Who can resist the charm of an Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes kind of murder mystery transported into a dystopian world where plants provide humans with more secure, healthy, and higher quality life sources? These plants not only provide light and clean air but also serve as a complex security system!

The world-building and characterization in this book are the strongest elements of the author's brilliant talent, which drags you into a whirlwind of a unique and surprising adventure that you never want to end. I am a little sad because I read this book faster than I planned; I couldn't help myself. The opening chapter gives us a glimpse of one of the strangest murder scenes: a high empirical officer is found dead in Daretana's most sacred mansion (he was just a friend of the owners spending time at the place with their blessing). The identity of the victim is not the strange part (even though his face is barely recognizable); it's the position in which he's found that is the most bizarre thing: a tree is literally sprouting out of his body, damaging the rest of his remains. The death seems suspicious and raises questions about whether the officer has been affected by the contagion spreading through the Empire, including the Leviathan blood that creates strange magical abilities in those affected.

Ana Dolabra, the primary investigator, has already been called to the outer ring of Talagray, where engineers are hired to protect the lands from the contagions of Leviathans.

As a highly eccentric investigator with unusual methods and straightforward comments that scandalize her new assistant Dinios Kol, who was assigned just four months ago, she finds herself working with a young, scruffy, and enigmatic Signum detective with a photographic memory that enables him to recall conversations and details from crime scenes. Dinios becomes Ana's senses, making unique observations at crime scenes and sharing his discoveries. This becomes especially handy when Ana refuses to leave her house for years, wearing blindfolds to strengthen her senses. These are not the only strange methods she applies during her investigations. However, as they delve more into the strange crimes, even Dinios senses that he's working with the best kind of investigator in the Empire, someone who might be the only one capable of finding the perpetrator.

The magic system and the perfect execution of the mystery keep you guessing until the end, and the remarkable characters make me wish this book should be adapted into a streaming series. I'm absolutely sold, and I feel personally touched by the magical writing talent of Robert Jackson Bennett. I cannot wait to read the other books in the series and spend more time with Ana and her sarcastic tunes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Del Rey for sharing this AMAZING book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A murder mystery with fantastical world building? Yes, please!

If you’ve read Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett, then you can trust that he has some incredible world-building skills and employs them in his upcoming book.

A murder occurs in one of mansions of Daretana’s richest family. It isn’t your average type of murder and this isn’t your average kind of investigation. The victim was found with a tree sprouting from his body. The investigation is undertaken by our narrator Signum Dinios Kol, an engraver, who is the assistant of Immunis Anagosa Dolabra, Iudex Investigator of the Daretana Canton. As an engraver, Kol has the ability to remember details, conversations, the scene of the crime—everything—by associating memories with aromas from his vials. While Kol goes out to investigate, Ana remains blindfolded in her office, making brilliant deductions based on the details recounted by Kol. As Kol and Ana try to unravel the mystery of the murder, they find that a string of deaths have occurred and they seek to get to the bottom of these crimes.

If you’re a fan of fantasy/sci-fi and murder/crime novels, then this book will not disappoint. There’s quite a bit of terminology and ranking/roles within the Empire with different types of cerebrally suffused and augmented “Sublimes” (like engravers and axioms), but once you get the hang of it, it’s very fun to see how investigations come together with different skillsets. Also, from a murder-mystery standpoint, the storyline is intriguing and I was trying to guess the entire time the identity of the murderer(s), the method, and the motivation.

While this particular mystery wraps up by the end of the novel, there’s plenty more left to be explored about this world, the system and governance, and levitations. (I am definitely looking forward to more about leviathans… LOL!) This is Book 1 of the Shadow of the Leviathan series and I’ll definitely be reading the sequel!

Thank you @netgalley for reaching out with this eARC! The Tainted Cup comes out on February 6, 2024!

I didn't know quite what to expect when I first picked up this book- I was intrigued by the description and gave it a try. I was hooked from the first page. I'm talking staying up late (to my detriment) multiple nights, trying to squeeze in pages when I could, obsessing over it when I couldn't, wondering how it was all going to play out. The characters? Stunning. Intriguing. Captivating. Incredibly unique. The plot? Insanely good. Nothing felt rushed or out of place. I cannot wait for the sequel (I'm not even going to look, I am convinced there should be a sequel and am manifesting it into existence).

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book!

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book, I requested to review it on a whim and ended up really enjoying it. The easiest way to describe the overall vibe is "high fantasy/mystery" which now that I've read, I'm not sure I've ever experienced before in another novel; I'm into it. In typical fantasy fashion, there's a lot of worldbuilding, but it doesn't feel overwhelming (sometimes I do feel like it can all be a bit much, I shouldn't need to crossreference seven things to make sense of a book imo).

The overall plot revolves around a Sherlock-and-Watson-esque pairing of detectives solving a murder mystery that unravels into ~something bigger.~ I specifically won't get too much into the plot for spoiler reasons but there are, as one might expect from a mystery, many twists and turns, some of which I predicted but most of which I did not.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC! I'll probably be looking into this author's other works to see if I enjoy them as well.

