I was very excited to read a book that combined two of my favourite genres, unfortunately, this one didn’t end up going the way I’d hoped. The first thing I noticed about The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett was how elaborate and immersive the science and nature of the world I had stepped into. He has created a fascinating world that realises the idea of a completely organic society, and it is something else. If The Tainted Cup was purely a science fiction novel then I would be satisfied, however, it is much more ambitious than that and that is where it begins to show its cracks for me.

I’ve seen this book compared to Sherlock Holmes and Knives Out, and I want to talk about those two comps before I go any further. I saw the Knives Out comp while reading the book and I spent the entire time trying to figure out how it related, especially as there is a mirror character in Knives Out. By the end of the book, I ascertained that the person meant that it was a whodunnit with a clever detective who doesn’t take any crap and sees a lot. For those of us who read or watch a lot of crime, that’s a pretty familiar archetype.

The comparison to Sherlock Holmes is much more on point. Ana is very like Sherlock in the sense that she is considered an anti-social genius who cares more about the case rather than social niceties. She also dabbles in “moodies”, mood-enhancing grafts, this universe’s equivalent of illegal drugs. Unlike Sherlock, Ana deeply cares about justice rather than just solving a puzzle, and she’s not a drug addict. I would also hesitate to compare Din, her assistant, to John Watson, other than to note that they have a partnership.

Having read the original Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, I found the level of intricacy of the cases to be lacking. I remember reading A Study in Scarlet and The Adventure of the Speckled Band and being blown away by the out-of-the-box creativity of Conan Doyle’s writing. I didn’t find that in The Tainted Cup, and instead found that the answers to the mystery were clearly signposted to the reader. It was a little disappointing when the big reveals came along, and I had already worked them out long before.

The original fascination with Bennett’s world-building began to fade the more I read The Tainted Cup, for a few reasons. One, the transhumanist world he has created is hugely eugenicist. Organic grafts are used to achieve peak performance and to change the human body in a myriad of ways so that people can better serve the Empire, wiping out any physical weakness. What they can’t change are “weaknesses” that are already part of a person’s brain, things that are unique to them. For example, Din has a learning disability and Ana is autistic-coded. Their brains are naturally different to their peers.

Some research shows that Bennett likes to include disabled characters in his writing. In an article, he talks about it in more detail, and referring to Orson Scott Card’s writing he states;

" I remember reading about these disabled characters in his stories, and never once feeling, well, pity for them. They weren’t cripples. They weren’t helpless. They got by. And we all get by, don’t we? Sometimes just barely, but we get by. Now that I’m older, and writing my own stuff, I see now that the reason his disabled characters work is that he didn’t start by writing them as disabled characters. He started by writing them as characters, as real people with real problems – the same way that the fantastical, powerful characters work the best. Sometimes they got over those problems. Sometimes – maybe a lot of the time – they didn’t. And I felt for them because I knew them because they were real.£

Bennett may believe he has the best of intentions, however, as with all non-disabled authors he is writing from the perspective of an outsider and there lies the issue. This method of writing a disabled character as someone who is a person who “has problems”, and referring to them as “real people with real problems” shows a complete lack of understanding of disabled and neurodivergent identity. You can’t write a disabled and/or neurodivergent character as a normal person because their lives are not normal.

As a result, you have a disabled character and a neurodivergent character that is not fully realised in their identities. There is a very nice scene towards the end of the novel where Din and Ana talk about being different, and quite frankly it rang completely hollow. It felt more like inspiration p0rn, where non-disabled people can celebrate because these two “weird” quirky characters have finally found each other! That’s because that’s the way Bennett has written them.

I felt that both Din’s learning disability and Ana’s autism were used as plot devices. Ana is constantly described as being anti-social, and different, not being able to handle “stimulation”, particular eating habits, a deep desire for justice and other autistic traits. It is not until the end that Bennett takes the time to acknowledge that this is a disability, in fact, he avoids any language that identifies any disabilities throughout the book.

