In a world where leviathans rise from the ocean, march across land, and threaten civilization, Din and his boss, Detective Ana Dolabra, must find a devious killer whose murders are putting the world even more at risk.

Robert Jackson Bennett’s “The Tainted Cup” is a masterpiece of world-building. Told in the classic mystery style of the first-person narrative from the perspective of the detective’s assistant, this book has the tropes of Doyle and Christie that you want, but in a fantasy setting rich in complicated detail. I enjoyed how different everyone was, the science/magic of the grafts people receive to enhance their skills, and the looming threat that a giant beast from the sea could destroy the town at any moment.

I loved this book. I savored it. I’d wake up in the middle of the night and read, not so that I could fall back to sleep, but to see what would happen next. Looking back over my reviews of 2023, I’d have to say this is easily in my top three. I recommend “The Tainted Cup” to fans of both fantasy and mystery. I received the title from NetGalley.

I haven’t read any science fiction or fantasy in ages (years) and this came as a very pleasant surprise. A little confusing at first, but I quickly got involved in the story and am already looking forward to more. Intricate, interesting, different. A well-written narrative in a well-crafted and conceived new world. The story introduced several truly unique characters, and a plot that expands as it develops - the central mystery is resolved to satisfaction, but still hints at more to come. I look forward to reading more about these characters and this world. Recommend.

This was a nice fantasy novel that was built as a mystery. The main characters were out to solve a murder that turned out to be several murders--while also worrying about a leviathan breaching the walls of the city. There were many colorful characters and side stories. Very easy to read and the book was set up to be part of a duology or trilogy.

Dinios Kol's previous assignments helping imperial investigator Ana Dolabra solve payroll discrepancies did not prepare him their latest case: an unpleasant officer being dismembered by a spontaneous tree inside the swankiest mansion in the province. Ana's terrifying brain (she wears a blindfold to cut down on data input) coupled with Din's biologically enhanced memory make them a formidable duo, but the deeper they dig the more bewildering crimes they uncover. And it's the rainy season, so everyone is distracted by the imminent leviathan attack. A corker of a mystery set in a deliciously disturbing high fantasy world.

Imagine this: a fantasy novel with extensive world-building and a dynamic duo reminiscent of Sherlock and Watson. The case? Murder by plant. And oh, yeah. The Sherlock analog doesn’t go to the crime scenes. Instead, Watson must go and memorize everything, and then describe it to her. And Watson has a secret learning disability. Add in political corruption, rich people behaving badly in almost an organized crime type of way, and you have yourself a rollicking good time. And that’s what I had, reading this delight. Can’t wait to see what is next for Ana and Din!

I tried so hard to get into this. I wanted to love it as much as others had! I have started and restarted this a few times to see if it was just my mood, or the book. I have come to the conclusion that it is a bit of both. I love the premise of Bennett novels, but I am.honestly not patient enough to sink into the intense world building.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. 3 stars , right down the middle for fairness.

I’d call The Tainted Cup a mystery novel with fantasy elements. I was pre-approved by Del Rey to read The Tainted Cup through NetGalley.

I do enjoy mystery novels even though they aren’t my go to (that would be Fantasy). Going I wasn’t sure if this would be for me but the way Ana and Din work together paired with how the mystery unfolds is really good. Ana has crazy good instincts but comes off as borderline crazy. She is by far my favorite character. Din is more reserved but has a few one liners that are perfectly timed.

This is a unique world which it’s normal to be magically altered. Din is able to use scents to remember everything he sees and hears with 100% accuracy. He is sent to gather as much information he can to report back to Ana who is able to put the pieces together. Her mind works in an uncanny way.

The Tainted Cup is not a book I was able to binge but still was able to enjoy. I was not able to predict anything which is unusual but I think it’s because the writing is well done that it’s hard to predict what will happen. Definitely recommend this one!!

The Tainted Cup is one part Pacific Rim combined with two parts murder mystery. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for my honest review.
While I found the plot, character and setting in this book enjoyable something about this book did not work for me in general. It may have been the slow pacing or the fact that there seemed to be way too many characters to keep track of (at least 10 minor character deaths being investigated) but through the entire course of reading this book there was no point where I was ever excited to read it. There was no I hit a good point I have to keep going in this book. It didn’t feel like something I wanted to read so much as an obligation to keep going, which is a shame because I did enjoy the main characters. I am giving this book 3 stars and appreciate the opportunity to read it but was ultimately disappointed

The Tainted Cup is a interesting detective novel set in a fresh fantasy world. Robert Jackson Bennett has done a wonderful job of creating a unique setting to the story. It is a world where people can be altered magically to have special talents. But at the heart is the mystery, and Ana is a quirky investigator that has been given the assignment. Her assistant, Din has been altered to have a perfect memory. As Ana uses Din as her eyes and ears of the investigation, her skills as a master become clear. This investigation is complex and there as a lot of characters and events to be unraveled.

The deeper into the book I got, the more enamored I became with the story. The pacing and the layout are flawless. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series so I can spend more time with Din and Ana.

