Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of A Drop Of Corruption.

I'm usually a little hesitant with second books in a series, but A Drop Of Corruption exceeded my expectations. What's not to like? A fantasy mystery, quirky characters, and great world building.

I enjoyed learning more about the world and getting deeper into the leviathans. Pacing was good with reveals and twists to keep me reading.

Can't wait to see how the story continues in book 3.

I was so happy to get this book! Can I request the 3rd yet? I don't love some of the character developments but I guess that's part of the story-this series blows my mind at the world building and the mystery. I had to relisten to the ending to make sure I didn't miss anyhing and I love this book!!!

“And the drop of corruption that lies within every society shall always persist.”

The second book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series was a great addition to the storyline. It answered a lot of the questions from the first while still leaving some things open for the future. I did find some of the twists predictable, but I enjoyed the ride nonetheless.

Din was the perfect awkward lover boy throughout this book and I wouldn’t change him for anything. Ana was her usual badass self. Malo was honestly such a great addition, she added a new element to the character dynamic between Din and Ana.

I cannot wait to see how book 3 goes. Fingers crossed Din and Kepheus cross paths!

*Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to PRH Audio for the gifted ALC*

The fact that I guessed multiple components of the crime makes me feel pretty dang cocky, mk? Call me for all of your mysteries!

But Ana and Din are back, baby. And this time it's with a locked room murder that no one can crack. The narration was amazing and really kept me engaged in the story, which was a feat seeing as it's over 15 hours long. We also got to meet the best Warden side character who I'd love to see again in the future. I just felt that there were so many worldbuilding components in this installment and I could've done with one less thing to keep track of amidst all of the mysteries.

I love the creativity and world for this series! I was worried I wouldn’t remember enough from the first book given how long ago I read it, but it came back to me as I read and there were callbacks to the events from A Tainted Cup too.

I thought Ana was much better in this book, previously she felt a bit cartoonish to me with all her maniacal grinning and blurting random things out. While she still does that a lot, it was better integrated into the story and a tad more subtle too. The mystery aspect was really well done and while still a complex plot, I thought it was much easier to follow this time around. I appreciated having the military command levels and maps at the front of the book too.

One issue I had in book one with the writing style sadly is back here too - it’s 𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 repetitive. There are also excessive descriptions for unimportant things and remembering verbatim something from an earlier chapter. This book also has a lot of focus around his sex life which added nothing to the plot and I could have done without. For a longer book, the amount of description and repetition had an impact on the pacing, making it feel quite slow at times, even with a lot going on in the plot.

I don’t want this to come off like an angry rant becayse I really liked the book! It just brought it down from a 5⭐️ everyone must read this to a 4⭐️ I really liked and recommend this book.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the DRC

⭐️: 5 / 5

Publication Date: April 1, 2025

I want to thank Del Rey and Net Galley for allowing me to get an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book thankfully came with a prologue that helped remind me of our main characters. I will admit that I didn’t reread the first book prior to reading this one, but I felt the prologue did a wonderful job of easing me back into this world.

I loved getting to visit a new part of the world that we had learned about from book one in this series. We’re transported to a part of the world where the presence of the empire can lead to contentious interactions between the locals and the imperial officers including both Din (Dinios Kol) and Ana (Ana Dolabra) our favorite investigative duo in all of the empire. The mystery which unfolds in this particular book is beyond any I had ever read before, and it involved going to new extremes for both Din and Ana. I liked getting to learn more about both of these character’s backgrounds and some of their motivations for why they are in the Iudex.

As for my reservations, I cannot think of any. I felt that this book had well thought out plots and subplots throughout.

Overall I thought this was a stellar follow-up to the first book. I would happily recommend this book. I think a 3rd book is planned for the series and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

Would recommend for those who are fans of
- Murder mysteries
- Neurodivergent characters
- Fantasy-ish

⚠️ violence, body horror

Dinios Kol and Ana Dolabra are back to solve a mysterious disappearance, this time in the canton of Yarrowdale, which is not officially part of the empire. A treasury officer from the empire working to facilitate incorporating Yarrowdale has suddenly vanished. Kol and Dolabra's investigation will take Kol into the backwaters, the high city, and the mystifying Shroud to find clues to the disappearance. Of course, the case is much larger than the missing officer, and leads us into court intrigue. This story leads readers to contemplate what the point of a king (autocrat) is and why we keep thinking they're a good idea, and what it means to show up for each other. I can't wait for another installment in this series.

This was a solid sequel to The Tainted Cup. It featured a good Holmes and Watson style case with plenty of mystery and intrigue. There were a lot of new characters to go along with Ana and Din, and a new setting. But while it was solid, there were still a few things it lacked.

