I adored the setting and character dynamics between Ana and Dinios in The Tainted Cup, so I went into this sequel with high expectations. And let me tell you, Book 2 in the Shadow of the Leviathan series did not disappoint!

We explore a new part of the world, Yarrowdale, at the edge of the Empire’s reach. At first our Sherlock and Watson-like duo think they are investigating a disappearance but quickly learn it’s a murder. The stakes are higher than ever before because the killer’s target is the Shroud. And if the Shroud falls, so does the power of the Empire which is fueled by the Shroud’s magic.

In The Tainted Cup, we learned about the Shroud, a place where fallen leviathans are dissected, and their blood is harnessed for the magic it contains that powers this world. I loved how in this sequel we get to look inside the secretive Shroud and catch a tiny glimpse of its mysteries!

I love how Bennett is able to balance the fantasy and mystery elements of this series as well as crafting complex characters. All three story elements remain strong and intriguing. And the politics of this story were so fascinating! We learn more about the Empire, how it functions and what holds it together.

And what we learn about Ana at the end? I’m so ready for book 3!

If you love a fantasy mystery with incredible worldbuilding, you need to pick up this series.


*Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the digital arc.

Dinios Kol is back to solve another murder mystery alongside his hilarious boss/ward Ana Dolabra. Now miles away from the battlefront against the leviathans (and his almost-lover Kepheus Strovi), Din finds himself wondering what his purpose is following this brilliantly inane woman around the empire while the real heroes fight for their lives at the wall. But for the time being, he's trudging through yet another special case with a wily, evil mastermind set on jeopardizing the tense relationship between the empire and the native population of Yarrow.

Book two has much of the same things to love about book one--Ana is a delight, as always. Her wit and humor were my favorite parts again in this sequel. Malo, a new character, is equally hilarious, but with a slightly less pretentious air about her. The reader learns more about the reagents the empire uses to alter government employees and those with enough money to take advantage, and we even learn a bit more about Ana's background by the end, which was interesting.

While I did enjoy my experience overall, I felt this one moved a bit slower. While I learned more about the empire, I was hoping for more development of a major conflict that could unite the two books and suggest what was to come in the next. This felt almost as if it could standalone, as could book one. While I like that RJB uses biological agents as weapons in both, I felt like the mystery as a whole was more predictable. The reveal didn't feel as satisfying this time around, but I still loved all the connections Ana makes for the readers by the end.

I'll keep reading book three solely because of the characters in this one. I wasn't as partial to Din here, but we'll give him a pass for some general young-adult ennui, soul searching, and first "lost love". In book three, I have a feeling our boy Din will be a much more interesting character!

How do you even review something that feels like it was made for you?

I have been absolutely obsessed with The Tainted Cup since I read it, it has everything i love -- from murder mystery to the intricate magic system and interesting characters, everything about book 1 was just perfection to me. The wait for book 2 was painful, each day without A Drop of Corruption was a day without happiness (might be slightly exaggerated). And yet... book 2 took everything The Tainted Cup had to offer and decided to make it even better.

Both Ana and Din are even better than they were in book 1, with a bit more character development as Din tries to navigate his role and his life and the bond between the two grows stronger than before. Malo was also a nice surprise, and she works so well with the 2 of them so I really hope we get to see her regularly in book 3 as well.
The best thing about A Drop of Corruption however, was the setting. The world just felt so alive, so wild and even eerie. The way the magic system worked with the environment was magnificent, I admit I rarely get super into the settings in books, but here my imagination was running wild.

It feels like I am incapable of being at all objective about this series and thus I say it has no flaws. GO READ IT.

Thank you to Hodderscape and NetGalley for a copy of an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE PLOT...
The Highly anticipated sequel to The Tainted Cup (spoiler free review) is finally here! This is one I was counting down the days for release and after devouring it in two sittings I can say it was worth the wait! Our favorite foul mouthed genius Detective Ana Dolabra and her assistant Dinios Kol are back in full investigative mode as they travel beyond the Empire’s reach to Yarrowdale. This time an officer of the treasury has been murdered in the most unusual way, an abduction from his quarters while the doors and windows were locked. Every exit fully guarded and every departure/arrival is noted. He however has simply vanished leaving behind a bloody room with very little clues to what may have transpired. Strange cases call for the eccentric Ana and her partner Din but this case is different in ways that leave even Ana worried. Their killer seems to think like Ana and predicts her every move. A lot is at stake in this game of cat and mouse when they realize “The Shroud” is the target. Vastly protected and operated from within by augmented officers of the Empire, The Shroud is a mass that allows the Empire to study and dissect fallen Leviathans in order to harness their magical liabilities. Those that work within the Shroud have basically sacrificed their lives with no guarantee that they’ll be able to walk away. The Shroud is taxing on their minds and bodies, some have come to think that it would be best if it didn’t exist.