THE TAINTED CUP by Robert Jackson Bennett is a fantastically tense, deeply, unsettlingly weird, fantasy murder mystery. As is his wont, he interrogates systems, social, economic, and in this case, ecological, in ways that betray just how interested he is in those subject in the real world. This is not a bog-standard real world analogue fantasy realm, this is something far more wild and far more interesting, and by building the world that he has built (and the characters he populated it with), he is able to examine a series of complicated themes that resonate in the world beyond the page.

The world is one of empire, but empire under constant threat. Not threat by invasion by foreigners, or orcs, but by being overrun by massive eldritch kaiju—leviathans. Only the seawalls, and the complicated bureaucracy of the empire hold the leviathans at bay, and only the vagaries of that bureaucracy keep the empire itself running. The empire is one of bizarre biological adaptations, mutations, and what I will refer to as plant-based-nonsense. Mad scientists modify people using strange mutagenic potions to grant enhanced strength, speed, memory, and far far more.

Our protagonist is one of those modified humans, a man with a perfect memory who is employed as the right hand man—and literal eyes—of a Holmesian style mad genius investigator (though, to hear the author tell it the relationship is less Watson and Holmes, and more Starling and Lector). While his principal remains blindfolded and unwilling to leave her house, he embarks on an investigation into a series of murders that threaten to bring the seawalls down and topple the empire itself.

Along the way though, we walk through the halls of power and are confronted with an all too familiar, and all too discomforting, tension between short and long term incentives. Power, after all, is comfortable with power, and power tends to do what it can to both accrete and protect itself… even at the expense of itself in the long term. In these moments the window into the world of THE TAINTED CUP becomes a lens on our own world, an incisive critique of the halls of power and the rationalizations that those inside the halls of power use to justify their position (and what it costs to maintain that position).

It’s an exception first volume in a new series of mysteries, and I can’t wait to see where we are taken next.

A slightly steam punky murder mystery set in an almost Japanese type Asian world. It reminded
me of a series that made you strive to figure out & structure the world as you went along. It is a world where plants figure heavily in the construction of everything but also can be quite deadly.
People in positions of power & authority serve under an empire class like hierarchy. Very structured with ruling classes & elite. Professional positions would be enhanced by plant infusions & grafts for particular abilities that would take decades not just years off their lives but give them more status & finances. I have read other series of the author & enjoyed them completely, this was slow to get into but once there excellent.

I loved this book! I'm a sucker for a good detective story and this book delivered on that and then some! Din and Ana at times remind me of Watson and Holmes with certain behaviors. The book also felt reminiscent of the Justice of Kings series, if you like that series give this a try. The addition of the magical aspects and the fantasy world made the plot all the better. I enjoyed how the author took the time to build the world and explain the magic system as it's complex. It made it easier for me to follow the story and to be sucked in. The characters are clearly the best part of the book and I was happy to see that the side characters were well developed and set up early on to help with the unfolding of the plot. There were several twists and turns I did not see coming that had me on the edge of my seat! If you like political intrigue, murder plots, and detective books you'll definitely like this book!

This story is told in first person by Din. He is a twenty-year-old apprentice to the new Iudex Investigator of the Daretana Canton with plenty to hide and many skills he’s not even aware of yet. He sends his meager earnings to his family who live in the Outer Rim in the hope of moving them further inland away from the coasts where great sea monsters known as leviathans attempt to breach the walls and wreak havoc, death and destruction.

I loved this fantasy world and can’t wait to read more books in this series. The people often alter their bodies and minds to enhance skills to find better positions to ensure their survival or that of their families. While Din has held the position of apprentice for four months, this is his first murder investigation. Din was often wide-eyed at the crazy things going around him from the strange circumstances of the murder to all the political machinations of the empire. His boss, Ana Dolabra, is an eccentric investigator with an uncanny ability to connect the dots and whip out an answer from practically thin air and reminded me a bit of Vera Stanhope with her astute conclusions.

Recommended to lovers of investigative murder mysteries

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

The best I can say about this book is that some other readers really enjoyed it. I fell into the group that did not. It was a slog of a read with uninteresting characters, an underdeveloped world and a less than interesting plot line. It borders on 0 of 5 stars, but that is not an option.

I don't typically read fantasy, but I saw someone say this book would be good for those who wanted to give the genre a try. Therefore I'm not used to so much world-building, and I grew bored while everything else—character and plot development—took a backseat. Especially with the protagonist: if the story must move so slow while readers learn more about the Empire, then I need something a lot more compelling from Din and his boss Ana to keep me hooked in the story. For these reasons, I didn't finish the book.

Book: The Tainted Cup
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Del Rey, for sending me an ARC. While I have been aware of this author, I have never read anything by him. I must say that after reading this one, I am going to have to pick up more of his books soon. The plot is complex and full of so many twists and turns. This is one of those books that once you think you have everything figured out, something else comes up.