Ana is the equivalent of Holmes - a brilliant mind and lots of eccentricities to go with it. The problem is, there is way too much telling and not enough showing when it comes to her. I get that she claims it's too hard for her to go out and interact most of the time, but every time she had a conversation with Din and Malo, she snapped at them. Literally. It says it on damn near every page of the book. It made it less enjoyable to read her parts, as she was so irritable throughout the book. She did have some good banter with Din, but not nearly enough to cancel out the rest of their interactions. I love Sherlock Holmes in his many iterations, but I really struggles with Ana this go around.

There was a section a little over halfway through where this book really dragged as well. There's just so much going on but the pacing doesn't match - it can be really slow at times, and then blazes others. A more even pacing would have helped. I wish we could have spent a little more time at the Shroud learning about the Leviathans. There's still so much that isn't explained. And while I know it really isn't the same at all, every time they mention the Leviathans, I think of Attack on Titan. An odd connection, but it's there.

I am still looking forward to the next book. This is a unique fantasy world with mystery weaved in. While there were struggles with this book, it was still overall quite good and sets the next one up well.

Please auto-send me whatever books Robert Jackson Bennett writes because I am always obsessed with them.

I loved the Tainted Cup and told many people it was my favorite read of 2024... and yet A Drop of Corruption is EVEN BETTER. This is an easily approachable fantasy series -- but without sacrificing the rich world-building. Though I often roll my eyes when I see novels compared to others, folks aren't wrong. This does feel like a fantasy version of Sherlock Holmes, but Ana is a much more compelling character to me. The mystery itself was rich, layered, and filled with twists that kept you guessing.

Once you start, you won't want to stop.

My biggest challenge is to take time out from re-reading this novel to complete my review. I give it 4 ½ stars as I quite enjoyed my first read of this novel. On my re-read, it gets closer to five stars as my enjoyment with this novel keeps growing as I start to see how well-crafted the novel was to get to the end with the great reveal, like all good traditional mysteries have.

This novel is a fantasy mystery with a large dose of horror and Sherlock Holms and Dr. Watson vibes. The novel contains some dark humor at times especially with the interplay between Din and Ana.

The mystery begins with an empty-locked room, several stories up, where it is discovered that a Treasury officer for the Empire has disappeared what appears to be in thin air. The windows remained locked. For protection, as the empire is under threat, the Treasury officer was under constant guard. Also, there are gnawed on body parts that have been discovered tied to this missing Treasury officer. To solve the case, the Empire sends the great Ana Dolabra, with her assistant Dinos Kol to Yarrow, at the edge of Empires influence and not under Empire rule, but the Empire has been in the process of working towards annexing Yarrow as it houses in its harbor a valuable magical resource, the corpse of a giant leviathan, and more importantly, its blood.

Din is known as an engraver, through bioengineering, able to remember everything he experiences by tying them to special scents he inhales from vials. When repeating what he has seen and collected in interviews, it is as if he is possessed by a computer. While Ana is brilliant at solving mysteries, Din is the individual that does all the leg work, which can be dangerous and helps collect evidence that Ana then uses to solve mysteries.

The author’s imagination and creativity within these pages is something to behold. His imagery of gruesomeness, including some very disturbing images of body horror, mixed with just enough comic relief through dialogue is masterful. Also, in these pages you will be introduced to new characters, like Malo who has heightened senses of scent and hearing to when someone is talking she can hear by listening to the beat of their heart combined with their scent to determine if that individual is lying or telling the truth.

But what makes this novel and the series memorable and a delight are the two investigators: Din and Ana. Din, as mentioned is an engraver and master swordsman because he has the ability to remember any skill, is the traditional reluctant hero. He has financial difficulties with creditors literally stalking him and worried that in his line of work he may not be able to pay them off. He admires Ana, a legendary investigator, but is struggling with his sense of worth and the repeated images of brutality he is witness to in his line of work. He can be nonchalant in his statements regarding violence, but this may be just a coping mechanism so he can maintain his sanity. He is wondering if what he does dealing with finding answers from the dead is as fulfilling as if he was fighting on the frontlines as a soldier against the giant leviathans threatening the outer gates of the Empire. Din is also searching for happiness and love. He is alone in the world for the most part, except for Ana, which his world revolves around when they are working a case.

Ana is socially awkward with an addictive personality, a recluse, a lover of the arts, and the greatest living detective of the Empire. Her ability is to take information and create patterns where others cannot see the patterns is legendary. She becomes focused on the evidence to where she literally blindfolds herself while Din regurgitates what he has learned back to Ana or, while rare, when she is out in the field with Din. She can be obstinate and crass. Also, her primal culinary desires leave others, including Din, horrified.

The interplay between Ana and Din is addictive to where I finished the novel and had a desire to immediately re-read it again to sedate my need to visit these characters again.