But maybe the language doesn’t exist in The Tainted Cup universe. I hear you say. Might I remind you that the author controls the universe? Disabled authors have managed it, and I highly recommend checking out Hell Sans by Ever Dundas and the short stories in Nothing Without Us and Nothing Without Us Too for great examples. It says a lot when a non-disabled author chooses to exclude it.

I was also not happy about the way Din’s bisexual identity was written, which considering more than one review I read referred to him as gay, shows just how unclear his bisexuality was made. There is one scene where Din becomes aroused by a woman, and while pheromones are involved, they enhance arousal; they can’t make someone attracted to a certain gender. The sexual content of this scene doesn’t bother me, it’s the fact that it feeds stereotypes of bisexuality.

It’s easy to get swept up in the world-building and mystery of The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett, especially with the promise of more to come in the next book. It’s a solid three stars for me, however, once I started to see the problems with the representation I couldn’t unsee them. This is one series that isn’t for me, and I won’t be continuing with it.

I want to remind anyone who disagrees with anything in this review that every reader brings their views and experiences to each book they read. Your reading of this book may be very different from mine.

Absolutely brilliant. I loved it. Brilliantly conceived and delivered. A new world where people can be ‘altered’ to gain enhanced abilities, an investigator who prefers to work blindfolded, and a young engraver (enhanced to have a perfect memory)- what initially seems a bizarre but local case spirals out of control with wide implications for the Empire. A real treat for fantasy lovers. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Today I'm gonna make you all read The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. I'm just kidding. But don't try me. 🤔

This book is a fantasy murder mystery in which we follow Dinios, an assistant to the investigator Ana. They're trying to uncover the secrets that led to death of an Imperial Officer. To be honest, that's more than I knew going into it and I recommend reading it that way!

First of all, I don't really care for murder mysteries, but I've heard a lot of great things about this author and wanted to read his newest release. And this book, spoiler alert, was easily ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ because aside from the murder mystery that was entertaining, there were very strong other elements of the story.

My absolute favorite thing was the character work. I've come to really care about the two main characters - Dinios is really focused on his work and proper, while Ana is eccentric. She reads as neurodivergent and I've really enjoyed seeing someone that gets overstimulated in a book as I struggle with that and I feel like we don't often get characters like that! The juxtaposition of their personalities was really entertaining to watch and their interactions were the best part of the story for me. There's some really fun banter involved!

The thing that also really stands out here is the worldbuilding and magic system. It was really well fleshed out and unique, it reminded me a tiny bit of The Winnowing Flame by Jen Williams, which I love, with its blend of fantasy and almost sci fi elements. The land has to be constantly guarded against giant leviathans, the plant life is crazy and some people get magically altered. There's also some nice queer rep!

I don't think I've lost my interest at any point of the story, though I've had to reread a few parts because of them being quite convoluted.

It's definitely a read that stood out to me and I really can't wait for the next book in the series. I'm kicking myself for not buying a special edition of this book and I'll for sure need to get a physical copy of it!

📖 Comp titles:
✨ The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
✨ The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for an access to the e arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Hodder & Stoughton for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: body horror, injury, death, violence, fungi

In a world where society lives behind sea walls to hide from enormous leviathans and many people have special adjustments to aid in their lives, one of the strangest murders ever seen takes place at the home of a noble family named the Hazas. A high Imperial Officer, Blas, is killed as an entire tree erupts from inside his body. This is a place where contagion spread by plants runs abound and the risk of illness is constant as the blood of leviathans leaks into the landscape if they manage to breach the walls. Hired to solve this improbable case is Ana Dolabra, an eccentric and the Empire’s most brilliant investigator (she constantly wears a blindfold and refuses to leave her home), and her brand new assistant Dinios Kol. Dinios has been genetically altered to have a perfect memory triggered by scent, and so he acts as Ana’s eyes and ears as they investigate, but he doesn’t feel prepared for anything his assignment (or his employer) has given him. Drawn into a terrible web that forces Ana to leave her house and travel to the capital, they soon discover this is larger than just one death and goes all the way to the very top of the military and political world. Forced to reckon with Ana’s quirky investigative style and the risk of prying into the lives of important people, Dinios’ private secrets become harder to hide from Ana even as the promise of another attack on the sea walls by the leviathans comes ever closer.

