I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett Series: Shadow of the Leviathan #1
Published by Del Rey on February 6 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 413
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Readers looking for the perfect fantasy/mystery will love Robert Jackson Bennett’s immersive world building and lively characters.
“Perhaps it is a wise thing, to prepare for death every day, just as the Empire prepares for death every wet season.”
I always love it when the first book in a new series works, and I had a blast with The Tainted Cup. Robert Jackson Bennett is a master at creating unique fantasy worlds, and I loved the intriguing mix of old school magic, gothic elements and even cosmic horror. The main focus of this book, though, is a complex murder mystery, patterned after the classic Sherlock Holmes mysteries, which made this quite a page turner, despite a rather slow pace.
And because it’s a murder mystery, I won’t be going too deep into the plot, in order to avoid spoilers. The story is told from the point of view of Signum Dinios Kol (“Din”), an assistant investigator working under the mysterious but brilliant Immunis Anagosa Dolabra (“Ana”). Din and Ana have just been assigned to investigate the death of Commander Taqtasa Blas, an Engineer. The death is unusual for a couple of reasons. First, Blas’s body was found on the Haza estate, one of the wealthiest families in the Empire, although none of the Haza family are at home. Second, the manner of his death is shocking: a huge tree appears to have grown from inside his body, piercing him to death.
As the two begin questioning the servants at the estate, Ana soon realizes that Blas was murdered, and that his murder is only the tip of the iceberg. Each revelation leads to another mystery, and a dangerous conspiracy is uncovered, putting the Empire’s sea walls at risk. The wet season is coming, when the leviathans begin their steady crawl towards shore, and with only the immense sea walls to protect the Imperial Iyalets, everyone is in terrible danger.
The reader is immediately immersed in Bennett’s fantastical world, where people are able to get magical augmentations that provide extra abilities. For example, Din is an engraver, and he’s able to remember everything he sees and hears, which is perfect for recording every little detail at a crime scene, or remembering a suspect’s statement word for word. Later he can recall this information by connecting the memories to a particular scent, although he must carry around a satchel full of vials so that he can smell the right scent when he needs it—which seems a bit cumbersome. Still, this ability makes him extremely valuable to Ana, who is the brains behind the operation, using Din’s memories to solve murders.
Then there’s the setting. The Empire is located near the ocean, and life revolves around surviving the wet season and the possibility that the giant creatures who live in the sea are going to try to breach the sea walls set in place by the Engineers. This is a constant threat, and many citizens are needed to combat the leviathans, including the Legion, whose job it is to kill the creatures if they manage to breach the wall. My only regret is that we didn’t get more leviathan action, but hopefully in future books they will take on a bigger role. Here they are mostly in the background, a terrible threat that’s mostly observed from afar.
I also loved the way nature is incorporated into the world building. Giant mushrooms are used as a sort of air filtration system in homes, and lanterns provide light from glow worms (it’s much more complex than that, but that’s the short version). Even walls are built from a product called fernpaper, a lightweight and strong plant material that holds up to the quakes caused by the leviathans during the wet season. These details are all very carefully thought out and incorporated naturally into the story, something Robert Jackson Bennett is so good at. They also provide clues to the mystery Ana and Din are trying to solve, so they aren’t just window dressing but critical to the story.
But as much as I loved the world, it was the characters who stole my heart. Ana and Din fill in for Holmes and Watson (even readers who haven’t read the Sherlock Holmes books will get it) and the author nails the vibe. Din is twenty and Ana is in her 50s, but the two work perfectly in sync with each other. Both characters have a wry sense of humor at times, despite the heavy subject matter of the murders (not to mention the life threatening leviathans!). Ana especially was hysterically funny, and this humor gave the story an overall lighter tone than some of Bennett’s other books.
And I can’t say enough about Ana’s character, who is now one of my all time favorites. Ana is an eccentric, almost introverted woman who is able to make the biggest of intuitive leaps to solve crimes. She wears a blindfold most of the time in order to keep distractions out of her thought process, and yet she still seems to know everything that’s going on around her. She’s always one step ahead of everyone else and gleefully makes sure they know it. By the end of the story there is still a lot we don’t know about Ana, but hopefully some of her secrets will be revealed in future books.
I loved the way things wrapped up at the end, and it appears that Ana and Din will go on to solve more murders in the future. Readers who enjoy complex mystery plots with stellar world building elements are going to want to jump on this series opener.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
I’m so happy to see you loved this one! Ana and Din absolutely nailed the Sherlock and Watson dynamic and the world itself was fascinating.
Yes, they WERE Holmes and Watson:-)
You’re right, it’s always really great when the first book in a new series works. I think I would love Ana as a character the most. She sounds like a fab character to get to know. And that even with their age difference that she and Din work perfectly in sync. Love that!
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Ana was so unique. I love finding characters that I haven’t seen before in fiction:-)
A fascinating world, a murder mystery and characters who, as you said, steal your heart: this is the perfect mix to make me forget any good intention I might have had to finish the Foundryside series first. This is going to be one of my next reads! 😉
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…RED RIVER SEVEN, by A.J. Ryan
I loved this more than Foundryside. I had some disappointments with the second book and never read the third. Hopefully that won’t happen here:-)
Yes! I loved this one too. It’s only February and I’ve read so many amazing books this year.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…Leave No Trace by AJ Landau @JonDLand #JeffAyers @MinotaurBooks
I have too! I’ve had some disappointments, but overall the year is starting out really well.
Great review! I can’t wait to read it!
Thanks Lauren, enjoy!
I had very high expectations and hopes for this one given how much I enjoyed the previous series of his I read so I’m very pleased to see how much you enjoyed it. I can’t wait to try it.
I hope you also enjoy it, Todd. I just love his writing and world building, and the characters in this book are so well thought out.
So glad you found a new series to love!
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Me too, I’m so curious to see what the next mystery is:-)
I’m so glad to see you enjoyed this one as well! I also loved Ana, she’s such a fantastic character, and I agree that Robert Jackson Bennett does all the details so well!
Ana was wonderful! Just the right combination of smarts, snarky and personality:-)
Really looking forward to this one, I’ve seen so many good reviews. Mystery in a fantasy setting with a Holmes/Watson duo sounds like the start of what could be a great series 😀
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Knowing how much you love Holmes and Watson stories, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy this too:-)
Absolutely loved this review..!! Haven’t gotten the chance to read this yet but I hope to soon..
Thank you Sahi! I hope you love it as well:-)
A fantasy Holmes and Watson – what more could you possibly want?
I loved Ana too.
Lynn 😀
Right? And he did it so well.
Wow giant mushrooms, magic augmented abilities that sounds like a very imaginative world there!
His world building skills are so good, it’s one thing I can always count on:-)
I will be posting my review of this one later this week – I’m so horribly behind!! But congratulations on a fabulous review that sums up pretty much what I also felt about this one. While I quite enjoyed Foundryside and Shorefall – they certainly didn’t shine like this one. And you’re right – Ana is awesome, though I particularly loved Din. But then, I’ve always preferred Watson to Sherlock:)).
Your review makes me wonder if this would be a good suggestion for my uncle who loved the original Jim Butcher series, but hasn’t found anything else like it just yet. The detective aspect is what makes me think of him. I might suggest it to him. Great review!
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