With an interesting mystery in a creative fantastic world of bioengineering and botany that develops into an even more interesting larger mystery full of political intrigue, this novel has it all. Also, the novel touches on themes of personal freedoms, altering oneself physically for the greater good, and Imperialism that are interesting to reflect on.

Now if I could just stop re-reading this novel, so I can get on to other novels in my TBR.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House / Del Rey for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4-4.5 stars
A Holmes and Watson style murder mystery set in a very well-developed fantasy world. The seemingly simple murder that Ana and Din are sent to investigate turns out to be something far larger and more dangerous. The characters are well-developed, and the plot is complicated and twisty.

This is the second in the series and while I think it can be read as a stand-alone, I would recommend reading The Tainted Cup first to better understand the main characters and the world they inhabit.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free e-ARC of this book.

Robert Jackson Bennett has again written an extraordinary and terribly clever fantasy with sci-fi elements. In this sequel, we are away from the seawalls and in the kingdom of Yarrow and the Shroud. The nuances of political intrigue and colonial relations are layered and interesting, especially as they seem relevant to modern day politics and perspectives. Throughout this book, I was astounded by the creativity and level of detail not in just in the unraveling of the complex mystery itself, but in the minute details of world building. Bennett has created a beautiful and dangerous world of monsters, greed, and fascinating human augmentations.
I appreciated seeing Din’s growth in personal and professional assuredness in this sequel as an assistant to Ana, and well as witnessing his emotional development and realignment of motivation and priorities.
While I didn’t find this book as captivating as The Tainted Cup, I still found the story to be exciting and mysterious, full of twists and turns and many chuckle-worthy moments that make our characters so endearing.
Posted on goodreads

I loved the first book in this series and A Drop of Corruption didn't disappoint.

Positive: Malo was a wonderful addition to the story. From the very first chapter, I was charmed by her brute honesty. I like Din as a main character, but I'd honestly prefer Malo. Maybe a spin-off?

Negative: I was thoroughly put off by the fact that men's genitals are referred to as "wicks." When it first came up, I gagged. I just—was that really necessary?

Bring on book 3!

"Tell me, Din! Tell me what it looks like"

Another amazing story with Ana and Din, detectives in their world of some of the most heinous and baffling crimes. In this installment, we get a new realm full of new characters, a different sector, and new augmentations.

And I loved every bit of it. Ana and her amazing ability to see all the steps and how it all comes together. Din, able to maneuver any social situation and, yet, make a simple tea for Ana. I loved the addition of so many of the new area's characters and their added personalities. I hope we see more of them.

And we learn more of the titans and the way they are utilized but also the way they are dangerous. This world is so rich and fascinating and, yet, the author never buries us in details or info dumps. The plot is always moved along by something new and interesting while still focusing on the mystery and the current threat. And all through it, we learn more about Din and Ana.

Many things are revealed in this one. I am worried this will be at trilogy - and as I await the next installment, I'm also hoping beyond hope that it is not the end. I will absolutely buy the audio and re-read this series as an audio and enjoy it all over again!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This was easily a 5 star read! I loved seeing Din evolve and grow a bit more confident in his abilities, as well as getting to see a little more into Ana's background! This twists are so intricate, and I love the theatrical way the mysteries are always wrapped up!

This world is so curious and whimsical, and I am dying to see what Din and Ana get up to next! Also fingers crossed we see Kepheus again!

The Tainted Cup was one of my favourite reads last year and I was so happy to discover I enjoyed this one even more.

My main complaint of that first book was that I really didn’t feel we connected to Din as much as Ana and other characters. This one definitely rectified that and he is now, alongside Ana, one of my favourite fantasy characters.

The Sherlock and Watson comparison that this series encouraged feels even more spot on here and I love getting to see their relationship develop.

Like the first book, the mystery starts with a small, but very unique incident, and grows into something with much larger consequences than first suggested.

Everything about this is so well crafted, from the characters, to the mystery, to the world itself, and it is all just such a joy to read.

I am already excited for the third book!

Ana Dolabra and her assistant Dinios Kol are called to solve the mystery of a treasury officer who went missing from a locked room within a tower. Ana soon realizes they're looking into a murder and not a disappearance, and the murderer can move around like a ghost. The killer may be targeting the Shroud, the compound where the Empire harvests fallen titans for the volatile magic found in their blood. Should it fall, the Empire itself will grind to a halt.

This is book two of the Shadow of the Leviathan series, following The Tainted Cup. This is a world where massive creatures known as leviathans can destroy or recreate things, or corrupt living things. Within the Empire, pieces of leviathan bodies were processed and repurposed to augment humans: memory, senses, reflexes, muscle strength, etc. Within this world, it's difficult to hide a killer from the ones with augmented senses, yet this killer did just that. The locked room mystery quickly gets solved, giving rise to more important questions: who could impersonate the different classes, bypass security measures, and hijack protection to work on Leviathan blood. The region where this takes place also has significant political upheaval, and it complicates the search for the killer further.