Pitched as a Holmes and Watson style story in a world under threat by plants and leviathans, I loved this from the first page, finding it to be a dark and bloody world that’s also incredibly humorous. Ana is an unstoppable force from the first time we see her through Dinios’ eyes and her brilliance is combined with an unpredictability that never truly goes away- especially as their investigation gets more complicated; Ana is an older woman and it’s not often we get to see a female character depicted as similar to Sherlock Holmes. I loved Dinios as well, his story of having been altered in order to gain money for his family (and having to see so many murders) really touched me and I found that his secrets- particularly that he’s retaining skills imprinted on his memory he never learned and that his struggles with dyslexia (it’s never said but heavily implied)- made him all the more sympathetic and rounded. The relationship between Ana and Dinios is at the beginning, they barely know each other but every scene between them was wonderful, combining eccentricity with fondness and tolerance with a growing partnership, even if Dinios is incredibly confused by her. The world built in “The Tainted Cup” feels so real and the constant threat of leviathans smashing down the sea walls is palpable through every chapter, especially as the characters get closer to “wet season”. I loved how the story moved from a backwater town to the crowded city where politics and the military dominate every day life and then to the estates of imperial families with many connections. The mystery kept me intrigued throughout the whole book, even as the web got more complex and new characters were introduced. I can't wait for the next book in this series!

This was a wild & magical read! I really enjoyed the build up of the investigation, but I would’ve liked to of explored more of this world in detail.

I know people will enjoy this as much as I did, side note though Ana seemed very hard work and was a little irritating, but she did bring a little chaotic genius to the investigation.

It has been a LONG month but I FINALLY finished The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett! When I saw this on my NetGalley, I was soooo excited because I’ve only heard amazing things about Robert Jackson Bennett and I was NOT disappointed. Wow, wow, wow. Count me as a fan and ready to read everything else he’s written!

In a world of opulence and intrigue, The Tainted Cup follows our main investigator duo, Ana Dolabra, a genius Iudex Investigator known for her eccentricity, and Dinios Kol, her assistant engraver who’s new on the scene. Together, they navigate a treacherous landscape to solve an inexplicable death of an imperial officer on the edge of the empire. Set against a backdrop of contagion and terrifying leviathans threatening to breach the empires walls, there’s a sinister sense of danger as the body count continues to rise and it looks like Ana and Din will be next. Can they find the culprit before it’s too late?

This book was AMAZING. A detective mystery set in a fantasy world with magically altered people? Sign me up! Not to mention all of the weird and wacky plants in this. I really enjoyed Bennett’s incredible writing style and world building, which was so detailed! The characters were fleshed out and likeable, especially our Sherlock and Watson-esque main duo, Ana and Din. Their chemistry was great and I loved their dynamic which I found both familiar and completely fresh at the same time. The story was filled with twists and turns that were all intriguing and exciting, which kept a good pace throughout the book. I like that’s the mystery was one the reader could work out alongside the narrator. That’s always a good book to me. I did feel like an idiot for one very smack in the face thing that is revealed towards the end of the book but no spoilers! I loved this and I’m really excited to read the sequel when it comes out! This book was released on the 6th of February so you can read it now!

4/5⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @hodderscape for the chance to read this eARC bin return for a fair and honest review 🤍

While this novels offers you a unique world, I had a hard time combining the crime/detective plotline with the kaiju one. I always wanted to see more of the world, especially the cities and their atmosphere. They stay an element of the investigation instead of coming to life.
The character of Ana I found too forcefully constructed, I would need to refer to an autistic reviewer to see, if the character design is tasteful.