In this one, we follow Din Kol, who is an engraver. He has found himself in the service of Ana, who happens to be best investigator in the Empire. Together they must team up to solve a murder. The problem is the further they get into the case, the more they realize just how many layers it has. Peeling back the layers is not going to be as easy as it looks. The deeper they get into the case; the more Din comes to realize just how brilliant Ana is. He gets to see how her mind works. To most people, Ana comes across as this odd being, one who don’t really belong. Yet, the further we go, the more we come to realize just how everything she sees and thinks is put together. Once she starts going through the murder bit by bit, you get to see this and it makes for one wild ride.


I loved Din and Ana’s duo. Din was bottom of his class and really isn’t all that great at what he does. Ana is the oddball and has been cast to the side by society. Neither one of these two are wanted and this is what makes them very good at what they do. Ana has the brains, while Din is the one who gets what she needs. I think that had it not been for the differences in their character and the fact that they are opposites that the plot would not have worked the way it did. We needed these two characters and needed to have them come together in order to make everything work. Without it, how the case was solved would not have worked as well as it did. Not only do we have them, but we have a great cast of side characters, which also helps so much with the plot. All of them have a complex past and history. Some of them we are not sure as to what their role is or why they are important. Once again, once we got to the end, everything made all that much sense and all of these little pieces came together.


This book is fantasy and it does have a magic system. While the magic system does play a role in the plot, it is not the sole focus of the plot. It’s there, but it doesn’t take away from the main plot, which is solving the murder. Again, without it, the big reveal would not have worked out the way that it did. We needed everything to bring the story home. There are so many moving parts, but we did it and all of those little details to make everything work.


The suspense and this sense of the unknown is kept up for most of the book. While the writing is easy to get into, it does a great job at capturing the mystery and allure that goes along with this world. We have the Empire, which we don’t really get a firm grasp on. Then, there are the titans, which gave me Attack on Titan vibes, that attack and destroy everything and anyone who gets in their way. You don’t know when they are going to appear. Plus, we have the murder and these things called contagions, which only add so much more to the world. Again, all of these layers set everything up so much and give us this sense of not knowing what is going to happen next. It is the sense of the unknown and the layers that made me enjoy this book so much.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I will be picking up more from this author. Also, while this is part of a series, the story felt contained, so you probably could read this as a stand-alone.

This book comes out on February 8, 2024.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/xS_p10jkxAM

If RJB has a million fans, then I'm one of them. If RJB has one fan, then I am the one. If RJB has no fans, that means I'm dead.
This was amazing. I'm a **huge** fan of the Foundryside trilogy, so I had pretty high hopes going into this but I was wonderfully pleased by this entire story. The characters were so compelling, the world-building was so well done and very interesting, and the mystery was tightly plotted. I loved watching our characters try and untangle the web of clues and intrigue surrounding a trail of poisonings. I don't want to give away too much of the story because I definitely think getting to feel and see everything unfold in real time is so much fun, I will say that I loved the relationship between Ana and Din and the detail with which the world and mystery is described.
*Chef's kiss* I will be buying so many personal physical copies of this and I am beyond excited to do a RJB display at my work (library) when this comes out! Ahh! I need more.

In <i>The Tainted Cup</i>, Robert Jackson Bennett masterfully blends the classic whodunnit into a unique and alien fantasy setting. The book opens with a bang, as a corpse is discovered with a most unusual cause of death - a tree has grown out of him. Between the compelling characters, the mysterious setting, and the well-paced mystery, Bennett weaves a narrative that is both chilling and captivating.

<b>You might like this if you're into:</b>

<b>Genre Mixing:</b>
This book has the familiar characteristics of a classic whodunnit (the anti-social genius detective, her earnest sidekick, a villainous victim who left many with a motive to want him gone) but takes place in a fantasy world. There is as much mystery in figuring out how this world works as there is in revealing the killer.

<b>World-Building:</b>
The world of Daretana is a character in itself. The narrative invites readers to unravel the mysteries of a world where much is left to the imagination and strange histories are hinted at. The exploration of culture and magical elements adds depth to the plot and leave the reader wanting to continue the series and learn more about the world.

<b>Engaging Characters:</b>
Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol form a compelling detective duo. Their evolving relationship is fun to follow, and the characters' depth and complexity contribute significantly to the overall enjoyment of the story.

<b>The Start of a Series</b>:
The conclusion leaves readers eager for more about the main characters and the society they live in. The anticipation of future adventures for the characters is a testament to Bennett's ability to create a world and characters that resonate with the audience.

One potential stumbling block for readers is that the alien quality of the world, and the way readers are dropped into this strange culture without much context may pose a challenge for some readers. The initial disconnect requires an investment of time and effort to start to grasp the intricacies of the world and culture.

Ulitmately, <i>The Tainted Cup</i> is a clever mystery that will captivate fans of genre-bending, world-building, and character development. While the initial immersion might be challenging for some, the payoff is a compelling narrative that promises an fun series ahead.

Fantastic writing and world-building. The characters were very well done and the mystery was solid. While I was a tad bit confused at times, I found it an enjoyable read.

The Tainted Cup follows the investigator’s assistant as they try to untangle a complicated set of poisonings. It’s a fun read in a high-fantasy world, but a bit hard to follow at times.