ARC Review: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Tainted Cup
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Publication: Del Rey (February 6, 2024)

Description: A Holmes and Watson–style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from the Edgar-winning, multiple Hugo-nominated Robert Jackson Bennett

In Daretana’s greatest mansion, a high imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree erupted from his body. Even here at the Empire’s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death both terrifying and impossible.

Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana’s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior—but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana’s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens 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.

By an “endlessly inventive” (Vulture) author with a “wicked sense of humor” (NPR), The Tainted Cup mixes the charms of detective fiction with brilliant world-building to deliver a fiendishly clever mystery that’s at once instantly recognizable and thrillingly new.

My Thoughts: THE TAINTED CUP is a mystery fantasy that begins a new series. Dinios Kol has won a position as an assistant to Ana Dolabra through some slightly shady means. Ana Dolabra has been exiled to a dangerous canton near the sea walls that keep might leviathans from coming ashore during the wet season and wreaking magical havoc. 

To battle the leviathans, the Empire has made changes to many of its citizens. Din has been altered to remember everything that he hears, sees, and reads so that he can bring the information back to Ana who is wildly eccentric and not at all eager to leave her home. She spends her time devouring data from books and other things Din brings her. She is able to put together all the input from what she has read and what Din brings to her from his onsite investigations to come to startling deductions.

Their new partnership is tested when there is a murder. An Engineer is found dead at the home of one of the wealthiest families in the Empire. He is found to have been killed when a tree grew out of his body and devoured him. Such contagions aren't unknown in the Empire. In fact, one whole canton was abandoned and burned to the ground when overtaken by a similar contagion.

Ana's investigation into the murder takes the pair to a canton even nearer the dangerous wall where they discover that the engineer's death was only one of a number of strange deaths and discover political intrigue that has been building for years and threatens the security of the Empire.

The worldbuilding was intriguing and complex. The characters were interesting people with depths and secrets. While the blurb compares the main characters to Holmes and Watson, I saw more of a similarity to Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin and was glad to see that those characters were part of the author's own reading history. A smart young assistant with some secrets of his own and a reclusive genius of an employer brought Wolfe and Goodwin to mind. But while Wolfe and Goodwin worked for profit, Din and Ana work as agents of the Empire keeping it together despite many threats from inside and outside of it. 

I look forward to reading more adventures for these characters in this world.  

Favorite Quote:

And besides, you've had a horrid few days, and I think you need reminding of what the Empire is even for.

I cocked an eyebrow at her, puzzled.

"It's not all this!" she said. She waved her hand at the shuttered window. "It's not all walls and death and plotting! Nor is it dreary dispensations and bureaucracy! We do these ugly, dull things for a reason -- to make a space where folks can live, celebrate, and know joy and love."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.