The world building in this is impressive. I devoured the book in one sitting! Ana is a genius and Din (my favorite) is the likeable but smart sidekick. It gives me Sherlock Holmes but romance vibes and it’s great!

A mystery fantasy thriller? Sign me up. Unfortunately, I don't think this book was for me and that's okay. It was very confusing, and the world building was tough. I could not follow it. I didn't really like any of the characters so it was tough to keep my focus. I did find the concept very intriguing though, I feel like it would make a good live action take. Overall, 3/5 .
Thank you, Del Ray, Netgalley, and Robert Jackson Bennett for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

How does he do it? How does he write such a great story that truly feels like he personally wrote this book for me? The mystery in this story was such a great aspect
World building fantastic! Characters amazing! Pros awesome

Read this book?!!

Thank you NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for an honest review.

The Tainted Cup is part fantasy, part murder mystery. Like I've come to expect from his works, Robert Jackson Bennett has built an incredible world. The "magic system" is unlike anything I have ever read. It is entirely plant based, and by using certain plants, one can enhance humans. Everything from unnaturally long life, to super strength, to incredible skills in mathematics, to being incredibly fast, to having a perfect memory. (And so so much more) The last one is the ability our protagonist is gifted with.

Dinious Kol is the protagonist, and his job is to observe crime scenes, which he memorizes, and then brings the account back to his boss, the eccentric Ana. Ana is gifted with incredible analyzation and observational skills. Between the two of them, they are tasked with solving a string of murders.

Unfortunately, I struggled with a few things in this book. The first is that there are a LOT of characters, and official roles that they fill, and I had a very hard time keeping track of all of them. A dramatis personae might have been the saving grace for me in that regard. Without it though, I had a very hard time getting into the story, as I regularly felt like I couldn't track what was happening. Eventually I got the characters straight, so the last 40% of the novel was great, but I STRUGGLED with the first 60%. I likely would have DNFed if I had bought the book.

I am not 100% sure if I recommend this one, but I will definitely be picking up the next book. There are enough questions and teasers sprinkled into this novel, along with the highest expectations from the way The Founders Trilogy played out, that I am so curious to see where we go from here.

The Tainted Cup has got to be one of the most astounding and outstanding novels of recent memory. We've got a murder mystery (and a very good one), we've got underhanded intrigue and secret cabals, we have a nuanced and fully realized world that is one of the most original yet accessible I've read, and we have the truly fabulous characters of eccentric investigator Ana Dolabra and her naive-ish assistant Dinios Kol - it's clear that with these two characters Robert Jackson Bennett is, rightfully so, confident in his ability to use a trope while making it something wholly new and exciting. And also this book is funny! I mean, Mr. Bennett leaves no crumbs. The strongest of recommendations -It's a gift to yourself to read!

Robert Jackson Bennett has been my favorite author for a long time. His Divine Cities trilogy is my go-to recommendation for fantasy. Somehow The Tainted Cup even surpasses those books for maybe my favorite of his books. Epic Fantasy Nero Wolfe/Hannibal Lecter meets Godzilla is the gonzo premise that seems perfectly made for me and this book nailed it and continued to hit it out of the park with every twist and turn. And holy cow were those twists and turns perfect. This book is on track to be my favorite book of 2024 already.

I was so pleasantly suprised with how addictive and fun this book was! I wasn't sure what to expect going in but I feel that RJB has found a perfect niche in these types of fantasy murder mysteries. There were just enough unique world building elements reminiscent of The Founders Trilogy ...paired with intrigue that kept me flipping page after page. The characters were unique and well thought out....and the humor and wit were perfectly balanced to lighten the mood. I didn't predict the ending but it made sense and wasn't so far fetched that it came out of left field either, which is refreshing. Overall a splendid time! Highly recommend 👌

Thank you, Robert Jackson Bennett, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, your hard work!

This was recommended to me, and thank you so much for the recommendation!

This book was wonderful! Strange, mysterious, full of murder! There were such twists and turns. It certainly has you guessing on what's going to be happening next, if the characters are safe and who's going to die next! I simply couldn't put this down once I started. It's full of corruption, assasins, and so much more to discover as you dig into this book. The powerful certainly have such holds over the poor and government... and be careful of who you trust.

The page was perfect, and I never lost interest. The killers choice of weapon: Trees! Who would have thought such a thing. This book was full of imagination, creativity, and sarcasm and just made me unable to put the book down.

The investigation follows people who have died in strange ways: Trees sprouting from their bodies. As the book is uncovered, bodies pile up, corruption, and so much more is discovered, putting everyone in danger. You will be guessing the entire time who is guilty until the very end.This truly is worth the read!

While I appreciate the opportunity to read this, unfortunately I will not be finishing this book. I made it about a quarter of the way through but really struggled to get into it. The story start felt like I was thrown into something already in motion and I had to play catchup.

I loved Bennett’s inventive cultures and cities in his last trilogies, and he does it again in the Tainted Cup. The whole kingdom of Khanum, of which we see the coastal areas, seems to exist to keep incredibly huge- mountain-sized- sea creatures from destroying the land and peoples. Much of the government (and its legionnaires, medickkers, and those who research so-called grafts and suffusions) is focused on this purpose. The concoctions when applied to the folks of the land give them protection from various toxic natural elements in the environment. Or they may enhance the person speed, hearing, memory, etc.

