4.5/5

Wowowow. No one does world building quite like Robert Jackson Bennett.

It was exciting being back in the world of Ana and Din yet again solving quite a banger. We find ourselves in Yarrowdale, yet another richly layered world, with so many complexities, political machinations, and rich environment.

I think what I find impressive is the way that RJB manages to write these complex mysteries while also immersing us in this world. Both aspects of the book are equally important and given their due. We also get a deep dive on humanity while exploring Din and Ana’s relationship, the relationship of the people with their government and each other.

I don’t know how many books this series is going to be but it does feel as though we could get countless stories within this universe without getting bored. I look forward to reading #3.

The author is also slowly weaving in a huge overlying story whose pay off is going to be huge once it comes to light. In a world of quick media and attention deficit due to constant scrolling, it is nice to not be given all of the answers quickly.

This is the kind of book where you have to give it your full attention lest you miss something of importance. It’s not a quick palate cleansing read but rather something to sink your teeth into. There are a couple times in the story when I felt as though we were moving a little slowly and my attention was waning, but then we’d turn a corner and pick up speed and id be fully immersed again.

Thank you to net galley and Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for offering me a free copy of the e-book. My opinions are my own.

Utterly gripping and exciting, a real page turner. Love the protagonists. Din is so precious, Ana is wonderful and horrible, love reading about their investigations. The Empire grows more fascinating with every bit of information we gain. Here we have everything - a locked room mystery, forged identities, leviathan marrow, a lot of dead people - and even more mould than there are dead people.

I can't wait to read the next installment, and I do hope it's a longer series, not a trilogy.

I want to be Ana when I grow up. This is easily the most fun I’ve had reading a mystery in so long. The characters are masterfully developed, and their relationships are to die for. There were so many twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat, but they never toppled into “nonsense”/out of control spiral, which many thrillers and mysteries can fall victim too. I also love that all of the keys to solving the mystery were hidden and available for the reader to solve beforehand. I could read hundreds of stories with Ana and Din and never grow bored.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC!

4.5 stars
Ana and Din are called to investigate a case in Yarrow, an independent kingdom political connections with the Empire. Yarrow and Empire have a give and take relationship, while Yarrow has its own king, culture and ancestry. An imperial tax collector is found dead in the canals, half eaten. Now it is up to Ana & Din to find out who is the killer.
Plot twists and turns with many interesting Yarrowdale characters, posing new puzzles and mysteries again and again. A gripping high fantasy mystery novel with clever detectives to keep company. A must read for all mystery-fantasy lovers.

I thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Happy Reading!!

God damn it I'm so mad at this book for being so good. The only way it could possibly be better is if there were more of it.

An absolute masterclass is fantastic mystery - the author weaves all the intricate and complex threads and by the end of the story brings them all together in such a clever way.

I love Din as a main character, he’s just a disaster and trying his best!

Cannot wait for the next one!

God, I love this series so far. In my humble opinion, Ana can do no wrong. I do still think I liked the first installment *slightly* more!

I loved the first in the series, The Tainted Cup, but I may have loved this one even more.

It is a fantasy futuristic thriller with the most intriguing main characters that I have grown to love and adore. Dinias Kol and Ana Dolabra are back again to solve another crime that seems unsolvable. It starts with a locked room mystery but then leads us into a political nightmare between the Empire and a local Kingdom.

Once again we are exposed to the world of the Leviathan ( a great monster of the sea the wreaks havoc on the people of this world). But now we get to see how they use the bodies of these dead monsters for scientific experiments. As the investigation continues, the author takes us into darker aspects of the world, as well as a look into a crumbling Empire, political machinations, greed, slavery, and more.

I love Din’s unwavering loyalty and bravery. He is an incredible character with faults of his own yet he is vulnerable and humorous, especially in his dealings with his eccentric boss. Ana has way more page time, venturing out of her room more than she ever did in Tainted. She is fascinating. I also loved the addition of a new character Malo, who has amazing bloodhound-like abilities!

This ending is so good and it made me want to reread just to see how all the authors clues were dropped and sprinkled to come to an incredible finale. I loved it. I sort of figured out the who at about 75% in but not the how. It was amazing! For me, it was a page turner. I can’t wait for the next installment!!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for this advanced copy!

As a big fan of The Tainted Cup I was excited to read this second installment of the series. The setting is so original and inventive and I adore the main characters and their relationship with each other.

This book is a true sequel, if you have not read the first book you will want to before you start this one. The base world building from the first book is pretty important to understanding this second book.

The characters Ana and Din are back in full force, with all the banter that I loved in the first book. This time they are investigating the disappearance and murder of an Empire employee in the land of Yarrow. They get help from a local spitfire warden named Malo. Of course the case takes crazy twists and turns throughout the investigation.

Overall this installment didn’t live up to the first, but it was still an enjoyable read. The character Malo is an amazing addition to the cast. The majority story and the conclusion were satisfying but it felt like a bit of a slog in the middle.

