to read. There were several times that I just couldn’t put the book down and felt compelled to keep reading.
I liked both Kol and Ana. Though with Kol as our central character, I do wish there was more depth from him. I wanted to learn more about his past beyond what immediately impacted the story though we see some growth as he learns to bend the rules a little bit. We get a singular mention of his family, the barest hints of a romance, lots of anxiety about his disability but that’s really all. The plot, more than the characters, carried the story.
I liked both the immediate plot of the murder mystery and the overarching threat of the leviathans approaching. I thought they were paced nicely - with the mystery unravels slowly and methodically every chapter.
Their world building was a little more “tell” than “show” at the beginning but there wasn’t overly much. I still have many questions about the world but as it’s the start to a trilogy, I wasn’t expecting all the answers straight away.
Also as an engineer myself, I really enjoyed they central role they played in the story.

One sentence to describe this book: If Sherlock Holmes and John Watson lived in a high fantasy world reminiscent of Ba Sing Se that’s constantly being attacked by giant sea monsters, except Sherlock is a chaotic middle-aged woman who doesn’t go outside. I was going to add “and Watson is a messy bisexual,” except I think this is canonically true.

The Characters:

I loved a lot of things about this book, but Ana is the reason it’s one of my favorites. She’s antisocial, she loves books, she doesn’t like most people, and she’s never afraid to speak her mind. ICON. Sometimes I had to pause reading because Ana served so hard and I just needed to take it in. She’s simultaneously the most intelligent character and the main source of comedic relief, and her dialogue made me laugh multiple times per chapter.

I know I said charcterS (plural), so I should also talk about the other main character, Din. Din is technically THE main character because the entire book is from his POV, but he and Ana are partners in (solving) crime. He’s basically Ana’s “intern,” but he does all of the investigative ground work AND has to apologize when Ana misbehaves (which is honestly half the job). As an awkward individual who is not great at connecting with people, I personally found Din to be relatable and I really enjoyed his perspective. It’s also implied in the first chapter that Din is dyslexic, which he is very nervous about (although you don’t know why at first), but it eventually becomes an integral part of the story.


The Magic System:

The magic system is science-based, which I think is really cool. Humans can be “altered” in various ways to be given special abilities (either temporary or permanent), but they often have negative side effects. Din is an Engraver, which means he can remember exact details of everything he sees and “engraves” memories in his mind. Although it’s a bit complex, everything was gradually explained very well (no big info dumps), so I was always able to understand what was happening. My favorite ~alteration creations~ are slothiks, which are giant sloths that are used for hauling large loads. They serve absolutely no purpose plotwise, so I think the author probably just loves sloths and created them for his own enjoyment, which I totally respect.


The Worldbuilding:

I think the most daunting part about starting a new high fantasy series is the worldbuilding, but once again I think the author did a great job of slowly expanding the world. Fortunately, a majority of the book is set in one area, so only a basic understanding of the rest of the world was needed. Society is laid out in “rings” like Ba Sing Se from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and this book takes place near the outer ring. The purpose of the outer rings is to stop leviathans, mountain-sized sea monsters, from breaking through and wreaking havoc across the land.
There isn’t too much focus on this so far, but I can definitely see the next book going more in-depth on the leviathans and the reason behind the layout of their society.


In summary, this hybrid high fantasy/murder mystery is a phenomenal start to a new series! It might be a tad long, but my attention never wavered for a single chapter. I’ve already preordered a physical copy and can’t wait for the next installment! And for anyone who hates cliffhangers - do not fret! There is a setup for book two, but the main plot from book one is completely closed out and there is NO cliffhanger.

This book is really interesting; it’s a mystery, with a quirky detective and smart assistant, but also a rich fantasy with a complex magic system and history. Consequently, this book was a little difficult to get into. I had a hard time grasping the fantasy elements and paying attention to the ongoing murder mystery. Once I figured out what was going on, it was a really interesting book. The mystery was well-written and blended well with the fantasy aspects. The characters were interesting. I’m interested in seeing what other books in this series will look like, especially now that I have a handle on the world-building.