The story drew me in quickly, and the worldbuilding serves the mystery. Din doesn't know the inner workings of the field he's investigating, so we get the explanation right along with him. We pick up on some clues that way as well and see the disquiet and growing apprehension about the highly secretive Shroud. Ana is as prickly and short-tempered as she was in the first novel, a quirky Holmes to Din's Watson. Different cultures and knowledge are fascinating points that flesh out the world and truly help it feel lived in.

If you loved The Tainted Cup, you're in for an even greater treat with A Drop of Corruption. Bennett somehow levels up in this second installment of his brilliant fantasy twist on Sherlock Holmes. The mystery at the heart of the story is impeccably crafted—twisty, surprising, and deeply satisfying. You discover key reveals alongside the characters, which keeps the pacing brisk and the suspense high from start to finish.

What makes this book even more rewarding is the deeper dive into Ana’s character. Her backstory, her intellect, and her emotional complexity all shine through in ways that add new depth to the series. Bennett balances world-building, character development, and mystery with expert precision. This is easily one of the most inventive and entertaining fantasy series out there, and I already can’t wait for the next installment.

Another Dinos and Ana story? Yes please.

A Drop of Corruption continues the story of the investigator, Ana Dolabra and their assistant Dinios Kol. Book 2 picks up after some time after The Tainted Cup, where we first meet Dinios and Ana, and get a taste of their marvelous, Sherlock-Watson dynamic. This time, they investigate the disappearance and death of a Treasury officer, whose room was completely locked up (classic whodunnit). Along the way, we dive deeper into the borders of the Empire and the neighboring lands and people, and get a further look into how the Empire deals with the Leviathans.

How do I express how excited I was for Robert Jackson Bennett's second book of the Shadow of the Leviathan series??? How do I express feeing slightly disappointed while reading A Drop of Corruption??? I feel so torn about this book. On one hand, I really enjoyed following the whole Dolobra and Kol relationship that is heavily reminiscent of Sherlock and Watson. Call me a sucker for that.

What I enjoyed: I loved the continued character building of Dinios and Ana individually and their relationship. I am very intrigued by the mysterious build up of Ana, as I still have so many questions and assumption that need answering. Morally grey aka being human, is a very real quality of the main characters. The world building? On point. I cannot wait until book 3. Bennett has me in a chokehold. I also love how this urban-lite fantasy crossed over with mystery genre covers up the deeper themes of political corruption.

What seemed to fall short or cause a little disappointment? Dinios. Dinios' decisions and actions in this book has me feeling frustrated at them. I really questioned some of the things he did, as they seem to be immature and very out of character from the Din we met in book 1.

A Drop of Corruption definitely gets the job done with delivering another great book by Bennett. A solid 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5 for Goodreads). I cannot wait for the continuation of this adult, fantasy X mystery series.

Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey and the author for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

I will be posting to socials.

There’s something about this series that feels like standing in the shadow of something ancient and alive (get it?). You feel small, slightly out of your depth, and utterly captivated. A Drop of Corruption picks up where The Tainted Cup left off, and while it doesn’t quite match the first book’s tightly wound elegance, it still delivers a rich, layered mystery with high-stakes intrigue, deep character work, and that signature undercurrent of weirdness I’ve come to expect and love Robert Jackson Bennett for.

What Worked:

The character work is top tier—maybe even surpassing the first entry. Ana and Din’s dynamic is the highlight of the series for me, their relationship evolving into something both heartfelt and quietly profound. Ana’s chaotic brilliance continues to shine, and Din’s inner struggle between duty and empathy gives the story real weight. I could read a hundred pages of them just talking.

The mystery itself is sprawling and ambitious. There are plots within plots, layered identities, and some satisfyingly clever turns. It trades the clockwork precision of book one for something messier and more political, but in a way that works (and maybe feels a bit too relevant). The world continues to unfold with fascinating details, from ancient augury to leviathan science to the unsettling implications of blood and power.

What Didn’t Work:

The story flirts with overcomplication. There are several big twists and turns, and while most of them are clever, the cumulative effect can feel like a bit much—like the book’s trying to one-up itself every few chapters.

The pacing also lags a little in the middle third before picking back up for the finale. A lot of that could be due to the fact that once you catch onto the rhythm of the reveals, some of the tension starts to deflate. The Tainted Cup felt truly unpredictable; this one felt like the individual turns were, but the end goal was in sight a lot earlier.

Overall Thoughts:

Despite some rougher edges, A Drop of Corruption is absolutely worth your time. The mystery remains compelling, the characters feel even more raw and vulnerable, and the emotional payoffs land with force. It's messier, stranger, and a little more human. Less Attack on Titan, more fantasy Psycho-Pass.

4.5/5