Also a more personal thing, for some reason in this book the incredible overuse of the exclamation marks drove me bonkers! I don’t recall this in the other books I’ve read by RJB so maybe it is just my mood. But so! Many! Exclamations!

I have read other series by Robert Jackson Bennett Foundryside ,it was my favourite series so I picked this up.

This is second book in the series but it can be read as a standalone. Ana is like Sherlock Holmes, she finds clues from deduction and it was pleasure reading about her. But somehow I just couldn't feel attached to any character no matter how hard I tried. I didn't care for the mystery or overall story.

I still feel that I'm going to read the first book coz I feel maybe this book wasn't upto my liking but first book might be.

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

Star rating : 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the Del Ray for an ARC of this book!

This was a 3.5 star read for me. The Tainted Cup was a 5 star read and I loved the mystery, character element, and world building. With the world “already built”, I was hoping for more character focus and a more engaging mystery. I found this book almost too plot heavy, which given the less engaging mystery, failed to capture me. I love the characters of Ana and Din, and hope that in book 3, we get to spend more time with them given the information Din learns at the end of book 2.

I loved this second instalment as much as the first one. We follow a different mystery plot in this one. It kept me on my toes and unlike the first one, I could not figure out who was who!
The world building was explored more, especially with the Shround and the researches. I’m hoping to get more of the Leviathans in the next instalment. Extremely enjoyed getting back with Din and Ana, Ana was as chaotic as the first one and Din is slowly starting to open up more. I can’t wait for more adventures to come! Also really loved Malo and I can’t wait to see her again soon. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's murder mystery but also fantasy. With quirky characters, great worldbuilding and a very unique voice.
Theoretically, this book should be made for me. In practice, I failed to connect to the characters, which makes me really sad.

However, this book is really great. It's in a world that was well-established in The Tainted Cup, and thus can kick both characters and plot to the next level.

It took me a long while to get hooked by both though, but the last fourth of the book showed me how amazing it really is.

So a safe recommendation if you love all of the above.
I myself might make a new approach with the next book, because I really want to love this.

4/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for the eARC!

#DropOfCorruption #Netgalley #Bookstagram

A very exciting sequel to The Tainted Cup. Following Ana and Din on another adventure, this time to a city on the edge of the empire due to the strange disappearance of a man plucked cleanly into the abyss. This entry was an exciting continuation of the first, while still being its own new story. I thoroughly enjoyed finding out more about our main characters, specifically Ana and her alterations. I found the mystery more compelling than the first book, and was on the edge of my seat at each turn of the page and every revelation. The storyline was easy to follow while not cradling the reader, and the new cast of interesting characters really pulled the whole story together.

Robert Jackson Bennett (RJB) was introduced to me last year by his pub team and NetGalley. I have eagerly been awaiting his latest installment in the Shadow of the Leviathan series, and it did not disappoint. A Drop of Corruption is another exemplary mysterious fantasy novel.

Dinios (Din) Kol and his master, Ana Dolabra, have been sent to another far-reaching corner of the realm to investigate the remains of a treasury staff member that have been discovered. Upon discovering that he didn’t merely lose his way and meet with an accident, but instead vanished from a locked room on the top floor, they realize that their case may be more complex than they thought.
As their investigation goes deeper, the trail leads to a secure compound called the Shroud, where dangerous magical research takes place on the massive leviathans that come from the sea. It looks like the culprit is bent on the Shroud’s destruction, which would turn it into a massive bioweapon that could mean the end of the empire. Although Ana and Din are a formidable team, as evident in The Tainted Cup, the killer always seems to be five steps ahead. If they fail, their world may never be the same again.

As I said at the top, I’ve been anticipating this second book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series. RJB seems to like writing trilogies, but if he wants to try his hand at making this into a full-blown series, he’s got my full support. I like his characters, his world-building, and his complex plots.
I guess I’ll lump the world-building and plot opinions together because I can’t fathom how RJB crafts a robustly complex plot in an entirely made up and complicated magical world. I couldn’t even create a complex plot that lies within our normal world. There were twists and turns in both the way the magical world of the Empire functions and the mystery plot. I’m still reeling a little bit from the final revelation of the mystery, and I’m just in awe that RJB could conceptualize it.
I’ll make one more note on the world of the Empire: I can’t picture things in my head for anything. I generally interpret things as literally as possible, so when I’m trying to picture an entirely fantastical world, I’m probably not doing it justice. However, I think I do picture the parts that RJB intends his audience to visualize. For example, at one point Din made a very disturbing discovery, and I saw it, thanks to RJB’s vivid writing. Other details of the Empire are still murky, though; I had a lot of trouble picturing the Shroud, but I would attribute that to me having no reference for the vastness of it rather than any lack of descriptors on RJB’s part. All that to say, his world-building is really good.
I knew Din and Ana from The Tainted Cup, so I was more familiar with their characters than if I was reading this as a standalone. *Note: It is much more enjoyable to read The Tainted Cup first!* Din is much more secure in himself in this book, which is great to see. He’s confident, asking the right questions, and is seeking out affection from others. It’s implied that he and Ana have had other cases in between these books, so I’m sure that’s helped his development, too.
Ana is as mysterious as ever, but it’s so fun to read how everyone reacts to her and her antics. She’s so quirky and sometimes disgusting, but she’s a good companion to Din. We do find out a little more about her at the end of the book, but only in theory. There was a main secondary character, a local named Malo, who was instrumental to the case and who kept Din steady. She had a sense of humor and was a good addition to the story.
All in all, I’m so glad that NetGalley and Random House reached out to give me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and have been given voluntarily. I said it above but I’ll say it again: if RJB wants to make this more than 3 books, I won’t stand in his way!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Del Rey for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Tainted Cup was my favourite book of 2024, and since I read it in March I have been talking the ears off of anyone willing to listen about this world and these characters that I love. I was convinced that a sequel would be years in the making, but here we are almost (only) a year after, and I could not be happier. I'm almost starstruck that I have this book in my hands..