This was my first time reading Robert Jackson Bennett and I must say that I think he’s a brilliant author. This was such a fun read! It was a slow paced cozy fantasy murder mystery. It does a great job of blending the mystery, thriller, and fantasy genres so seamlessly.
The world this is set in is so interesting: it’s eerie, bizarre, and terrifying. I read another reviewer say that the world reminded them of the one in Japanese manga, Attack on Titan and I couldn’t totally see that.
The writing was descriptive without being pretentious or overbearing. There were familiar twists and turns one expects to read in a mystery book and I think the author did a brilliant job with those. Also, the character dynamic between Dinois and Ana was very reminiscent of Holmes/Watson, which I didn’t mind at all. Ana in particular provided great comedic relief and had me literally laughing out loud at some points. Overall, I do recommend reading this if you are a fan of mysteries. This is the first in a series and I for one am very much looking forward to more stories and mysteries in the future!

There were many reasons this book quickly ended up on my TBR list. For one thing, I really enjoyed Bennett’s “Divine Cities” trilogy when I read it years ago (I enjoyed those books so much that I’ve toyed around with the idea of trying to sneak a re-read in here on the blog). I also somehow never got around to reading his most recent series. So I was pleased to see this book coming out as it was a way to re-acquaint myself with a favorite author without having to commit to a series with a number of pre-existing books. But, almost as important as the author, I’m pretty much always interested in reading a book that is a play on Sherlock Holmes and Watson. And this one sure sounded like a unique take! Not only do you have the classic brilliant detective/assistant character dynamic, but somehow that is then superimposed on a fantasy world that is besieged by kaiju like creatures?? What an odd mix and also count me in!

Let’s start with the world-building first! I was impressed by how fleshed out this world was, and by the careful balance the author struck between the various aspects of the story. It would have been very easy for the entire plot and world to be sucked up by the grandiose nature of the Leviathons. Obviously, gigantic creatures that besiege a continent during certain seasons are an intriguing focal point for a story. However, I was impressed by the way these gigantic threats were held largely in the shadows, serving as a looming threat which inspired more dread than anything else. Used carefully in this manner, the book was then better able to focus on the kind of society and world that would be built up under these sorts of conditions. Not only do you have the balance of constant military action needing to mingle with civilian life, but the Leviathon bring extreme contagions that affect the environment. In many ways, it was these contagions that served as the greater point of horror throughout the story. Not only is the central murder gruesome (a tree bursting out from within a living body), but as the story unfolds, we see many examples of the ways that humanity has had to work to survive in a environment and ecological system that is actively adapting to kill them off.

For all the excellent fantasy elements that went into the world-building as I described above, this book is truly a mystery story at its core. You could take almost the entire plot, adjust the manners of death and a few other small details, and plop it down in any old real-world story and it would largely work as it stands. And, again, the fact that the mystery itself is not over-shadowed by these, at times literally, larger-than-life fantasy elements is proof of the tight control that Bennett has over all of the elements that make up this book. While the fantasy stuff was, well, fantastical, as the story unfolded, my investment was largely focused on these two main characters and the increasingly complicated mystery that they were slowly working through. There were all of the good red-herrings and misdirections that one looks for in a mystery novel, as well as the satisfying payoff when all is finally revealed.

The third point of success came down to our two main characters. The story is told from the perspective of Din, our “Watson-like” character, as he works with a brilliant, but eccentric investigator, an older woman named Ana. I think Bennett did a brilliant job with these two, perfectly honing in on many of the dynamics that make the “Sherlock/Watson” duo such time-tested favorite. Din is endearing and an approachable “everyman” type character. He is at times bewildered by his strange boss and her ways, but loyal and devoted to supporting her in their investigation. I also liked the hints of his own struggles and secrets that are slowly revealed over the course of the story. We also see the strengths that he brings to this team and that, while brilliant herself, Din has unique contributions that are crucial to their success. In this instance, he has a unique skill (pulled from some of the magic systems of the world) to essentially permanently memorize everything he sees. But, even here, not everything it as it seems.

