The Tainted Cup was my favorite read of 2024. A mix of fantasy and mystery, with a pair of unconventional investigators.
Its sequel, A Drop of Corruption, reveals secrets of this Empire and presents us with new perspectives on this world created by Robert Jackson Bennett.
Ana and Din go to Yarrow, lands beyond the Empire, to investigate the death of a Treasury officer. The dynamic between the investigators of care, bickering and trust is strengthened in this new endeavor.
Personal secrets revealed, more political conflicts and a great sense of humor, leave us wanting more.
Looking forward to the next adventure.

4,5 stars

"A Drop of Corruption" is an amazing continuation of the series and I already look forward to reading the next installment.

Din is a great narrator, the story moved at a great pace, and I really liked the world building. I also enjoyed trying to solve the mystery alongside the characters, and I think that the author does a great job at leaving enough crumbs for the reader to piece the plot together while still having the final reveal come as a surprise.

Not only did I devour this book, but it CONSUMED me in return!!! It was an assault on the senses; a masterclass in earth-shattering reveals, whiplash-inducing twists and turns, successive climaxes, and pinpoint-placed humor. It had me sitting up in bed next to my snoozing spouse at 2am, hyperventilating with my Kindle in hand because I could NOT go to sleep without knowing what happened next.

Ana and Din are called in to solve another impossible murder, this time in some backwater stuck-in-the-Dark-Ages town at the border of the Empire called Yarrow, where the very toxic and dangerous leviathan blood refinery called The Shroud is also located. As their investigation goes on, they find that the societal blight they've discovered is much deeper and far-reaching than they realize, and at the center of it all is a genius villain that can predict their every move.

This has everything I loved from Book 1 and more - sweet, bisexual Signum Dinios Kol in his Ho Era, and also in debilitating debt; Ana making even more amazing deductions and engaging in even more unhinged shenanigans, and INSIGHT into her backstory; more insane alterations and grafts and leviathan stuff and the BODY HORROR that comes with it; and meditations on autocracy, democracy, and civil service. As always, absolutely blown away by the worldbuilding and how intentional the writing is - I was highlighting almost every other line knowing that even the smallest, most insignificant detail would make an important comeback later.

I loved this so much. Gonna cry about it now. Bye.

This book was fantastic and even better than the first. The characters and their relationships feel so in depth and beautifully written. The mystery of this book led me on so many more twist and turns than the first in the series. The clues were sprinkled in perfectly throughout leaving me ample ways to form my own theories about who did it. The ending also left me reeling and now I am afraid I will be dying as I wait for the next book in the series. Easily a five star read and becoming one of my most favorite series to read.

In A Drop of Corruption, the stakes of Din and Ana’s investigation are higher than ever—failing could mean exposing the entire empire to a deadly contagion that would ultimately destroy it. And political hostility awaits them at every twist and turn of their investigation.

I wished that this sequel had included a little inkling of obvious romance like the first one did to break up all the bleakness a little more, but the romantic yearning was definitely still there and I think it will definitely be returning in the next book. Din continues to be one of my favorite protagonists ever—cunning yet vulnerable, extremely talented yet plagued with self-doubt. Problematic at times, but I still adore him.

An unusual duo is back - the eccentric, cheeky Ana with a razor-sharp tongue and mind, and the somewhat stiff , “Beg pardon” Dinios Kol.

This mixture is perhaps not explosive, but certainly jolting. Especially if you spice up these two personalities with the setting of the original world and the existence of huge sea monsters.

I love Ane Dolabre. I love with an ardent love. She is the cool aunt from the extended family who is always smoking suspicious cigarettes over a glass of brandy and talking about the times of her crazy youth. She's that aunt who gives no shit about everything and says what she thinks because she's already too old and tired to care. She's that hippie aunt who talks about acid trips and offers you candy, which your mother requisitions.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Empire takes this saying very literally. We are left with an approximation of the process of extracting valuable substances, reagents from the bodies of Leviathans. After all, it is their carcasses that are the source of the transformations that some citizens' bodies and minds undergo. Another layer of the novel is Din's inner dilemmas, heart, financial and belonging. Din is searching for his place in life and the Empire, and is not entirely convinced that this place is with Ana.

The author, by his own admission in the afterword, is trying to add his voice to the discussion of power as such and its types in particular. We go beyond the Empire and confront its values learned in the first volume with the neighboring country. Yarrow is everything we love most about the Middle Ages. Or maybe we just hate it? You'll have to see for yourself.

I am extremely pleased with how the author leads the crime mystery. The beginning is again innocent, inconspicuous, just another corpse. Around the middle of the book, the only thing the reader knows is that he knows absolutely nothing. What follows is a confounding rash of new clues and threads to be investigated. The mystery grows once again into political machinations on a national scale. And although by the very end we are already able to guess the solution somewhat, the whole process of finding out the truth is extremely satisfying and exciting.

While, The Tainted Cup focused more on Din and the presentation of his person and skills, A Drop of Corruption brings us a little closer to the character of Ana. Only slightly, because she is an insanely complex and mysterious personality, I get the impression that she will surprise us more than once. However, in order to satisfy the curiosity of readers, the author smuggles in small clues and allows us, together with Din, to guess the probable solution to the mystery.

