A sequel that lives up to the first book of the series (and maybe surpasses it?)

If you enjoyed the first, you'll also enjoy this. You'll get more of Ana being her weird self and bossing Din around to solve an impossible mystery, more freaky warpings because of titan's blood, and more interesting world building.

This time, we leave the Empire and travel to Yarrow, a key site for processing the leviathans killed in the empire and using them to create the reagents needed for all the grafts and enhancements. There some political intrigue as the region is set to become part of the empire soon, though they don't really want to. A treasury agent part of the group working on this negotiations goes missing from a locked room and bits of him turn up later. Ana and Din embark in their quest to solve the mystery, with the help of apoth warden Malo to guide Din through the swamps and jungles.

I may have enjoyed this mystery even more than the first. I liked Malo and her and Dins dynamic working together. Seeing more of the titans blood and The Shroud was cool. And the revelations. Oh man. Can't wait for more!

Dinios Kol and Ana Dolabra return in A Drop of Corruption, by Robert Jackson Bennett, to solve another impossible mystery. I had a great time with the series opener, The Tainted Cup, but I think this book is even better. This book marries classic locked room mystery to highly inventive fantasy and I loved every page.

Din and Ana have been dispatched to the sweltering, muggy, decaying kingdom of Yarrow, on the edges of the Empire, to find out what happened to a missing Treasury agent. Their only clues are parts of the agent (turtles might have eaten the rest), a splotch of blood on the agent’s pillow in his locked room, and a few witnesses who remembered that the agent twitched his fingers when he talked. It’s not a lot to go on but, with Din serving as her eyes and ears, Ana starts to piece things together. Before long, our protagonists are up to their eyeballs in conspiracy, deception, and villains who are dangerous because they very much believe they’re acting for the greater good.

Throughout the mystery, Din struggles with his assignment. He wishes he could be doing something more concrete, a job where he feels like he’s actually making a difference. Digging into sensitive cases that are hushed up as soon as the guilty are identified, over and over, is far from satisfying. In The Tainted Cup, Din was assigned to work with Ana Dolabra because her eccentricities chased away all her other assistants. He’s only a member of the Iudex because it offers a way to pay off his father’s crushing debt; he’s not called to serve justice the way Ana is. At least, he thinks he isn’t. Over the course of the novel, the corruption and injustice all around him get under Din’s skin.

In addition to the fascinatingly layered mystery and the beautiful character development in A Drop of Corruption, Bennett also gives us a rich setting that is so real that I swore I could smell Yarrow’s jungle every now and then. I adore the original magical science of Bennett’s empire, where plants are bred and trained to create massive buildings and humans can be altered to enhance the senses or memory or strength. Bennett drops just enough exposition to provide a sense of the long history of Yarrow and the Empire. Unlike a lot of fantasy I’ve read, this world actually feels lived in.

I am very curious to see what Bennett cooks up for Din in the next entry in the series.

Robert Jackson Bennett's skills as an author are amazing beyond my vocabulary to express. From the first book, A Tainted Cup, to this one, Bennett creates such an immensely capturing fantasy world with deeply lovable and complex characters.
While the first book may have felt like it left some of the worldbuilding and character development to be desired, this book sure made up for it. If the first book set up the basics of the world and narrative style, then this book followed through and established the missing world background and gave the characters new depth and motives. The main characters went from a Sherlock and Holmes-esque duo to two separate, tangible characters. Din's evolution as a character was the most drastic, with this story giving him a background and more personal motives to his actions.
The mystery of this novel is intriguing and fast-paced, maintaining interest. But it also doesn't move so fast as to be dizzying or hard to keep up with. In this mystery, Bennett creates a narrative to entertain the reader while also examining autocracies, religion, and human motivation in deeper manners.
Everything about this book just kept delivering. From the how and why of the murder, to the draw to want to continue reading to learn more about the characters, to the amazing ending that ambiguously leaves an opening for either more to follow or contemplation over the meaning of this amazing world Bennett has created.

What are wonderful journey back into the Empire with my favourite new detective duo, Din and Ana. This sequel builds beautifully on the world of the first novel, where as the first left me feeling a little bereft, the sequel starts to fill in the gaps of this world and answered questions I didn't even know I had. RJB writes this world beautifully and naturally, allowing the reader to come to their own revelations and making this world he has created the much richer for it.

The character work is also much more satisfying, we're allowed to get to know Din and Ana better, though she does remain elusive by design. Some of my favourite moments in the book were the quieter moments between the two of them, his exasperation at her wild antics, her slowly teasing conclusions out of him about the case and his own life and of course the way their dynamic as a dective and her eyes continues to develop. All just brilliantly done, and I can't wait to read more of them both.

