To say I was excited for Robert Jackson Bennett’s latest release, The Tainted Cup, would be an understatement. I’ve been a fan of his writing since I first read his novella Vigilance in early 2020. He could write an encyclopedia, and I’d probably still be there on Day 1 to read it. Even so, The Tainted Cup couldn’t be more perfect for me if it tried. It’s one tangled web of spies, warring houses, and mysterious deaths. Did I mention literal sea monsters are trying to destroy everything?
| Title: The Tainted Cup | Author: Robert Jackson Bennett |
| Release Date: February 6, 2024 | Genre: Mystery / Fantasy |
| Publisher: Del Rey | Page Count: 432 |
Synopsis
In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.
Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.
At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears–quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.
Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.
As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.
Featuring an unforgettable Holmes-and-Watson style pairing, a gloriously labyrinthine plot, and a haunting and wholly original fantasy world, The Tainted Cup brilliantly reinvents the classic mystery tale.
Review:
If someone pulled all my favorite tropes, threw in my ideal character archetypes, and combined them into one book, it would be The Tainted Cup. There’s intrigue, ecological disaster, spores of a deadly infectious contagion, and cyberpunk-like body enhancement – all in an epic fantasy setting. Subterfuge abounds, and things are never quite as they seem. After a mysterious death, where a tree-like growth sprouts from the chest of an Imperial officer, some begin to suspect a murderer may be on the loose. There’s a team on the case, though, even if the investigators don’t look all that impressive.
I adored Din and Ana, the two Imperial investigators tasked with solving the murders in The Tainted Cup. The publisher markets the book as a Holmes and Watson-like mystery. And, yes, it certainly is that. I would argue Ana and Din have bits and pieces of several different mystery detectives and sidekicks, though. Din seems to have more of Agatha Christie’s Hastings than he has of Watson, and Ana has quite a bit of Poirot. At times, Ana even has hints of Columbo, asking questions when she obviously knows the answer. Ana and Din pair so well together, and their friendship makes this book really special.
Aside from Ana and Din, the secondary characters, even the suspicious ones, make this story sparkle. The stand-outs for me were Captain Miljin, a worn-down former military officer, Itonia Nusis, a super-smart medical scientist, and Kepheus Strovi, a gentry-born man turned military officer. By the end of the book, I didn’t want to leave them, Ana, or Din behind.
Final Thoughts:
The Tainted Cup is for mystery lovers, fantasy lovers, and those who love a genre-bending read. While it’s a great murder mystery, there’s so much depth to the fantasy world outside of the main mystery. With two more books planned, according to Goodreads, I’m sure this series will be talked about for a long, long time.
Rating: 5+/5 stars
Thanks to Del Rey for an advanced review copy! All thoughts are my own.
#COYER
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