The Tainted Cup is a great hommage to the Sherlock Holmes stories, with an incredible set of characters, a psychedelic world building and a really well done mystery. I let myself be completely taken away by the world of the Empire threatened by giant monsters and weakens by rich people, and totally adored Din, Ana and the rest of the characters. I loved how Don's impossibility to read or write and Ana's "eccentricity" were almost seen as normal, and I cant wait to read more of their adventures together.

5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2024/02/19/the-tainted-cup-by-robert-jackson-bennett/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Holmes and Watson, new style

I loved this. It’s absolutely brilliant. The mystery and the way it develops is compelling, the two main characters are great, the world building is unique. The writing is a winning combination of just the right amount of description coupled with great pacing and I found the whole thing perfectly divine. Seriously, I’m praying to the Book Gods right now to make this a long series of mysteries because we have this new, modern day, similar but not the same version of Holmes and Watson. I didn’t know I needed this in my life but what did I know? I do. I need it. Give me more of this. Please say there’ll be more.

Is it just me or did everyone’s parents say to them if they swallowed an apple seed – ‘oh, you’ll grow an apple tree inside you now’ – or were my mum and dad just raging maniacs. Anyway, it just makes me think that from these little kernels great trees can grow.

Anyhow, I digress. As this story begins we meet Dinios Kol, newly appointed assistant to Ana Dolabra, Investigator extraordinaire. Straight away we’re witness to a horrific crime, a man, a guest at a prestigious mansion, has died in the most unusual circumstances. I think he ate an apple seed because he has quite literally turned into a tree – the small piece of his face that can be found hanging amongst the branches has a look of abject terror. So, listen to your parents – is my take out. Seriously, I’m not going to give the plot away, there’s obviously an investigation that leads to much ‘bigger stakes’ is about all you can drag from my closed lips using wild horses.

What I loved about this.

Everything.

If this doesn’t develop into a full blown series then I don’t know why. Just, let’s make it happen.

The world here, I don’t even know what to tell you. Ecologically unstable, rife with contagion, populated by people who love augmentations. There are leviathans that threaten the entire existence of everyone. Huge sea walls have been constructed with massive artillery machines aimed out to sea (or inland in the event of anything breaking through). On top of this we have all these fascinating things such as huge mushrooms that are actually air infiltration systems – to name just one – will you just read the book already. The people are for the large part obsessed with augmentations, to make them age better, seem stronger, have better spatial awareness, etc, etc. In Din’s case he has been augmented to become an engraver. Using scent bottles to help the memory he basically is able to memorise a full scene to memory and recall it later. This can be used for maps, history, just about anything.

So, the world building is pretty cool to be fair but the winning element of this story falls into – the fascinating mystery and the way all the elements come together in such a pleasing way and the two central characters.

I’m not going to discuss the mystery itself, you won’t be stealing no spoilers from this quarter. Nope – see above comment and get away with your wild horses.

The characters. Yes, they are like some strange reimagined and yet totally unique version of Holmes and Watson. Similar in so many ways – Ana, so intelligent, so quick witted, can absorb inordinate amounts of seemingly useless information, ponders things, usually has a pretty good idea of what’s going on but saves it for the big reveal, she’s easily bored. Not very good at doing the whole ‘people’ thing. Usually makes people annoyed – which probably explains her banishment away from the ‘big I am’ to Littleville. Din, well, on the face of it he might not feel like a ‘Watson’. Watson was a cheery fellow really, very good natured, didn’t hold a grudge, liked to think he could solve things but didn’t really have that knack – and there you go. Din, he’s a good engraver, he undertakes Ana’s instructions to the letter, he relates all the events to her but he doesn’t join up the dots himself. He’s not the same cheery bloke as Watson but he is the perfect companion to Ana, his totally, straight forward, no nonsense attitude playing the perfect foil to her crazy eccentricity.