Finally, I found the central mystery much more compelling this time around. This could partly be down to more familiarity with the world, but there is also just so satisfying about a master detective battling with against an equally brilliant criminal. And the way it unravels into such a human story was much more satisfying than in the first book.

This sequel takes everything I loved about the first book, and ramps it up even higher. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you liked The Tainted Cup, you’ll almost certainly like A Drop of Corruption. The only real question is how much you’ll like it. A Drop of Corruption retains so much of what made the first book excellent: clear, precise prose, creative world-building, delightful banter from Ana and Din, and a mystery that is even more clever and twisty than the first (though I also think it risks being more contrived).

My guess is many will like the sequel more. The tension is ratcheted up even further thanks to a more foreboding nemesis, a stronger atmosphere due to more evocative prose, and even better usage of the world’s promise for body horror. Ana is pushed to her very limit, and this brings out frightening and intriguing new dimensions to her character, further hinting at her mysterious origins.

For me though, it is Din’s character-arc that makes A Drop of Corruption fall just short of its predecessor. I didn’t find his continued conflict on whether to join the Legion or stay with Ana compelling. One, it felt like a partial retread of his arc from the first book. Two, it always felt like he was only ever going to make one decision; there was no real struggle involved.

Still, just like The Tainted Cup, A Drop of Corruption brings everything together for an emotional ending, this time with a timely message against kings and dictators. The mystery stands alone while also offering tidbits of the world’s broader mysteries. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

4.75 ⭐️

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Just like The Tainted Cup, it's like this was written for me. The second installment of this series had all the same ingredients that I loved about the first. The dynamic between Din and Ana, which not only saw them seamlessly work together in recognition of each other's strengths, actually evolved (particularly towards the end). There is yet more to discover about both of them. We were treated to tantalising clues about Ana's origin which hadn't really been something I had previously considered. For me, truly great character work involves peeling back the onion skins slowly. Din is a great narrator character for me too - he's just so over everything, but deep down has a fiery passion to get to the truth of matters.

I love how we see more of the world, just beyond the Empire's full grasp. The land is weird and full of unique dangers and just a truly brilliant setting.

The only reason this was not 5 stars was the slight disconnect between the opening part of the book - the way the investigation proceeded did not link back as cleanly and smartly as it had in The Tainted Cup.

However, what RJB has to say about autocrats, monarchy and being a slave to the powers that be is never more relevant to the times we are living in. I will spend every day pining until the third book is available, so that I can be reunited with Din and Ana.

A Drop of Corruption follows Din and Ana as they investigate the abduction and murder of a Treasury Officer. But how does someone go missing, and then ultimately killed, from a room locked from the inside? Luckily, the Empire’s best are on the case.

A Drop of Corruption is a very complicated mystery best described with the simplest of metaphors: it’s like an onion. There are so many moving pieces to A Drop of Corruption that once I thought I had an idea of where the mystery would end up, Bennett pulled the rug from underneath me and changed directions. At around the 30% mark, I thought the mystery was concluding only for Bennett to expand not only the plot but the world as well. A Drop of Corruption quickly evolved into a politically driven mystery.

What I enjoyed most about A Drop of Corruption was the development of Din and Ana. Bennett gives readers small glimpses of who these characters are individual rather than just inspector and assistant. By the end of the novel, Bennett cracked the seal on who these characters are and their motivations with more to be seen in the next installment.

A Drop of Corruption also further develops the world. Without getting into spoilers, Bennett gives readers more insight into the leviathans, the world’s history, grafts, and augmentations. I am beyond excited for the next novel.

Overall, A Drop of Corruption is a wild mystery that will keep readers on the edge of their seats while desperately trying to keep up with all the twists and turns. I cannot wait for the next installment!

Thank you thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

If Robert Jackson Bennett writes it, I will read it. This book just cemented the series as one of my favorite fantasy series to date. We're reunited with Din and Ana as they travel to the province of Yarrow to solve a seemingly unsolvable murder. The quest that this murder takes them on reveals a little more of Din's history and carries us through his existential crisis era lol. We also learn more about Ana, who has up until this point, remained a bit of a mystery in terms of her skills and back story. She has not lost any of her snark though, and their interactions had me cackling just like in The Tainted Cup.