A Drop of Corruption is a thesis on power. It is a deftly crafter mirror, held up to show the ugly side of our own modern-day, real-world autocrats. In the background of a gripping and ever-evolving murder investigation, Din and Ana must navigate the pitfalls of absolute power – how it corrupts and hinders, and how it puppeteers the rotting corpses of antiquated practices, thoughts and cultures. It's a fantastic addition of the Shadow of the Leviathan universe, and just a great and thought-provoking read.

I was really craving a good mystery, and this book was all I wanted and then some more.
As in "A Tainted Cup", "A Drop of Corruption" starts with a murder occurring under very mysterious circustances, which becames even more mysterious with each passing chapter as Ana and Din investigate the case.
This time, the story is situated in Yarrow, an independent kingdom but with an heavy influence from the Empire. It was very interesting to focus on a complety different part of this world, and the clash of cultures was done perfectly.
I also really liked the subtle character development of Din, from where we left him in the last book to the beggining of this one. He's still our adorable Din but he seems more mature now, after working with Ana on several cases across the Empire and possibly seeing the worst it was to offer.
Ana is still a genial character!
Plot wise, I don't think there is a single thing I would change. Actually, there isn't a single thing I would change in the whole book.

Woo boy. Two books in and this is shaping up to be one of my favorite series of all time. Last year Robert Jackson Bennett’s A Tainted Cup made its way onto many Top 10 lists, including my own. It was a unique take on a murder mystery set in a fascinating fantasy world. The world he set up in these books is so intriguing, but Bennett keeps the reader at arms length with the mystery he tantalizingly sets up in the foreground.

When the Pandemic started and everything was shut down, my wife and I binge-watched A LOT of British and overseas television shows. A good many of those shows are murder mysteries. Some are set in the modern age, some in a bleak and dreary 1970’s English countryside and others dating back to the Victorian age. But each of those shows had a certain rhythm to them. The good ones are a constantly moving dance between the detectives and the killer, weaving a story that’s too good to look away.

A Drop of Corruption hits all the notes that a good murder mystery features, including the dramatic reveal at the end with the detective gathering all the evidence and potential killers all in one place, only to drop the other shoe as the investigation wraps up.

What really puts A Drop of Corruption over the top and will land it yet again on Top 10 lists in 2025 is the compelling characters he adds on top of the fantasy world and folds them expertly into the mystery.

Our Sherlock in this story is Ana Dolabra and the Watson is our POV character, Dinios Kol, or Din for short. I’ve seen plenty of shows and read plenty of books where the characters are paper-thin and are just avatars for the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle characters. Bennett wisely adds layers upon layers to these two. Din gets a little more attention as the readers’ eyes on his world, but both have intricate details that set them apart from detective duos in countless other tales.

There is just the right amount of body horror, ala Jeff Vandermeer, that keeps us and the character’s guessing and on their toes, folding itself neatly into the mystery but acting as a threat to our lead characters as well.

In just two books, Bennett has built up and created a world that I want to know more about. His track record seems to indicate this will be a trilogy, but I definitely wouldn’t mind at all if we get more from Ana and Din after a third book in this series or even branching out with other side characters we’ve met along the way. I love these books and will be one of the first in line for what Bennett has for us next.

Another excellent Dinios and Ana adventure! This time they go to the edge of the Empire, to a tiny kingdom in the process of being absorbed by the Empire where fallen Titans are processed to acquire the magic in their blood. There, they must solve a locked-room murder mystery among political tensions and high-stakes machinations among those who do - and don't - want their kingdom to be absorbed by the Empire.

As in the first book, the worldbuilding is excellent, the characters are great, and the plot is complicated enough to keep you guessing while fast-paced enough that you won't want to put the book down before the end.

The second book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series is excellent! It was a suspenseful adventure with humor woven in throughout.