For her part, Ana is an excellent character in that she is used effectively but sparingly. The risk is always to overplay a character like this, but Bennett wisely and carefully chose his scenes and moments during which to play up Ana’s strange, but brilliant, approaches to investigation. The author also nailed the perhaps predictable, but no less appreciated, moments where Ana effectively lays out all of the pieces of the puzzle as if they were oh, so obvious. While anyone who reads a mystery novel with a detective like this at its heart knows that these sorts of scenes are coming, these moments are somehow always just as satisfying as ever. Especially when the author has been sparing with the build up, as Bennett is here.

I really enjoyed this book! I could probably go on and on praising it, but I think we all get the idea. I’ll say perhaps that the pacing, especially in the first third of the book, was a bit on the slower side. But as that time is spent laying down the building blocks of this world and who both Din and Ana are as characters, I think the slower start is earned. If you enjoy mystery novels as well as unique fantasy settings, definitely give this one a shot!

Rating 9: Genre-blending at its finest, Bennet’s brilliant take on the Sherlock/Watson character duo is only one part of many that makes this creative fantasy novel a must-read!

(Link will go live on The Library Ladies on February 23).

Title: The Tainted Cup
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Genre: Scifi/fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5

In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.

Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

This was an odd read, frankly. I liked Din and Ana and how their relationship worked, but I found the worldbuilding itself to be a bit clunky. I could have used a bit of explanation about how the alterations worked, and how the culture itself worked, because that kept confusing me a lot. I enjoyed the mystery and the sheer sense of adventure in the book, and I’d like to read more, but the feeling of being thrown into a wildly different world/culture without a hint of explanation was a deterrent.

Robert Jackson Bennett is an award-winning author. The Tainted Cup is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House Publishing in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 2/3).

This review will be published on Goodreads on January 28, and the respective link will be listed below!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this e-arc. I think this will probably be one of my top reads of the year it was SO enjoyable!!

The Tainted Cup is a wonderful Holmes and Watson-esque fantasy with a captivating plot and a wonderful cast of characters. The world that this story takes place in is wonderfully fleshed out and is enjoyable to read about every step of the way. Sometime in mysteries, I find myself either completely lost or bored by how obvious the ending is; this book, however, was the perfect combination of the two, never leaving me too confused, but still not simply spelling out the answers. There was always some sort of conflict occurring or some hint present in the plot that may or may not have been clear to the reader and I ate it up. All of the discoveries led into each other perfectly and kept me glued to this book, not wanting to put it down!

The dynamic between Ana and Din was an absolute delight and was always fun to read! While Ana is this mysterious yet endearingly quirky (only to the reader and definitely not in universe!) character, Din is the complete opposite, oftentimes being teased or berated by Ana for being such a cold and seemingly emotionless guy. Their conversations were always fun to behold and I always looked forward to seeing Ana show back up! I will say that initially, the way Ana spoke was a bit jarring since she definitely loved profanities more than I was expecting, but over time I found it to be quite funny in comparison to how everyone else spoke. Besides these two characters, the cast was amazingly entertaining--even when you hated them. Every character in this book was always fun to see, especially in how they interacted with the two main characters. It is important to note, if you are looking for romance, this book has almost none, so keep that in mind.

The story is action packed right from the start and never leaves the reader bored. For readers looking an enticing mystery set in a wonderfully captivating fantasy world that just sucks you right in, I DEFINITELY DEFINITELY DEFINITELY recommend The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. I am eagerly awaiting more books in this series!

Din’s first dead body would be hard for anyone to forget- an Imperial officer killed by a tree sprouting from inside his body is neither a pleasant nor usual sight- but for Din, it’s literally impossible. As an Engraver, Din’s brain was altered using substances derived from the very goliaths that threaten the empire he serves to be able to remember everything he sees in perfect detail- a useful skill when working as the assistant to the empire’s best (and most eccentric) investigator, the recently disgraced Ana Dolabra. Din took the augments and the job to send money to his family, but working for Ana is not a normal experience- even before the plant-based murder. He’d have enough to handle with weathering her quirks and hiding his own secrets from her sometimes terrifying powers of observation, but the Imperial officer is not an isolated incident. As the conspiracy becomes more vast (and terrifying), the giant beasts bear down on the city’s walls. Din may be able to help Ana expose corruption in the highest levels of power, but only if he survives the threats of plant-murder, regular-murder, and being squashed by a giant monster (not to mention the existential horror of never forgetting a thing).