"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 world building continues to be intricate and high fantasy-esque, but not so much so that I was constantly confused or lost. At times, I felt the same feelings I'd feel while reading Dune, with all its complex hierarchies, unique characters, political machinations, and beautifully described settings. And while Din is being led on this wild goose chase of a case, there remains the eerie presence of "The Shroud" pulsating out in the Bay of Yarrow. When we do get a closer look at the Shroud itself, I could not help but feel the presence of Mary Shelley and Frankenstein, evoking themes of Creature vs. Creator and Nature vs. Man. In his acknowledgments, RJB warns us about autocracies, and I couldn't help but think about the state of politics in the US in the year 2025 and for the next 4 years to come. But before I go off on a tangent...this book is everything I want in a fantasy story--fantasy that doesn't present every theme on a silver platter with lovable characters, unique world building, and page turning energy. I will 100% be looking forward to more Ana and Din mysteries!

4.5 Stars

If you’re a fan of RJB or enjoyed the first installment of this series, The Tainted Cup, then I want to reassure you that this second endeavor in this wholly original world will be well worth your time.

Once again, a dead body starts an investigation revealing some scary truths, resulting in another race against time to stop a mad genius hell bent on taking the entire Empire down. Thankfully, there’s always the beleaguered Dinios Kol and his superior, the eccentric and unsettling investigator Ana Dolabra, who are at the ready to do what’s necessary to find the answers needed.

As a reminder, this is a world whose very existence and advancements rely on harvesting giant sea monsters (think football stadium size) whose wondrous but volatile, and often deadly, essence fuels a multitude of products that keep said cogs of life turning. These leviathans also contribute to humanity in the forms of grafts/suffusions/augmentations that can amplify all 5 senses, enable cognitive function to unimaginable heights, or give a person the ability to remember everything they experience to the most minute detail. In a cruel twist of fate, it's these very creatures, these destructive behemoths that are also the greatest physical threat to the Empire, becoming larger and more aggressive every season they attack the shoreline.

What stands out to me the most here are the copious details that this book contains which enrich the reader experience rather than suffocate or drown it. RJB truly immerses one in the sights, the sounds, and the smells, pointing out the unique races and classes, the civil servants who are distinctly delineated by physical attributes and mannerisms, as well as giving weight and presence not only in where this story takes place but also an anxiety driven urgency to solve the convoluted crimes taking place. Add to that the tenuous political balance that the Empire must maintain for its safety and survival, he deftly weaves in the cultural stakes, the extensive social hierarchy of the people who fall both within and outside the Empire’s jurisdiction, and all the non-leviathan threats (both internal and external) that constantly push at the seams holding this society together.

Overall, if you want another truly complexly layered, locked door murder mystery with twisty reveals against a fascinating science formed fantasy backdrop, just know that this delivers. Reassuredly, RJB brings further insight to our hero Din, his struggles with wanting to make a significant difference and feeling stuck in what he views as a thankless job but ever steadfast in what is expected of him. More light is also shed on the cryptic Ana, her uncanny powers of extrapolation and deduction lending an otherworldly aura to her as she faces her smartest foe yet. I continued to enjoy their banter and seeing that their dynamic has deepened since last we saw them, the new revelations lending a more meaningful weight to Din and Ana’s shared convictions towards their loyalty and duty.

So, this is my long winded way of saying that this is far from an idealistic world, the truths and revelations often mirroring our own past and present where there’s a multitude collaborating to take the system down with whatever means necessary. However, like in real life, I assume that there are a lot of unseen heroes fighting the good fight, those we’ll never know of but should be grateful to for their valiant efforts to keep us safe, or at the very least from further harm. I feel that this is an ode to them in the form of such great characters as Din and Ana, and I look forward to their next insurmountable challenge and ultimately, their triumphant win.

Thank you to the author and Del Rey of Random House Publishing Group via NegtGalley for an ecopy to review honestly

Robert Jackson Bennett has done it again with the second book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series. This book is set at the edges of the Empire where the Yarrowdale nation is negotiating it's acceptance into the Empire. This position is key to the Empire due to the Shroud being located here, a secretive location responsible for the creation of grafts and reagents to be used across the empire. When a member of the negotiations disappears into thin air Ana and Din are called in to solve the unsolvable.

If you liked the first one you'll know what to expect with the tone of this one. Ana and Din are as delightful and odd as ever as they try to solve another murder mystery. The twists and turns keep coming one after another, keeping things interesting. Sometimes in other murder mystery stories this can seem a little contrived to me, but Bennett did a great job of having it feel organic and like a natural unfolding of the plot.

I also really enjoyed the continued world building in this novel that grew upon what we'd learned in the first one. I'm looking forward to learning more about the Leviathans and the Empire of the Khanum in the next one!