In case you can’t tell from the above I adored this book. I shall undoubtedly be pushing this onto everyone that asks (or doesn’t ask for that matter) for at least the next few years so I shall apologise now for my unadulterated adoration. Buy this. Read it. Talk to me. Pretty please.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I stepped into this book without any expectations (I know, silly me because I’ve not read an RJB book before) and came out devasted by how much of an absolute stunner it is. From lush imagery and rich worldbuilding to a tense murder mystery that keeps the pages turning, there is so much to gush about when it comes to The Tainted Cup and if I had a stronger lyrical bone in my body, I would write an ode to it.

What I loved about this book is not limited to just the aforementioned points. I adored the seamless blend between mystery and fantasy — how everything felt different yet familiar at the same time. It was both comforting and refreshing to experience the common elements of a murder mystery book in such fantastical ways. Moreover, the presence of enormous leviathans that are both boon and bane to the world brings to mind Attack on Titan, Pacific Rim and other similar works. So, if you’re a fan of those, this book would definitely tickle your fancy. Doubly so if you’re a fan of murder mysteries as well.

Other than that, I also greatly adored the neurodivergent characters, the Holmes and Watson-style detective duo that’ll, without fail, make you tender-hearted. In a world where people can readily augment themselves in so many different ways just so they’re perfect for specific tasks to keep the Empire functioning, the characters here are still faced with their own relatable trials and tribulations. Our protagonists — or more evidently Din as he has yet to reach the status Ana has achieved — have to work doubly hard to gain worth and recognition. Being dyslexic has resulted in him failing all but one test which earned him the status of being an engraver. However, despite his hard work and capabilities, being dyslexic is also a dangerous flaw for an engraver to have because memorising everything is their speciality.

These struggles add a new layer of depth to the story as no longer is it simply about human survival against monsters, but also human survival within systems where power makes little allowance for differences that don’t benefit those holding the reigns. It is a complex world filled with many moments that impressively come to a circle — a compelling, multilayered book that resonates and echoes events that have happened in our reality.

I cannot wait to see where the next book in this series will bring us.

I really enjoyed this! This is like sipping a full bodied wine on a rainy day bundled up in warm blankets.

World building is sublime - it almost feels like steam punk (or maybe I’m making that up) but with leviathans, and enhanced people with abilities and purple and gray skins.

Character development is fantastic. I like how we learn about Din and how he grows from shy and retiring to badass investigator with muscle memory that can take on anyone in a fight. I also love the way he handles Ana and all her quirks. I love the way Ana is written - she’s so sharp and witty and clever and owns all her quirks. Awesome character. I also enjoyed all the side characters - no 2 dimensionality here.

The only thing I wasn’t crazy about in the book was the pacing. It’s very slow. I mean I enjoyed seeing the mystery unfold and working out the puzzle (totally missed the mark of whodunnit - but I did guess who the twitch was), but damn it was slow going. It took me about 6 days to read this and I read fast. Nevertheless - I enjoyed every bit of it so 4.25/5 stars.

Such fresh fantasy!

I haven't read anything else by this author, but I really enjoyed the writing. It drew me in, intrigued me from the moment the characters were introduced, and I loved the slow build up of the plot. Although the pacing lacked a little in between major action scenes, I felt like this book really increased the stakes by the end, and I was on the edge of my seat.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an e-arc! I can't wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars.
This book was really brilliant and absolutely an excellent read. I just could not put it down or stop thinking about it. I have to say that at this moment, this is my best Fantasy and Mystery book of the year. However, I feel sorry for myself because I haven't read anything by R.J.Bennett before this book. I can tell that he is a great writer and knew how to captivate his reader from start to end.

In The Tainted Cup, Bennett crafted such an exceptional mystery in an amazing and original fantasy world. Following Ana and Din in their investigation was so exciting and an absolute delight. But, in reality, they are fighting the corruption and the freedom of transgressing laws by the rich and the powerful to the point of costing human lives and which might be a reflection to our actual real world. Din expresses with honesty what might be our thoughts and feelings while witnessing these unjustices.

