Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

My bisexual walking disaster boy, Dinios Kol, is back and I am so happy! I just love him so much. He really needs to sleep but will he? No probably not!

Robert Jackson Bennett is definitely one of my favorite fantasy authors so I was just happy to be back in one of his worlds. I love the mix of fantasy and thriller mystery that he writes within this series and A Drop of Corruption was just so much fun. The politics, the worldbuilding, the writing, all of it was amazing and I had the best time.

“You know, you are not a stupid person, Din.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I said, pleased.
“Or, rather, not an unusually stupid person.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I said, far less pleased.

The relationship between Din and Ana is just fun. It's so Sherlock and Watson coded. Ana is such a character and I love that you never know what she is going to say or do.

Overall, I just loved this book and I need to get a physical copy for my collection soon!

Loved this!
This series just keeps getting better, and I’m having so much fun reading these! I can’t wait to read the next one!
Highly recommend to anyone who thinks they would love a unique high fantasy murder mystery that almost feels like urban fantasy.

I didn’t know what I was getting into when I picked up the tainted cup, and man, was I in for a ride.

A Drop of Corruption is even wilder, with plot twist after plot twist, starting from the initial mystery’s setup that you think “there is no possible way Jackson Bennett can unravel all this without a hitch”, but dear readers, HE DOES.

We’re back with Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol, this time in the empire’s outer reaches—Yarrowdale—a place that’s technically not under imperial control (thanks to a treaty that’s juuuuust about to expire). When a treasury officer disappears from a locked room and later turns up in… pieces, things quickly spiral from “weird” to “what in the actual Leviathan is happening here.” Turns out, this is not just a murder. There’s something bigger at play—something set in motion, but someone terrifyingly clever who always seems two steps ahead.

As the conspiracy deepens, so does the worldbuilding. I loved getting more of the political messiness, the creepy offshore Leviathan-harvesting station (a world in and of itself), and the sense that this entire empire is hanging together by threads no one fully understands.

In this book, we meet Malo—a fantastic foil who adds even more contrast to our leads, Ana and Din. Ana continues to be blunt, brilliant, and completely unwilling to play by anyone’s rules but her own. Din’s narration remains sharp and observant. I have loved watching Dun across these books. His partnership with Ana remains one of my favorite aspects of the series—equal parts hilarious, insightful, and heartfelt—which is saying something because this series is not just smart in its plot mechanics (and believe me, it’s so smart), but also in its themes. It’s refreshing to see fantasy that actually interrogates systems of power instead of romanticizing them. There’s a critique of autocracy baked deep into the narrative. Don’t skip the author’s note at the end. You may consider a re-read after reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklor, and Robert Jackson Bennett for this free, advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Solid entry to the series with plenty of character backstory and growth. The world has become even more interesting with the addition of Yarrowdale. More cultures! More political intrigue!

Delighted to have learned more about Ana’s personal motivations for doing what she does why she chose Din. Getting to see little peeks at how she has come to be (maybe) the way she is was fantastic as well. Ana was on point with her reveal. Oh Ana, you bizarre and fascinating character, I can’t wait to see what more is revealed in subsequent books.

Overall I was most fond of the first book, but I definitely enjoyed my time spent with this one and intend to pick up the next asap.

Things I Love About 'A Drop of Corruption'

It's a "Marriage of Genres"
The book blends fantasy, locked-room mystery, and political intrigue, a compelling combination for me that elevates the storytelling. In honor of Din’s proclivity, I’ll call this a “thrupple” of genres. This blend is a defining strength of the novel and its author, offering something for everyone while creating a unique narrative experience.

I Hear Ana in My Head
Ana Dolabra’s voice (in my head) is classic. I hear her speaking with the gravelly authority of Dame Judi Dench as M from James Bond: stern, unyielding, and coldly pragmatic. Her seemingly unsentimental nature adds a razor-sharp edge to her character, cementing her as my favorite fictional detective.

The Blood of Titans
The grotesque yet brilliant concept of Titan blood is both fascinating and deeply unsettling. As a doctor, I couldn’t help but draw parallels to pathology; these elements evoke disquieting conditions like teratomas and chimeras, adding a visceral, almost gothic layer to the world-building.

Contemporary Politics and Ethical Parallels
The story’s parallels to modern geopolitics are striking. From black sites reminiscent of a CIA facility to the dilemma of disposing of weapons of mass destruction, the book poses challenging, timely questions. Again, I also saw echoes of a fictional pharmaceutical industry, with its potential to manufacture illness only to sell the cure—forcing us to ask whether the treatment is worse than the disease.

Ana and Din: The Perfect Pair
My favorite insight: If Ana were ChatGPT, then Din would be the ideal prompt. Their dynamic is extraordinary and endlessly entertaining, with Ana’s brilliance complemented by Din’s immutable observational skills. Together, they form a finely tuned problem-solving machine that is engaging and unforgettable.