This was an amazing epic fantasy mystery with complex worldbuilding. Dinios Kolhas been chosen as the investigator for the mysterious Ana Dolabra. He was somewhat disappointed to be assigned to the Justice Department when he would prefer to be part of the Legion battling the magical leviathans that descend on the empire each year. Justice doesn't seem to have the rewards or the glory that serving on the Wall has.

This newest case has Ana and Din traveling to Yarrowdale. It is on the outskirts of the Empire and still not part of it though an agreement will have the kingdom join the empire in just a few short years. Yarrowdale is a crucial site for the empire though. It is the place where the bodies of slain leviathans are taken so that their magic can be extracted and used for many things that keep the empire going.

At first the case seems simple if slightly baffling. A treasure official who has come to discuss details of the adopting of Yarrowdale into the empire has disappeared from his locked tower room. Then parts of his body are discovered leagues from where he disappeared deepening the mystery.

The disappearance of the official is just the tip of a very big iceberg that could threaten the empire itself if Ana and Din can dig to the bottom of the case quickly.

This was an excellent story filled with plot twists and complexity. I enjoyed learning more about Ana and watching Din come to his own conclusions about what his future role should be.

I received a digital review copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was very excited that I had the chance to read this book. I also received a digital review copy for the first book.

This book follows our favorite detective, Ana Dolabra, and her assistant, Dinios Kol, as they embark on an investigation of a disappearance turned murder of a treasury officer. Constantly a few steps behind the murderer, they soon discover that the target is the Shroud, a highly secure compound where magic is harnessed from Titan’s blood.

I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one. The world building continues to amaze me, and I love the combination of body augmentation and magic. We find out some things about Ana, which makes me even more excited for the third book. As with the first book, I did not tear through and read this in a day. Rather I took my time and tried to soak in all the details to try to solve the murder myself. I really need to consider looking into more fantastical murder/mystery type of books. A fantasy Nancy Drew, anyone?

Ana and Din have solidified their place in my top detective duos—there’s nothing they can’t accomplish with their combined skills.

Wonderfully creative and infinitely clever, Bennett once again immerses us in The Empire, where danger lurks around every turn. With stakes higher than ever, detective work becomes a race against time as Ana and Din navigate a mystery that threatens disaster on an epic scale.

If you thought the first book was gruesome... it continues.

Catch this one coming to you in April 2025. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and Robert Jackson Bennett for an advanced e-copy of this book.

The Shadow of the Leviathan series has been such a fun ride so far—I love a good whodunit, especially one set in a fantastical world. This second installment definitely delivered on the mystery, even if it took a little longer to really get going.

There’s a time jump after A Tainted Cup, and we jump back in with a missing person and a locked-room situation. Din is exhausted (physically, mentally, emotionally—you name it), but there’s no rest when there’s a case to solve. He and Ana dive right in, and once things start moving, the twists and turns don’t stop. The second half, in particular, had me hooked.

My biggest complaint? I wanted more character development. The mystery was layered and fun, but I would’ve loved to dig deeper into Din and Ana outside of just solving crimes. That was something I felt in book one too—these characters are fascinating, and I just wish we got more of their personal side.

That said, this was still a great mystery in an intriguing world, and I’ll definitely be picking up the next book!

I have had this book for a little bit and was always worried about starting it because - gasp - what if it wasn't as good as The Tainted Cup, a book I've been raving about for a solid year? And reader - it was somehow not only just as good, but even better.

I feel like a lot of people have mentioned aspects - Din and his long suffering attempts to deal with Ana, their relationship in general - and I know that this book was a fantasy mystery but y'all, this book is, at points, hilarious, Ana and Din are absolutely hilarious as she's either being her chaotic self or she's reading him for filth and he's just enduring.

The new characters that were brought in (Malo in particular), I'm hoping we see pop up in later books because she was incredible.

But the expansion of the world building is something I was just so incredibly impressed about. Like we already knew about the messy politics and the monsters that loomed beyond the walls, but I loved learning more about the modifications that were made to humans and how they have been treated. I really loved this villain, being a perfect toe-to-toe match (and sometimes, a step ahead) of Ana. And my goodness, I loved learning a little bit more about Ana, even though all that really made me do is crave book 3 but it's FINE I guess, I'll read other books in the meantime.

I recommended the first book to so many people with the vein of Pacific Rim (Monsters) meets Sherlock Holmes and Watson, but I feel like I'm missing the perfect comp for the immense and lush world building. This series is so wonderful, and I cannot wait for the next one.

Also - given *waves a hand at the general world*, the author's note at the end was really a nice touch. Very appreciated.

Anyway, thank you very much to Del Rey and NetGalley for a chance to read and review!