The author also created complex and deep personalities to his characters with different visions to justice and correctness. I, personlly, liked the character of Ana the most in this book, I could not wait for her to appear each time in the story with her deductions when Din brought her a new element.

My advice to you: just read it because you won't regret it.

3 stars
One Liner: A good mystery drowns in a vague setting

Eccentric investigator Ana Dolabra is asked to solve the case of the mysterious death of an Imperial officer in the Empire. The dead man is now a tree or has a tree growing from his dead body.
Dinios Kol, Ana’s new assistant and an engraver with ever-lasting memory, goes to the scene to collect information for his superior. As they find more details, it’s clear that the death is not an independent incident. With what seems to be a threat to the Empire itself, Ana and Din have to find the culprit before it’s too late.
The story comes in the first-person POV of Dinios Kol.

My Thoughts:
The premise is wonderful, and the combination of mystery and fantasy made me curious.
The mystery is the best part of the book. I like how complex and layered it is. Ana (despite everything) has turbo-charged grey cells that work 24*7. Din is solid and balances out the equation well. While some readers may find Din bland, I like that it is his personality. He is supposed to be that way. Imagine him being like Ana. That would be super annoying. Din is good the way he is.
The revelation also comes in stages. Even though we get lengthy dialogues with explanations, these are followed by fast-paced action scenes to balance the narrative.
Some secondary characters are promising. I quite liked meeting them. It’ll be nice to see them in the future books. The names are typical fantasy stuff- made up by throwing together random alphabets. Not an issue since I do the same, lol.
When I read fantasy, I tend to go with the flow and see where the story takes me. However, that approach didn’t help here. I still have little to no idea about the setting. On a side note, shouldn’t this be a dystopian fantasy? That way, I can tick off a reading challenge prompt!
Man, the pacing is slow. There is a lot of detail about the setting, which sadly doesn’t translate to an imaginable output. I’m someone who finds it easy to visualize settings and scenes. Yet I couldn’t see beyond the outlines. (Translation- it needs better editing)
Ana tries hard to be Sherlock but doesn’t get close. Maybe the character was just herself, we’d have better luck. There’s potential buried under all that swearing and cursing. Saying the F-word a million times doesn’t make anyone cool or whatever.
Still, I admit I chuckled a few times, even when danger was looming over. The monsters (which are just as vague but super duper huge) tend to come out at random.
The first chapter is terrific. The subsequent ones, not as much, make it hard to sustain interest after the initial burst of intrigue. Luckily, the last section is solid, which pushed the rating from 2 to 3 stars.
A special mention about the cover for this edition. At first glance, I thought the red part was a cracked bowl with some bluish fumes around it. Then I realized I was wrong. The bigger red portion is the sky with a red sun (or whatever the Empire has). The crack is a breach in the sea wall. The haze is detailed, with steps, exotic plants, and the main characters. There’s a cup on the side and a couple of lanterns on the opposite corners. The design is brilliant once you start reading the book.

To summarize, The Tainted Cup is a layered mystery set in a fantasy world. It would make a great read with some strict editing and clearer world-building. If I read book #2, it’ll be for Din.
Thank you, NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton (Hodderscape), for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The Tainted Cup starts the Shadow of the Leviathan series of fantasy mysteries. As always, Jackson Bennet has created a wonderfully innovative world that isn’t a mere backdrop but an integral part of the story, and characters that the reader can root for.

The story is set in a vast empire lined by the sea at one edge, where each wet season huge leviathans try to enter the land, kept at bay by a wall. All the efforts of the empire, especially the military, is directed at protecting the people from these creatures. But they’re useful too, as their blood is used for modifying and genetically manipulating everything from people to animals and plants.