What I Don’t Love
It’s finished, and now I must wait patiently for Book 3!

A Note of Thanks
I sincerely thank NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC (my first!) and inspiring me to write my debut Goodreads review.

“The dead cannot be restored. Vice and bribery will never be totally banished from the cantons. And the drop of corruption that lies within every society shall always persist.” I love these characters and this world. Din is such a disaster bisexual and Ana is Sherlock but better,

Another knock out book from Bennett! I have been so excited to jump back into this series and I'm not disappointed in the least bit.

A very rad fantasy or almost historical scifi, layered on a Sherlock Holmes and Watson duo but with augmented minds and other things. Ana is Sherlock on juice and Din is a bisexual sword wielding (and handling Badumtss) Watson and both characters are great. It was like reading a classic mystery book layered with fantasy. Can’t wait for the next one if it comes.

This was a fantastic ending to the duology. I really enjoyed following Din and Ana in this Sherlock Holmes style fantasy world. I also very much enjoyed the conclusion and learning more about Ana.

4.5 the tainted cup was one of my favourite books of last year and this was better. I felt more connected to Din and it had a strong sense of place, I felt like I was alongside them trying to solve the mystery. RJB has created such a unique world. I find the augments people undergo really interesting and the down sides that come with it. Malo and Din’s friendship was great and as ever Ana and Din’s interactions are so funny. I enjoyed the genre mix of murder mystery in a fantasy world, which is definitely something I want more of. I have theories as to where he’s going with the levitations, looking forward to reading more.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc

Smart, sharp, and eerily addictive, A Drop of Corruption delivers a perfectly twisted mystery with supernatural flair. Ana and Din shine as a morally complex duo navigating secrets, danger, and dark magic. Bennett’s writing is slick, atmospheric, and impossible to put down. A must-read for fans of clever mysteries with a dark edge.

I think A Drop of Corruption was almost as good as The Tainted Cup. Ana still remains to be my favorite character with her wits. It’s been a while since I read The Tainted cup so I could be wrong on this next statement. I believe Malo is a new character introduced in A Drop of Corruption and I like her too, but not as much as Ana.

The mystery this time completely escaped me, I was able to catch on to a few minor things but not enough to solve the case. It seems there is more to come from Din, Ana and hopefully Malo!

How to even begin with this book. I admit I am behind on my ARC reading slightly mostly due to a massive reading slump. Buying a house and moving can do that to you. But this book was phenomenal! I loved every moment, even if Ana hurt my brain a few times. The book begins many months after the first book but never confuses you in its timeline. The mystery itself was intriguing and kept you hooked the entire time. So many twists and turns! And finally getting some insight into who Ana Dolabra is was extremely exciting. I can’t wait for another installment in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with this E-ARC to read and review.

The fantasy portion of the book is one of the strangest worlds I've come across; the "technology" of the Empire is built on biological manipulation only partially under the control of humans. Houses are more grown than built, humans are altered with grafts and potions, and it all sits atop massive sea creatures who both threaten and sustain life. Embedded in the fantasy novel is a classic mystery trope: the eccentric genius detective and the companion narrator.

In this second installment of the series, it all gets kicked up a notch or two. We learn more about the Empire, its organization and history, while the stakes of the mystery are higher. Meanwhile our detective blows past "eccentric" all the way to "demented". It's a fun read; Bennett is a fine writer who knows how to build characters, plot a compelling mystery, and keep you turning pages.

What an incredible next installment in this series. I absolutely adored this story and cannot wait for more.

The story has very complex and interesting characters that I was happy to return to. I was pleased to see they had grown between books, but we also saw character growth within the story. Both Din and Ana are incredibly smart and watching them work is a treat. I was also endeared to many of the side characters and wanted to know more about their stories.

The world building in this series is fascinating and intricate in a way that kept my attention the entire time. There are so many small details that make their way into the story - some of which circle back in the end which was very satisfying! Complex magic, politics and social graces made the story very interesting and fun to watch unfold.

Just like the last book, the mystery is layered and I loved I could figure out which pieces were important without knowing exactly what the solution was.

This book has such an intricate plot, I can't even begin to summarize it. Suffice it to say, while the previous book in this series took some time to get into with all the world building involved, this one didn't take as long to become reaccustomed with the main characters and their universe, despite all the new and innovative additions in the story. While the plot became a bit dizzying at times with all the layers and feints and new directions the investigation brought on, it was never difficult to follow and all was resolved nicely in the end. And I did pick up on certain clues and figured out somewhat who the real culprit was much earlier than it was revealed, even if i didn't fully comprehend all of the motivations and solution. i guess my only real critique is I wish Bennett could trim his books down. There were times it felt like I would never finish the novel, though I did really enjoy it overall. 4.5 of 5*

This was a brilliant sequel to The Tainted Cup, and easily as strong as the first book of the series. The author has built a compelling, unique world full of monstrosities and mysteries.