The story begins with several mysterious murders that appear caused by a contagion. In a domino- like effect these deaths cause a breach in the battlements against the leviathans.

So the book is about the investigation into the murders and is also about the investigators. I enjoyed the characters and how the reader learned more about their backstory. I’m definitely looking forward to learning more about the land, the people, and the sea creatures themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A low 2 stars. I love mysteries and I love fantasy, but sadly, I really didn’t love this.

I don’t even know what to say about this book. It was such a struggle for me to even finish it. I was just so bored and didn’t care! Nothing in this worked for me, sadly. Neither the characters, nor the writing were engaging.

The characters were flat. They also behaved ridiculously and not in a fun way! They just annoyed the hell out of me! The explanations for the world-building were severely lacking. It just didn’t make sense! There were too many puzzle pieces missing. Everything in this book was surface-level. Yet there was time for so many useless and unimportant details.

The writing was too clunky, simplistic and straight-forward for my liking. It contradicted itself and was full of inconsistencies. Some word choices and phrases simply annoyed me. It was also very bitty. Just a series of short moments strung together.

I’ve read the Foundryside trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett and while I hated the last book in that series, the first two were so much fun. Neither the world-building nor the magic nor the writing were amazing in that either, but I didn’t care! The characters were great to follow, the book made me care and it was an amazing time! None of that happened in The Tainted Cup.

I also felt the publisher blurb was slightly misleading or at least open to misinterpretation. It talked about a “long-suffering assistant” - Din had worked for Ana for only four months before the start of the book. Ana is described as “wearing a blindfold at all times” - that thing comes and goes as it pleases and the text does not keep track of it! And to me, the blurb implied that this book might be a fantasy version of a classic country house mystery, but the mansion wasn’t all that important to the plot and the characters moved to a different city early on in the story.

Not since Foundryside have I been so drawn in by a book. An absolutely captivating tale with an entirely new perspective on a magical world: one powered by bioengineering. The creativity, pacing, and quality of characters cannot be overstated.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this as an ARC reader!

I appreciated and loved the fact that each character was extremely unique. Throughout this book there was so much fun and mystery turns. It was extremely delightful! The fantasy aspects of the novel was extremely well done, not over the top at all which I appreciated.

This was my first book from this author, I cannot wait to see what else is in store (maybe a sequel??!!).

4.75/5

It was a tough beginning for me. I honestly thought this was going to be my first 4 out of 5, maybe even 3 for an ARC (thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for not disappointing me with The Tainted Cup or any other ARCs you provide approve me for). I am not familiar with Robert Jackson Bennet’s previous works, but I can’t say no to a murder mystery. Especially not one in a fantasy world! This is the first time in a while that I read a fantasy book without an audiobook to help me absorb the world-building (and the time it took me to read this book reflects that), however, I am so glad it was this one.

There is something absolutely charming and gripping about the characters. Ana is my favorite because I will always side with the seasoned agent of absolute chaos—or apparent chaos because there is a method to the madness. Din grew on me—because I was not a fan at the beginning (beginnings are tough, which is why I give 5 chapters or 75 pages of leeway to any story to give the author room to get in the groove of things). Now, even thinking about Din makes me smile. Oh, that sweetheart! And he has to put up with these eccentrics. His conversation with Ana in the last few chapters really pushed this book to an almost 5 out of 5 (although, I think a re-read of this book with an audiobook will push it up because I will be able to process everything better), it’s that neurodivergent solidarity. All the characters were good (Miljin! I hope to see you in future installments). The names though. I know it gets criticized a lot in fantasy, but you really notice it when there isn’t a narrator sounding out these names for you.

The key to a good murder mystery for me is the characters and how they deal with the clues. You can write a thousand and one murder mysteries but if the character solving the mystery isn’t processing clues in a believable manner, it all falls apart for me. Ana does not disappoint me, and neither does Din. The clues, and the foreshadowing it was well done. Good questions are asked. There isn’t a beating about the bush because we need the mystery to last another hundred pages. I think the fantasy element really helps this along. You are learning about this world, and the information you learn helps you connect the dots in a non-obvious way. It’s clever. Especially in a genre where characters are supposed to ask questions and question motives.

I had a lot of fun reading this book! And the good thing about reading a book so far in advance is that I can’t wait to read it again when officially releases.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett is a superb read and well worth the time spent! Great plot and characters.

i cannot refuse a sherlock-watson inspired duo.
the tainted cup has a slow start with the introduction of the intricate power system, but quickly picks up after a murder mystery from poisonous plants. as well as civilization living inside walls to block out the leviathans. it was fun to follow din, the main character, acting on the whims of ana, the manic (and vulgar) detective.
as a lover of mysteries and plot twists, i thoroughly found this enjoyable. it would have been a perfect read had the magic system been explained more. each revelation is heavily based on these grafts and abilities but without the build up, it’s hard to stay captivated.

many thanks to random house publishing - ballantine and netgalley for the arc!