Dinios Kol is an engraver, a person whose brain has been altered to remember absolutely everything. He’s been assigned as an assistant to Ana Dolabra, a criminal investigator banished to a tiny village near the sea. She’s susceptible to outward stimulus and goes blindfolded most of the time. And she never visits the crime scenes herself. That’s why she has Kol.

A puzzling murder has happened in a manor of one of the most influential families in the empire. A tree has burst from inside a visiting military officer. The crime doesn’t take Dolabra long to figure out, but then there turns out to be more of these murders, which takes the pair to the town nearest to the seawall where the military is preparing for the wet season.

This was an excellent book and an intriguing mystery. Told from the point of view of Dinios Kol, the mystery deepens and its scope widens at every turn. He’s the perfect protagonist for the story, curious, single-minded and persistent. With his ability to remember everything, he conducts a steady investigation. But solving the crime is left for his boss. She’s a Sherlock Holmes type of person who makes huge deductive leaps that leave others puzzled, the reader included. But she definitely finds the truth in the end.

It's also a warning about the human manipulation of nature. At every turn, the story relies on the consequences of altering the people and the nature, and the toll of the endless war against the leviathans. I have a notion they’ll turn out to be both more important and less destructive than the people believe.

Despite the gruesome nature of the murders, the story has a cozy feel to it. Kol goes about his investigation, making friends and finding new things about himself and his abilities. There’s even a bit of romance for him, if too briefly. The ending sends the pair for more adventures. I hope there will be an entire series of the two solving crimes around the empire.

This is my first title by Robert Jackson Bennett and when I heard Sherlock Holmes vibes but in a fantasy setting, I knew I had to get my hands on it immediately.

I adored this. From the setting and the magic system to our duo investigators, The Tainted Cup had me hooked from page one and hanging on to every twist and turn. Expect magical contagions, revenge, themes on power and wealth and so much more.

If Sherlock Holmes and Watson's relationship is one you vibe with, you'll adore this book.
If you love a murder mystery in a fantasy world, you'll adore this book.

Well, this book has officially cemented Bennett as one of my favourite authors of all time! I loved the Divinie Cities trilogy, but had some mixed feelings to the Founders trilogy, so I was excited to see how I'd end up feeling about this one. There were very high expectations - and they were definitely met!!
This was such a fun read - it starts of as a murder mystery with a Sherlock Holmes and Watson like dynamic between the main characters, but quickly escalates into a conspiracy that might threaten the empire itself. I tend to dislike murder mysteries in books of this size, yet this story had me at the edge of my seat and fully invested in the mystery all the way too the end! This is very rare for me with these kinds of plots.
The story shined through its characters though - Din is such an endearing main character, and I loved watching him grow and become more confident in his abilities. Ana on the other hand is one of the most hilarious characters I've ever come across. Truly no filter on that one. Yet, her relationship with Din was so lovely, and I'm always excited to see a deep, platonic bond as these two have develop!!
The worldbuilding was also top tier. Very interesting, but also terrifying. The Empire is a country separated off by enormous walls into three sections, with the capitol being the farthest inland. Why inland, you ask? Because enormous beasts regularly rise from the sea to wreak havoc like the horror version of kaiju! Fun, right? There's also a very scientifically magic system here (I hesitate to even call it a magic system) where people can get mental and physical upgrades to enhance their abilities. It's all very neat and well done, and I'm excited to learn more about this world and its characters!
Not even a single criticism here from me, so go read it!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

What an amazing story! This is my first book written by this author and I'm so intrigued that I will probably read his other works too.

This books has an amazing writing. The history is captivating and I really enjoyed it.
I love how Ana and Din are completely different from each other, but in the same time they're just perfect partners in crime.

The murder mystery was well written and had my atention until the last page. I also thing this book will be perfect for people who want to try to read a fantasy story but don't like complex world-building.

100% sure I will read other books in this seri es.

Thank you Publisher and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

This book was a sandwich of the tropes I loved. Mystery, Magic, pluusss This book had the best mentor-mentee relationship.