I am delighted with this series, in the face of the prevailing marasm on the fantasy market is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air. Great, intriguing characters, an original, perfectly constructed world and an engaging plot. The puzzles are brilliant and the politics of the Empire fascinating. The author's imagination deserves the greatest praise, as he introduces unusual plot solutions and ever more interesting personalities. I look forward to reading more.

Continued to love the world and the character of Din, and got better insight into other characters this time around. Didn't feel the way the story wrapped up was handled as well as it was in The Tainted Cup, as the pieces just resolved themselves moreso than the Din and Ana actually solving the case.

Bennett's fans will be pleased. His dry humor carries through from his other works, as does his strong voice. While this is the second book of the series, it stands alone.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC.

I can imagine in many years the mysteries and travels of Ana and Din to be a household name. I read The Tainted Cup and could not wait for the second instalment. I want as many adventures and mysteries as possible please, as the characters are charming, the world building is excellent and the twist and turns are extremely engaging.


I loved a Drop of Corruption, it feels new and fresh- a different way to read fantasy. The Tainted Cup had a lot of exploration on who Din is, while the Drop of Corruption relied more on solving the mystery and trusted the reader to follow along.

This book is sooo great!

Al igual que con el libro anterior, disfruté mucho de la lectura.

Misterio + asesinatos + secretos + complot + fantasía + magia = ¡me lo llevo!

Ese final no lo vi venir. Desde el libro anterior me preguntaba por qué Ana no tenía pvs, pero aquí se explica… bueno, no se explica completamente, pero se revelan algunas cosas que dan contexto del porqué y te dejan intrigada de que pasará en el siguiente libro.




Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

dinios kol bisexual disaster returns!

i will admit that this book felt kind of repetitive to book one in terms of there's a mystery to solve, din is asking the questions, and ana works her wonderful mysterious magic to piece the puzzle together

but i still thoroughly enjoyed this one. i loved the new side characters and the new setting and just generally getting to explore more of this world - it was a blast. the way that fantasy and mystery/thriller mix together in this series is just fantastic and i need more asap

thank you netgalley + del rey for the arc!

Excellent plotting and world-building as always. I really enjoyed the locked room mystery, as well as the final reveals. The plot felt like a mix between a classic Holmes novel and True Detective S1, set in a world reminiscent of medieval India's first contacts with the British Empire. The world was imaginative and compelling, especially the megastructure involved and the "biological" aspects of magic. As a final note, this can also be picked up by someone who hasn't read the Tainted Cup, as the connections to the previous book are present but not critical. Overall, highly recommend it to any SFF reader who also enjoys mystery novels.

Robert Jackson Bennett hits it out of the park again with this sequel! I absolutely have adored reading this series so far and I cannot wait to read more of these characters. I was really excited to read more about Ana's backstory and see more about Din and seeing how their camaraderie develops. The mystery they solve was just was fun and interesting as the first book. Loved seeing Ana's process and the banter between Ana and Din is always so much fun to witness. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in this series if there is one and I desperately hope there is.

Reading this book felt like a gift. The world building is so unique and yet also so grounded in the weakness of humanity. I love the dynamic of Din and Ana, and how the author treats his reader; like we're unraveling the puzzle together, in real time and if you pay attention, and don't just glance over the words but really read you're rewarded. Reading this at the opening of 2025 is a somber event, esp in light of the authors note and I keep thinking in my head, this is known.

My rating is between 3-4 stars.

This installment didn't quite hit the same as book one did but it was a good read nonetheless. I was very happy to be back into this plant-ruled world. This one was quite fast paced at times, and other times it almost felt like it slogged but only briefly. The murders were grotesque. The world was unforgiving. The mysteries were scintillating. The cast, both old and new, unique. I do wish we could've had more character growth of Din. As our main pov, we of course were able to be in his head the whole time but I felt little growth to him. I didn't enjoy all the sex scenes or sexual innuendos in this one. I felt it detracted from the overall story/mystery - got in the way. Perhaps it just had more "screen time" than necessary, at least in comparison to book one's incredible execution. I enjoyed getting a bit more answers to this overall world and Empire but am also left with so many more questions. And I definitely would like more Leviathans in the next installment.

Loved Ana's ending line!

For those that enjoyed book one, The Tainted Cup, you’ll definitely want to pick this up come April.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the digital arc for my honest review. After that ending, I cannot wait to see what this duo gets up to next time!

A big Thank you to Netgalley and DelRey for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"A Drop of Corruption" is the second book in the series "Shadow of the Leviathan" by Robert Jackson Bennett. I devoured and adored Book 1 for its excellent plot and intrigue with loveable quirky characteres and this sequel does not disappoint.

We encounter again our beloved duo of investigators Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol. Throughout the book their peculiar relationship as supervisor - employee is getting explored again, and is embellished and deepened by adding details of their past and present. Most notable Dins debts which are influencing his career intentions and Anas alterations. Their development throughout this book was organic and top notch and I very much enjoyed reading about them evolving throughout this story, All this without taking away substance or plottime from the main mystery. The banter around Dins, ahem, night time activities were very entertaining and not overbearing.