THOUGHTS...
This one is going to be for the readers who enjoy a slowly unraveled mystery, it packs a ton of plot twists and turns that will keep you guessing at whether Ana could even solve this case. This time the killer is just as genius and presents her with a real challenge while also making it difficult to keep certain aspects of her identity and augmentations a secret any longer from her assistant Din. We see her physically ill while also insatiably hungry for the strangest foods that would poison the common man. We get some answers to the mystery that is Ana while also still seeing her serve raw and unfiltered commentary at the expense of Din and those he chooses to bed. They are the true definition of an odd pairing and it makes for such a good time! As always the sci-fi elements are in the background mostly seen in the setting of the story. At it’s core this is mostly a mystery with scifi/fantasy elements, the trifecta is easily one I can get wrapped up in and will definitely be revisiting when book 3 in Shadow Of The Leviathan series is released.

My mind has been firmly in the territory of thinking about the Hugos lately. Between working on my SECRET PROJECT ahead of Ed going to Seattle Worldcon in August and our Road to the Hugos articles, I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes something a “Hugo Awards” book and what doesn’t. I’ve also been thinking about what it means that some authors/series are perennially nominated for the award while others aren’t. I’m well aware that these are musings that puzzle people who have a far better understanding of the science fiction and fantasy publishing business than I and I have no real expectation that I’ll figure it out. However, I think (or at least I hope) that I have recognized a series for being one of those that each of its end up being nominated and that’s Robert Jackson Bennett’s Ana and Din/Shadow of the Leviathan mystery series. And this is me wagering way ahead of time that I think that A Drop of Corruption will be nominated for a Hugo next year.

A Drop of Corruption is probably my favorite release so far this year and that’s no small feat. This year has the final book in Gareth Hanrahan’s Lands of the Firstborn trilogy (The Sword Triumphant) and a new John Connolly book (The Children of Eve) and this book somehow is still in first place so far this year.1 I think the most remarkable thing about this book is that it somehow both tops its predecessor while also making me want to immediately reread that predecessor as well. I finished A Drop of Corruption and then immediately reread The Tainted Cup and did another read through of this one. I can’t remember the last time that a book made me want to do that.2

The general premise of A Drop of Corruption is that Din and Ana are called to Yarrowdale to figure out the mysterious murder of a Treasury officer whose body was found in a river and the murder scene was in his locked room in a tower that was under heavy guard. We are immediately faced with a bunch of questions such as: how did the killer get in and out of the room, how did the body get out, why was the man murdered, etc.?

In my Road to the Hugos review of The Tainted Cup, I talk about how Robert Jackson Bennett threaded the tricky line of creating both an excellent detective novel and an excellent fantasy novel. If you haven’t read that article, you can read it here. I think this book might be even better in terms of how it merged those two genres. The locked room mystery is a staple of detective fiction and it makes perfect sense that would be a territory that Bennett would want to tackle. However, it’s also one of the most easily critiqueable subsets of the mystery genre and one that many authors wait five or ten installments to tackle. I think Bennett made the right decision though and this is a stellar example of that trope and the twists and turns that lead to the solution don’t ever miss their mark.

I also think that this is a stellar fantasy novel and it’s for reasons that the author lays out in his author’s note. I don’t want to spoil what Bennett is trying to say with this book but A Drop of Corruption does interesting things with some significant epic fantasy tropes and both attempts to deconstruct and reconstruct those tropes in interesting ways. This book also adds a really interesting horror vibe to the series that I expect will be used to great effect in future installments of this series. He’s not afraid to show us some of the most monstrous implications of the world he’s crafting and through those moments the stakes are raised even higher.

In my prior review, I also talked a little about how both Ana and Din are wonderfully written and Bennett continues that here. Din and Ana are the best fantasy versions of Archie/Nero Wolfe imaginable and it’s a joy to spend time with them again. This book adds interesting layers to both characters. We get a better understanding what’s led Din to this moment and why he’s found himself working under Ana. Ana, on the other hand, continues to be a mystery wrapped in an enigma and despite the answers we are given in this installment we also get a lot more mysteries. The biggest joy is that we also see the deepening of their relationship. Despite Ana’s, let’s say aloofness, we get to see in this book that she really does appreciate Din and wants what’s best for him. This is made evident by the events of the book’s climax and I forward to see the ways in which their relationship deepens further in future books.

As important as heroes are in detective fiction the villains are equally, if not even more, important. This book’s antagonist is a fascinating one and is a perfect match for Din and Ana. Ana’s strengths lie in her analytical ability and this villain is almost her match in terms of the sheer preparation they put behind the crimes in this book. This character is certainly not the Moriarty or Zeck to Ana’s Sherlock/Nero Wolfe but if they were, I would be excited to see them return.