Thank you NetGalley and the author/publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
TL;DR: I liked this series from the first book, <i>The Tainted Cup</i>, but this book made me go from "like" to "love". The writing, the mystery, Din and Ana, and the world building are all pretty top notch in my opinion.

What a world. What a twist. What endless wonders. I love the Sherlock Holmes stories and I love a good mystery. I also love a unique fantasy world. This has both of these.

The world to start with is absolutely wonderful and monstrous and delightful and vaguely Lovecraftian and I absolutely adore it. What an odd premise but my goodness it's genius in the way it's written. Somehow the author does a miraculous job of giving enough details that we can imagine the world and the grafts and the horrors without bogging us down in too many details. He leaves enough to the imagination that it becomes even more real because we as readers have a hand in creating it. Just brilliant.

This continued from the first book, and while I don't think it should be read as a standalone because of the world building and character development, you don't really need to remember much about the first mystery to dive into this. I was nervous because I'd forgotten quite a bit of Ana and Din's first adventure, but I didn't find myself lacking in detail. This is a stand alone mystery and it is so well plotted! First, Din as a character and narrator is fantastic, and Ana with her wit and humor is absolutely the perfect foil for Din's seriousness. Oddly, I also shed a tear or two in this book - specifically at one scene near the end that got me from one single line of dialogue - and that shows the sheer skill of the character building. The mystery was intriguing - I called a few of the twists but missed most of the major ones, even though they were incredibly well developed - although I think honestly, at least for me, the mystery is the bonus prize in comparison to the world.

I also think the themes were so timely and brilliant. The colonial and imperial directives and the various viewpoints and the gray areas on who is good vs bad will leave me thinking about this and specifically, about some of the themes that sprout up in the second half of this book, for quite some time. This is one of those books I want others to read sheerly to talk about the book with them (if you stumble upon this review after you read the book let's talk?!). This is a great fit for fantasy lovers or mystery lovers, for those who enjoy plot driven or character driven stories, and for those looking for a unique world entirely. If you're squeamish, though, or if you can't quite bring yourself to dive into a world so wholly different from your own, this might not be the choice for you.

I really love this series. Ana and Din are the dynamic duo that I crave for in mystery books. Setting the story in a fantasy world is even better.

This sequel to The Tainted Cup goes bigger and more in depth of the world through the eyes of Din Kol (nickname). You will still get the mystery he and his superior, Ana, need to solve and you will still get the righteous humor that Ana is so quick to speak. What you will also get is more growth from the characters and more backstory.

This was truly a great read and I had so much fun with the story. I can't wait to see what happens next.

A Drop of Corruption is the thrilling second book in the series. The brilliant and bizarre Iudex investigator, Ana, and her assistant Din are back in a new territory of the Empire. The fantasy world building is original. The mystery is twisty and layered. The author's note at the end is A+. Loved it!

A high fantasy / mystery - was excited to read this after loving Tainted Cup. A new mystery to solve when a Treasury officer disappeared, leaving no clues as to where it went. The disappearance quickly turns into a murder mystery case. Loved the relationship continuing between Din and Ana. Ana meets her match with this case, and a new enemy that brings high risk to both of their safety.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Actual Rating: 4.25 stars]

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC! I was ecstatic to receive this, as I loved The Tainted Cup! Now onto the review...

Put simply, I loved reading this. This was just as engaging to read as the first one was, and the tone for it was just as consistent. It brought us new characters who were entertaining, and kept developing our MCs, Din and Ana. Ana is still the best part of these books and she definitely didn't disappoint this time around! The book never feels boring when Ana is on page; she really is a one of a kind character. I also love the extra focus on Din's sexuality, even if I thought that some parts were a bit too much. But the fact that he is openly bisexual makes him all the more special to me. His friendship with Malo is also equally sweet as well.

And that ending confrontation? That was amazing, I will admit. Its really the highlight of the whole book.

As much as I did enjoy this book, I still think there were some nitpicks with it. I don't think the mystery was as clicked in enough like the first book, and I think there are parts where the narrative lingers too long. As much as I appreciate a lot of the detail in this book, I don't think much would've changed if it were cut out either. There's also a weird thing going on where the book wants to be against monarchy, but doesn't bat much of an eye towards the Empire and if it does, its often in naive thinking. I don't necessarily think this is intentional, but I think its hard to be against a monarchal social structure while also somewhat sheltering an imperial colonizing Empire. This didn't effect my enjoyment much, but it was something to point out.

Overall, I had a great time with this book! I can't wait for more from Robert Jackson Bennett!