Creative, engaging, and so much fun! I’ve been recommending it to a lot of people, generally pitching it as Holmes and Watson, but Watson is a dyslexic bisexual disaster with low self esteem and Holmes is an agoraphobic super genius who likes to lock herself in a trunk (mostly the same) and they live in something like the Roman empire but they’re under constant threat from kaiju. Loved the magic system (it leans towards SF with the augmentations but placed in a firmly fantasy setting), loved the characters, loved the mystery.

Also, great disability representation. While I don’t have the experience to comment on how Din’s dyslexia specifically was handled, I can say that the way Bennett handled neurodivergence as a concept interacting with the fantasy elements of the world was GREAT and felt surprisingly real to me. It’s a bit of a spoiler, so I won’t get into details, but something I thought was some allegorical representation of some issues more close to home for me turned out to be literal in the last few chapters and I almost cried. It’s representation that’s neither just slapped on nor patronizing and that’s unfortunately hard to find. It ruled.

Anyway, I’m recommending this book to a lot of people. It’s very early in the year and I still think this will be hard to knock from my top five reads come this December.

Thank you, NetGalley and Del Ray Publishing for this ARC
Rating: 5 Stars

Robert Jackson Bennett masterfully combines mystery, fantasy, and suspense in The Tainted Cup. From start to finish, this novel hooked me, and I couldn't put it down. If you love Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie-style detective novels then you'll be obsessed! This was my first book by RJB and was not at all disappointed. Such a great introductory author into the fantasy genre with very accessible writing and incredible worldbuilding. We follow our two main protagonists, Ana who is the main investigator, and her assistant Din, to discover who murdered a high imperial officer. This unique world does have magic but it's very subtle where people are magically enhanced to have heightened abilities. For example, Din is an engraver so he has a perfect memory. When Din arrives at the scene of the crime he realizes the man was killed most peculiarly, by a tree growing from his chest. Not only are they trying to unravel the secrets of a plot against the Empire but Din is also trying to figure out the mystery that is Ana Dolabra herself. Overall an incredible book with a hilarious Holmes and Watson style duo that you'll fall in love with. I also love how there is a slight cliffhanger at the end leaving it open for more books yet this one stands well on its own. Can't wait for the next book!

Utterly brilliant...a Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson-esque mystery set to the backdrop of a whole new world where hulking, giant, formless beasts wreak havoc on the peoples of an Empire.

Bennett brings a story full of imaginative world-building; where humans are augmented to fulfill specific needs. Our main character, Din, is one of those... he can remember EVERYTHING. It's this talent as a "Sublim" that he is assigned to the mad genius talent of Ana Dolabra, an empirical investigator. Through her eccentricities and Din as her eyes, Ana and her new assistant embark on a murder mystery that shakes the very foundation of the Empire and the power struggles within.

Bennett creates a world through his descriptive imagining, with colorful language and quick wit. The case is an onion, layers are peeled back one at a time. Both gruesome and highly complex, you'll be amazed as Ana draws her conclusions, Din finds that while he "sees" he's constantly one step behind. Joined by a cast of intriguing characters, this is one you don't want to miss. This is just book one! Give me more!

Bennett skillfully constructs a vivid world through his imaginative and descriptive prose, employing colorful language and clever wit. It is simultaneously gruesome and intricately complex. The case unfolds like an onion, revealing its layers gradually. As Ana deduces her findings, Din discovers that although he is the 'eyes' for Ana, he remains consistently one step behind. The narrative is enriched by a captivating ensemble of characters, making it a must-read. An excellent first book to a series!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and Robert Jackson Bennett for an advanced e-copy of this book. Check it out on February 6th!