As I said, I think this book is a shoe-in for a nomination next year for the Hugo. What I’m more interested in is whether it will get Bennett his second Edgar nomination, one of the top awards in detective fiction. The Tainted Cup got a nomination and I feel that A Drop of Corruption is an even better example of the mystery genre so I think it has a chance. If you’ve never read an RJB book you should definitely start with The Tainted Cup but I think A Drop of Corruption will be the book that will solidify you into a fan of his work. This book is a masterpiece and I highly recommend it for everyone looking for either a good mystery novel or a good fantasy novel.

A very interesting world and set of rules in this book. I thought it was a great continuation of the first book and the author does a great job with world building and character development. Ana & Dinios make such a quirky team.

This was a good follow up to the original mystery novel. I wanted more crossover between the two stories but I appreciated what the author was doing with the new setting in the series. The whole thing was very clever.

Another great Ana & Din mystery! This series perfectly combines mystery, fantasy, and a touch of horror. I read it in the summer, but it is the perfect fall book.

Back in April, I read the first in this series, The Tainted Cup, and loved it, so I was really excited to dive right into book 2, which just came out as I finished that. And Robert Jackson Bennett did not disappoint. I was just as enthralled with this one as I was with the first. Fantastic worldbuilding, really rich characterization, and mystery novel grade mystery writing. Now I can't wait for the 3rd book, but I have to wait a whole year like everyone else!

This book was amazing! I absolutely adore Din and Ana.

I cannot wait for the next one!

This book truly was engaging funny hilarious and Goddin is just such a disaster bisexual and I really love Robert Bennett’s world building. I’m truly so excited to read more of his books and I think if you love mystery comedy Sherlock vibes but steam punk I think this is absolutely perfect for you

I love this fantasy world. Basically if it involves Ana and Din I will be reading it. It's so dark and bleak with a constant sense of dread and I mean that in the best way. Overall I find the mysteries to be great ones and the characters to be incredibly multi-dimensional. If you enjoy a darker fantasy world I highly recommend this series!

Rarely do I find a fantasy novel with multi-faceted characters. Din and Ana (and all her querks) are likable characters. I liked the mixture of fantasy and mystery together. Can wait to read the 3rd book!

I enjoy Robert Jackson Bennett’s writing quite a lot. I think it has the perfect blend of world building and character development. I think the Tainted Cup did a good job of setting up for this book and I enjoyed, A Drop of Corruption, even more.

A fantastic second instalment to this series. The Tainted Cup introduced this world; A Drop of Corruption delves into it further, giving more information about how it is the way it is, while primarily telling a story of murder, corruption, and royal intrigue. Din remains an excellent protagonist and point of view, with a well-informed view of the world overall that nonetheless needs to find out with the reader so much about it. Ana remains a unique detective-type character despite fitting so well into the “brilliant but odd” archetype we see so often, and I adore reading about her and spending that time with her. The mystery was well-wrought and kept me fascinated through all its twists and turns, and resolves in such a way that has been laid out well from the start, but which I never saw coming.

My one gripe is that I had to rely on another way to access this book - I had to read after release, as this publisher does not allow for the new Kobo downloads, and so, reluctantly, I doubt I’ll be seeking advance copies of Bennett’s future books.

Dinios Kol and Ana Dolabra are back for another chaotic caper in A DROP OF CORRUPTION. According to the author’s note, the story is inspired by the fantasy genre’s obsession with kings and autocrats, particularly in the 2010s. (The political situation here in the US unfortunately, and ironically, proves that some are still enthralled by the idea of one all-powerful ruler taking away choice from the common individual.)

I find stories like these—the ones that interrogate corruption and the dark side of empire—to generally be engaging, and I think Robert Jackson Bennett is one of the most inventive SFF authors at work today. I went in knowing nothing about the plot but, when I started to figure out what direction we were heading in, I was excited.

Overall, I think this is a fascinating, multifaceted mystery that comes together in a satisfying way at the end. The interplay between Din and Ana is once again fun, I loved Malo as a secondary character, and the way Bennett builds on these characters and the world is creative. Secret twins? Magical leviathan blood? Crushing debt? Weird ecological stuff? Medically modified agents of pattern recognition? Yeah, sign me up.