Last year I finally managed to read City of Stairs, after keeping it on my TBR for ages. And I enjoyed it, but I also decided that that would have been my last book by Robert Jackson Bennet, because his books, beautiful and compelling as they are, aren’t really the best fit for me. I can’t really say why it doesn’t work properly, either. I have read the whole Foundryside trilogy, and the first of his oldest series, and all of them have amazing characters, unique and so real and complex and not bidimensional at all. And all have the most fascinating world-building. And we also have a good plot and action to keep things going. And still… even if I can appreciate them on a theoretical level, I can see why so many love these books, on the pure level of enjoyment… here they lack something for me.
The only book that I truly enjoyed from the start to the end, and had an amazing time reading it, was the second book in the Foundryside trilogy. All the others always fell a bit short. So I decided to just let this author go. I appreciate his works, but they aren’t really for me.
And then this one came out and I kept seeing reviews for it around. And I was curious, obviously, but I kept my distance for a bit, because I was done with him. Up to a point, I can’t remember whose review it was but… I just was too captivated by it, and I had to try and see for myself, all my good intentions be damned. And do you know what? It worked! I had an amazing time with this book!

This book strongly reminded me of City of Stairs but, at the same time, it is highly original. The world-building is fascinating, and so vivid! We have an Empire that is constantly in danger of being invaded by Leviathans (okay, not really constantly, but once a year, every year so… not really good, right?), and the Leviathans’ part reminded me a bit of the anime Attack on Titan. There isn’t really a reason for that, it has more to do with vibes, I guess. Anyway, I was saying… the Leviathans. And they are not the only danger in this world, we have contagions and more. Strange animals and strange plants. That’s for sure.
But we also have a really advanced society, that managed to find ways to enhance and modify humans to create some ranks of highly specialized individuals. And this is not only reserved to the higher classes, even if usually they seem sort of reserved for government or military-related positions. Anyway, enhanced humans. And I know that this sounds more like sci-fi than fantasy, but the vibes and the world and all are still deliciously fantasy. And let me tell you that some of these mods are astounding! Sure, there is always a price to pay, but still… fascinating!

And the characters! Ana and Din are amazing as characters and they are amazingly well paired. The comparison between Holmes and Watson is strong, and it is accurate. I think that we could do without the Watson part because Din is not really so akin to Watson (if not for the immense reserve of patience he has to have), but Ana strongly resembles Sherlock Holmes. In a lot of ways. But still, she retains some bit of uniqueness that makes you keep reading for the pleasure of discovering more about her. To see more of her shenanigans. She was a blast! And Din is her needed counterpart. He is more sedate, he is young and inquisitive, but he has also strong respect for the law, at least up to a point. He is righteous, but not pompous, he is a breath of fresh air in his own right, and he is the one we follow around while the investigation is ongoing.
We have some secondary characters, and I think that here we have one of the reasons usually this author doesn’t work so well for me: we have some secondary characters who have a ton of potential, but they are totally eclipsed by the MC. And it is a bit of a shame to see so much potential wasted.
But, in any event, I enjoyed some of them too, and it was a pleasure getting to explore this mysterious and luscious world with them.

Last but not least, is the plot. This is, basically, a mystery in a fantasy setting. And the plot is so captivating! I started this book “by mistake”, because sure, I was planning on reading it this month, but not so soon, but then I was at work and I didn’t have the book I was currently reading with me, so I decided to try it out to kill the time (since I had it on my phone). The idea was just to read it for the 15 minutes I had to wait and then go back to it later on. I do this from time to time, so… no problem, right? Wrong! Once I started I could not stop!
I devoured it! I think that this is not only my favorite book by RJB but it is also the one I read the fastest by him. I simply had to keep reading! It is engrossing. Fascinating. And it is so hard to put down! So yeah, this book was a surprise, and for a lot of reasons. It works amazingly well, and it takes us to some interesting places, while in top-notch company. It’s really hard to ask for more!