We meet Din and Ana in the Kingdom of Yarros; an area of the Empire that is both Empire and Non-Empire with high tensions in the air, both politically and metaphorically. The people of Yarrow have peculiar grafts and skills which does include lots os air sniffing (professionally), a monarchy and a strained diplomatic relationship to the Empire because of a 100 year old contract. The jungle atmosphere and the added mystery of the shroud and its particulars drove the point home very well.

The writing was captivating from the first chapter and I never had a bored moment. Dialogue was witty or solemn or rushed depending on the situation the characters were in - it felt excellently crafted. The description of the Shroud as a "living" thing was rather creepy but drove the point home exceedingly well. Knowing what they do to titans there, after we met them in Book 1, was a great addition to the overarching plot (that there is but which I cannot pinpoint). The tapping method for communication between the Augurs was such a great idea - like sign language just more abstract.

We start with right away with another mystery where Ana and Din are called to investigate. The mystery unfolds in a good pace - and in hindsight with lots on breadcrumbs to follow and to maybe pick up some foreshadowing. When the conclusion arrived I had a few GOTCHA moments, when I remembered a side mention in early chapters. It felt like nothing RJB writes is without intent. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat for 90% of thereading. I assume some of the new plot points that were introduced, will play a role in Book 3; the debt collecting agency, the fallout from the Shroud research... those are some too big things to just let slide.

The political and societal aspects of the Kingdom of Yarros seemed to be superficial at first, but as the book progresses more and more layers were added to the internal conflicts of the realm. I'm not quite satisfied with how the end played out, it felt rather unsatisfactory, but I suppose this it rather realistc and real-life-esque. Changes in government dont go smoothly or easily resolved, especially not in a kingdom that still observed slavery and had a ridig system for classifying their populace. I do wonder how strongly these happenings will affect the entire empire and how this will factor in the plot and conclusion of the trilogy.

I've had an absolutely excellent time with this book and on the possibility of repeating myself, I will recommend this series to nearly everyone! I was very positively surprised that this was such a strong book 2 - it definitely did not suffer from middle books syndrome!
5/5 stars - easily the best book i've read in 2024!

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett was one of my favourite books of 2024 so I was super excited to be approved for the ARC of the next book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series - A Drop of Corruption.

While I did have some issues with it, I’m rating it 4.5, rounded up to ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I think the book could be a little shorter with bits that felt VERY long and I did have some issues with the swearing in the beginning of the book. To be clear, swear away, I’m not bothered in most cases but it felt so out of place sometimes it took me out of the plot.

I love this world and I will always be happy to come back to it. In this book we learn more about the Shroud which was mentioned in book 1 - here a few selected bright mind harness the magic from blood of dead titans. A treasury officer has been murder under strange circumstances bringing Din and Ana in to investigate how was the officer murdered and why. It appears that the murderer has links to the Shroud which poses a terrible risk to the entire empire.

I highly recommend this series to Fantasy fans, I really like the combination of crime investigation with Sherlock Holmes motives set in a fantasy word.

The book is coming out on April 1st 2025.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a free copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

This book was an absolute ride from start to finish. Set in a world where secrets can kill and the line between right and wrong blurs with every turn, A Drop of Corruption had me hooked from page one.

Ana and Din, the unlikely duo at the heart of this mystery, stole the show. Ana is sharp, unrelenting, and haunted by her past, while Din is the kind of partner you’d want watching your back—equal parts loyal and unpredictable. Their dynamic crackles with tension and humor, making every interaction feel like a high-stakes chess match.

The mystery itself? Intricately layered and brilliantly paced. As Ana and Din chase down clues in the sprawling, gritty city, the stakes kept rising. The corruption runs deep here, and every revelation felt like peeling back another layer of a rotting onion—equal parts satisfying and horrifying.

What I loved most was the world-building. Bennett’s descriptions are rich and immersive, painting a vivid picture of a city teetering on the edge of chaos. It’s dark, atmospheric, and alive with danger. You can practically feel the weight of the corruption that Ana and Din are up against.

If you’re a fan of gritty mysteries with morally gray characters, intricate plots, and a touch of noir, this book is for you. It’s smart, thrilling, and packed with twists I didn’t see coming. I’m already counting down the days until the next Ana and Din mystery drops!

Thanks to Random House Works & NetGalley for this advanced reading copy. I loved the first title in this series and was SO excited when a sequel was announced. This sequel did not disappoint. The mystery/whodunnit was great the whole way through & loved the twists throughout. I loved the character development of the main character and am so looking forward to the following sequels!!

A Drop of Corruption is a solid follow up that jumps right into the action. This the perfect novel for those craving a fantasy Sherlock Holmes. While I took issue at times with the characterization of some of the indigenous tribes, I also recognize it was part of the commentary of imperialism.

There is nods to heavier themes, that never get in the way of the action. I missed some of the character work of the first novel, but this was a fun time that left me excited for what’s next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.