Din and Ana are sent to solve a murder in Yarrow. I love these characters - they are complicated, smart, and their personalities are unique. The setting, people and mystery were fascinating. Towards the end of the story, I repeatedly thought "this is the best book I have read for a long time." And now I'm going through book withdrawal. I was totally drawn into the story from first to last.

I love Ana and Din. I would read a million books about them solving mysteries. I liked this one slightly less than the 1st one, just because I found the setting to be less interesting and the mystery more convoluted. However, I still gave the book 4.75 stars.

Robert Jackson Bennett continues to shine brightly with the epic second novel in his Shadow of the Leviathan series, A Drop of Corruption, an exceptional and incredible fantasy murder mystery that I could not get enough of.

On the borders of the Empire of Khanum lies the small canton of Yarrowdale, part of an independent kingdom that is reluctantly set to join the Empire. A dank and impoverished land filled with swamps and waterways, the only thing of importance for the Empire in Yarrowdale is the high-security compound known as the Shroud. A top-secret lab where the best scientists from the Empire dissect fallen leviathans to harvest the transformative magic found in their blood, the Shroud keeps Yarrowdale on the map and its inclusion in the Empire an inevitability. However, when an impossible crime takes place within its borders, all eyes within the Empire will be looking towards it.

An important Imperial Treasury officer on assignment to Yarrowdale has gone missing, seemingly disappearing into thin air inside his locked and guarded quarters. Needing answers, the Empire calls upon its most unlikely hero, the brilliant, and possibly insane, special investigator Ana Dolabra. Accompanied by her loyal and often exasperated assistant, Dinios Kol, Ana soon invokes her uncanny talent for observations and ability to make unlikely connections to find answers. But despite quickly working out how the victim disappeared, Ana discerns that the crime was only the first move in a diabolical master plan.

A dangerous and clever killer is stalking Yarrowdale, one with the ability to think ten steps ahead and effortlessly cover their tracks. Worse, the killer has devious designs on the Shroud and is willing to use the facilities own dark science against it, crippling the Empire’s ability to defend itself. To save the Empire, Ana and Din will need to discern the killer’s schemes and stop them before it is too late. But have the pair finally met an opponent even more brilliant that Ana?

Wow, wow, wow, now that was an outstanding book! Robert Jackson Bennett once again impresses to the extreme as A Drop of Corruption was an incredible read that I honestly could not put down. Another excellent blend of brilliant mystery and inventive fantasy fiction, A Drop of Corruption was so damn good, and I loved every single second I spent absorbed in its captivating pages. A very easy five-star read and one of the very best fantasy novels of 2025.

To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2025/04/16/...

An abridged review of this book also ran in the Canberra Weekly on 10 April 2025:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2025/04/16/canberra-weekly-column-fantasy-and-science-fiction-10-april-2025/

For other exciting reviews and content, check out my blog at:
https://unseenlibrary.com/

Book Review - Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennet
4/5 🌟

In this sequel to the Tainted Cup we follow Ana and Din as they get caught up in another murder mystery. This time they find themselves called to the backwater region of Yarrowdale to investigate the gruesome murder of a Treasury Officer that ended up in pieces in a swamp. How did this officer get removed from a locked room and why was he specifically targeted? All of this would not have been interesting enough to warrant Ana's time if it weren't for the Shroud. The Shroud is where slain Titans are dissected to create the biological agents that are used for the body modifications used all over the empire.

In this sequel Robert Jackson Bennet perfects what he started in the Tainted Cup. He cleverly builds out the world and lets us meet the people who create the reagents that are the foundation of the empire's power. They show us again that all is not well in the empire and that it might not be as stable as some want us to believe. Yarrowdale's setting as a Kingdom within the empire is extremely interesting and shows us clashes of culture and value. It provides an interesting narrative on colonisation and the class systems it upholds to exert power.

He also takes the Sherlock Holmes analogy to a new level by introducing an almost Moriarty like character that can go wit for wit with Ana in her deductive skills. He also give Din's personality more depth and backstory than in the previous installment.

Then why is this not a 5 stars again? Because while we get a better look at the world and its politics there is no plot development on a higher level. What is the overall plot we are witnessing? Is there even a higher level plot for this series or are they just fun installments Agatha Christie style? If so that is fine, but that makes me worry about how these murder mystery romps could become stale with the next installment.

This book is still highly recommended, the world with its fantastical botanical backdrop and amazingly written characters is very much worth the read! So I hope Bennett surprises us and brings the big fireworks for the next one!