"Why aren’t we all just fucking dead, really? It is most troubling to me."

Ah yes, it has been a bit. But it also feels like no time at all has passed since I was last in the company of my favorite investigative duo.

There's nothing quite like picking up the second book of a promising series. Of course there's tons of excitement and anticipation, but if I were being totally honest, there's also no small amount of doubt coloring the whole thing. After all, what if I imagined my enjoyment of the first book? What if what I took for brilliance and intrigue was in fact mediocrity catching me on a good day? But have no fears here, my friends, for A Drop of Corruption was every bit as good as its predecessor.

Let's talk about the mystery first. As usual, we are immediately dropped into the thick of things. A treasury officer has disappeared, but he did so in a room where all the doors and windows are locked from the inside. Hmm, so a proper locked-room mystery? Challenge accepted!

But that was just the start, and perhaps the easiest part. Because from then on, Ana and Din follow an ever more complex web of secrets and red herrings and misdirections, all building up towards the big finale. And what a finale it was, as satisfying and inevitable as you would expect from the best mysteries.

Speaking of, if you've read enough of this genre and have thought about its inner workings, then you know what makes a good mystery—they can be as complicated and intricate as you'd want along the way, but when you get to the reveals, they must be clear and straightforward, as if you’re uttering nothing more than the unavoidable truth. And Robert Jackson Bennett has not only cracked the crux of this principle, but he is able to execute on it again and again.

The writing is as sharp and engaging as ever, with a hint of the droll wit that I've come to associate with this series and its characters. It pulled me in and kept me riveted throughout. Normally with a book, when I put it down and then picked it up again, it takes me a few pages to return to the world inside. But with this book, my mind snaps to it immediately, never wandering, never wavering as I devoured the tale within.

By the way, did we see that the series rebranded from Shadow of the Leviathan to Ana and Din Mysteries? I'm so glad. The old name felt a bit lumbering and awkward, misleading you into thinking that the books were predominantly fantasy instead of what they really are, which is mystery forward in a fantasy setting. But the new name corrects that, making it clear that this is first and foremost a mystery, with our eponymous characters at the helm, sussing out all manners of secrets and depravity across the Empire.

All that is to say, if you're a fan of mysteries and have been holding off on this series because of its fantasy element, let me give you a nudge. The mystery components in here are so well done, it would be remiss for any fan of the genre to miss it. But on the other hand, if you're already a reader of both genres and just haven't gotten to this series yet, well, what the heck are you waiting for?

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

Well hello there, my new favorite series! Delighted to make your acquaintance!

But first, before we go on, a little confession. I'd like to think of myself as an equal opportunity book lover. Much as a parent would find it hard to name a favorite child, I would be similarly discomfited at having to point to a favorite genre. And yet, if you were to really press me, I would have to admit—but only after much hemming and hawing—that it's probably the murder mystery that has my heart. It was my first book love way back when, and even after all these decades, I could never really forget that feeling.

So any time I crack open a mystery, I'm instantly a kid again, waiting for the intoxicating rush of sinking my teeth into the enigma of it all and being thoroughly swept away. But in order for it to really count, the story must first and foremost be a proper murder mystery. It must have clues, it must have red herrings, and it must have suspicious characters. And of course, at the helm of it all, it must have the all-important clever sleuth or two, there to uncover all the secrets.

And that's exactly what I got here. The Tainted Cup delivers all the goods on its murder mystery, and it does so while also seamlessly fleshing out a whole new fantasy universe. To say I'm impressed doesn't even begin to capture it. It's entirely possible that the kid in me fainted in excitement.

From the very first page, I could feel this story sink its claws into me. We are dropped into the thick of things immediately (there's a murder!), and it only gets better from there. There were so many layers to this compelling and confounding mystery, and I couldn't help but don my thinking cap and armchair detect the whole way through.

It's clear the characters take inspiration from Sherlock Holmes. And while that can be a bit of a hit or miss for me, I'm happy to report that I totally loved it here. Din and Ana both contain the quirkiness of their inspiration but none of their annoyances, and I found them endearing almost from the get-go.

The fantasy world here is a reader's dream, so imaginative and interesting yet so easy to slip into. At times, I almost forgot it's a completely different universe, so vividly was it painted. It's not easy to blend multiple genres together so effortlessly, and I'm always in awe when it happens. And while I wouldn't say you have to enjoy fantasy to read this book, you do have to be a fan of murder mysteries to really appreciate it.

Suffice to say, I am obsessed. It's not often a mystery completely captures me, and to hear that this is the first book of a series is the best news ever. I suspect I'll be gobbling up the next book posthaste.

P.S. The hardcover edition I got didn't come with a dust jacket. Instead, the cover was printed directly onto the book itself, and I'm so on board with that it's not even funny. I actually harbor a low-grade resentment for dust jackets. They're always getting crinkled and mangled while I'm reading and carrying them about, so I absolutely adore this naked book aesthetic.

Readaroo Rating 5 stars!