Where I got frustrated, though, was in the middle. The pacing dropped off in a way that made me feel as though it took forever to finish the book, and I didn’t feel that way about THE TAINTED CUP. I wonder if ADOC would’ve benefitted from its predecessor’s page count. Additionally, I understand that, given the suspicion that Ana is actually a remade Khanum, her revelations don’t always make sense to Din. She’s brilliant and observant in ways that Din, and by extension the reader, is not. But I tired of the plot trick after the first several occurrences, where Ana would put the pieces together off-page and surprise! She suddenly has it all figured out in a way that left me scrambling to figure out how she arrived at whatever particular conclusion. And again, I understand that that’s how Din likely felt, too, but I just wanted the author to rely on that a little less and allow Din—and the reader—to better follow along. Maybe I’m just not as perceptive a mystery reader. I’ll admit I don’t read many mysteries. But this kept me from fully enjoying the story.

That said, there is still a lot to admire here, particularly the message being that kings are not what the legends make them out to be: glorious, infallible, omnipotent. I think we could all use more stories like that. And it goes without saying that I’ll still certainly look out for the next book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC.

Please, I just need everyone and anyone to read this series and get back to me. It is my newest obsession, it feels like Robert Jackson Bennett tailored this book and this fictional world to all my niche interests. The world is kind of a bio-fantasty nightmare, where giant leviathans are both a threat to everyone and the source of power that they cannot live without. While the first book introduces our two main characters and the world they exist in, this one explores the fragile relationship their society has with the natural world. It also gets into the flaws of imperialism and monarchy, as our investigators from the empire are sent to a small kingdom due to be annexed, when one of the Imperial officers is found in pieces in the belly of a wild tortoise-like creature.We get Din's struggles with finding his purpose in his job, and how terribly he handles long-distance relationships. We also get more hints-and more questions- about who Ana Dolabra is, and what the Empire might have done to her. The book tackles its weighty themes while maintaining a fun and twisty mystery. I seriously need someone to talk to about this, people are slowly getting it, but it's not enough!

This series was so much fun and A Drop of Corruption was such a great follow up to The Tainted Cup! I loved the fantasy elements. I loved the mystery elements. 4.5 ⭐️!

Huge thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore | Del Rey for the ARC via NetGalley!

I love this world and Ana and Din. I enjoyed this mystery and I didn't predict where this was going. I am so attached to our main characters and I can't wait to continue this series.

A Drop of Corruption is a wonderful follow-up to the first book, The Tainted Cup. I’ve had the same experience with all of Robert Jackson Bennett’s books that I’ve read so far: I sink right into them and want to gobble them up, and this was no exception. To be very reductive, you might say it’s basically Sherlock Holmes in a fantasy world, but I think you’d be doing it a disservice: it’s imagining a whole fantasy world in which someone manufactured to be like Sherlock Holmes has a place and function. It’s not a retelling, not even close.

The world it’s set in is fascinating, and it expands a bit more in this installment, as we explore a kingdom not yet absorbed into the Empire but on the cusp of being so, and also get a step closer to the leviathans that haunt the edges of both books and threaten Din and Ana’s world. Din’s had a bit longer to settle into the work now, so we also follow his struggle with accepting that this is all he can do, that he and Ana will come in after the fact, and cannot prevent murders, only explain them, maybe avert some of the consequences of them and further tragedies.

In this one, Ana has an opponent a bit more worthy of her, as well. I think the only thing that didn’t quite work for me is that I could also make the leap that Ana does in figuring out the culprit and (to be euphemistic about the solution) what Thelenai needs to do, and I don’t think the reader should be able to when it’s described the way it is here. Ana is something else, and if anything the Sherlock Holmes thing also falls apart here, because she’s capable of not just connecting patterns and making logical inferences like anyone can, she’s capable of connecting the tiniest stray facts, seeing patterns that require her to tiptoe right up to total madness.

But overall I was fixated, really loved it. It’s not perfect, perhaps (nothing is), but it was a wonderful experience that exactly matched what I wanted to read right now.

Thank you @delreybooks and #netgalley for the e-ARC. I also bought the book, and not just a copy but the special edition copy from @aardvarkbookclub.

This is the second in a series. I absolutely loved the first book and gave it five shining stars. I also absolutely loved this book and gave it five shining stars. So much so that I’m looking into the author’s backlist and placing Libby holds. I may have also used an Everand credit to buy the audiobook. Look, I already know I have problems. 🫣

I can’t even tell you which book of the series I love more. The answer is both. This is a fantasy mystery/thriller set in Yarrowdale. It’s a fantasy take on Sherlock and Watson. It’s been out since April 1st and the delay in reading is my own recent obsession with cozy everything. This is not cozy. Din and Ana are trying to solve a disappearance turned murder. There are layers to pull back here as the mystery unfolds. I never guessed the twists or the ending. Reading this is like submersing yourself in an entirely different world, with different rules, and different ways of living. It’s an entire experience.

Highly recommend. Also, read them in order. I need another one, stat.