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:
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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!

Robert Jackson Bennett is quickly becoming a go-to author for me! This follow-up book to the spectacular The Tainted Cup does not disappoint. The author really knows how to build a world and suspense while keeping things interesting. It's not too much detail a la Hemingway so that you tune out -- everything he details in the story feels new and fresh. The characters are weird but extremely likable -- and smart. I'm usually more of a traditional mystery fan but this series tops the list for me -- keep the books coming!!!

I love this world! I loved the "magic" system in the first book and this one has made me love it that much more. Just the fact that everything feels steeped in science and so organic is just incredible. I know some people don't care for Din's character because he comes off kind of washed out and "stiff", but I think that's the point. To see him slowly become more human seeming because of his interactions with others, but mostly Anna, while Anna herself seems barely human at all, just feels endearing.

The murder mystery plot absolutely had me on the edge of my seat and guessing the whole time. I was suspicious of everyone and I loved it!

And the reveal at the end has me absolutely ravenous for the next book.

I loved jumping back into this world. In book two of this duology, we get more insight into Din and his feelings about his current role and the struggle that he is having with being on end of every tragedy vs. saving people from such tragedies. I did continue to enjoy Ana and her quirkie antics. That being said, I did not enjoy this book as much as I did The Tained Cup. I would still recommend picking this up, but know that it isn't as good as the first.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodderscape for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts are my own.

I am very haphazard in my reading. I don’t pay attention to series, I forget characters almost as soon as I finish a book. So when I picked up A Drop of Corruption to read, I went in with no preconceived ideas.

Then I started reading, and thought wait a minute! I remember these characters. Went back through my book log and sure enough I had read (and loved) the first book in this series, The Tainted Cup.

Everything I loved about The Tainted Cup applies to this book too!

The two main characters - Ana - someone who can put together pieces of a puzzling mystery like no other (very Sherlock Holme-ish) who can become so stimulated that she frequently wears a blind fold. And - Din - her assistant. An engraver, who after sniffing a vile of fragrance, can “engrave” things in his mind. All he has to do, is sniff the same scent again, and it all comes back.

This time they are off to solve a mystery of a man who died in a locked room. Everything locked from the inside. Lots of twists and turns, politics, kings, leviathans. It has it all.

Everything about this book works. The story building, the plot, the characters, the word play, the humor, the mystery.

An excellent follow up to The Tainted Cup.

This book takes place months after the end of The Tainted Cup. In this story, Din & Ana are sent to investigate a disappearance in a distant city at the edge of the empire. Things are a bit tense between the two and the case is a baffling and difficult one to crack. So, Ana and Din certainly have their work cut out for them.

Highly recommended for fans of The Tainted Cup and fans of fantasy mysteries. 5 stars.

An excellent follow up to a great new series. With much of the world building done in the first book Robert Jackson Bennet is free to better explore the characters of this world. On top of that the mystery slowly drip feeds more lore without overwhelming. And what an ending. I cannot wait for the next book.

I was so excited to dive back into Din and Ana’s investigative skills, and I was not disappointed!!

The way Din sees and engraves details is one of my favorite things about these books, and it was also rather nice to learn more about his personal life finally.

Investigators Ana and Dinios are used to unusual crimes, so investigating the disappearance of a Treasury officer from a locked room is a relatively trivial matter. It's only a matter of hours before Ana not only works out how the person disappeared, but also deduces that they have been murdered as well. But as to who did it and why? That's a much trickier mystery to solve. The culprit seems to possess an almost supernatural ability to circumvent security measures and to anticipate Ana's investigation. The only thing Ana knows for sure is that the murderer's ultimate target is the Shroud, a high-security factory where the Empire harvests the leviathan blood that drives so much of it. And if the Shroud falls, the Empire could fall with it.

A DROP OF CORRUPTION is another rousing success from Robert Jackson Bennett, at once both a twisty mystery and harsh critique of colonialism. Returning fans will settle right back in with Ana and Din's familiar cadence: Din does the leg-work, interviewing witnesses and assessing crime scenes, while Ana takes the information and works out how the pieces come together. I was glad to see how Din had grown into his role, understanding that Ana's sometimes odd requests always have a reason, and knowing what kinds of information Ana is looking for.

Even though Ana and Din are working on behalf of the Empire, this is not a book that takes the side of the Empire. Instead, it uses the mystery to examine the messy can of worms that comes from colonizing an already inhabited land. While many of those Din interviews are high level officials, there is attention paid to the common folk who get caught in the middle of the political games between the Empire and the native regional government. The story also acknowledges that there are no clean solutions to the problem, as the Empire pulling out of the colony comes with its own set of headaches and injustices.

This book never feels like a lecture, however, because the message is blended with the absolutely engrossing world-building. A DROP OF CORRUPTION continues to iterate on the weird alchemical enhancements introduced in the first book, introducing us to new weird ways people alter themselves in this world. And in the process of delving deeper into the science of alchemy...well let's say some past things that may have registered as off to some readers may start to make sense.

In short, A DROP OF CORRUPTION further solidifies Robert Jackson Bennett as an autobuy author for me. From his deep, intricate world-building to his real world commentary, every one of his books is a full meal. Even if you're just here for the mystery, you're going to have a great time. But for those who just want to lose themselves in a completely different world? You need to pick his books up.

I didn't think this book could be better than The Tainted Cup. It is better! I'm not big on pure fantasy fiction, except for these wonderful books! I was so excited to read it and I still smile when I think of it. Ana and Din are a great characters and fit together like odd shaped puzzle pieces. It shouldn't work, but if does beautifully. We have another murder mystery that is very well-thought out and difficult to figure out, even for the best of us armchair detectives. I cannot wait for the next book...

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey for providing an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

No sophomore slump here. It was suspenseful and clever. The worldbuilding is unique. I can't wait for the next installment.