A Drop of Corruption (3, 2025) | Robert Jackson Bennett

'A riveting murder mystery wrapped in a twisty conspiracy, set in a vivid fantasy world terrorized by eldritch monsters' FONDA LEE ' A twisty detective story, a weird fantasy, a thrilling adventure' MAX GLADSTONE In the second adventure in the Shadow of the Leviathan series, the eccentric detective Ana Dolabra matches wits with a seemingly omniscient adversary in this brilliant bio-punk fantasy-mystery. An impossible crime has occurred. A Treasury officer has disappeared into thin air - abducted from his quarters in a building whose entrances and exits are all sealed. The brilliant and mercurial investigator, Ana Dolabra, and her assistant Dinios Kol have been called in to crack the case. Before long, Ana discovers that they're actually investigating a murder. Worse, the adversary seems to be able to pass through warded doors like a ghost, and can predict every one of Ana's moves as though they can see the future. Ana's solved impossible cases before. But this time, with the stakes higher than ever and the investigators seemingly a step behind their adversary at every turn, has Ana finally met an enemy she can't defeat? READERS LOVE THE SHADOW OF THE LEVIATHAN SERIES 'Dinios kol my disastrous bisexual son is back!! and hes sleep deprived!! he's vomiting!!! he's yearning!!! he's slowly losing his marbles!! he's in severe debt!! he's in way over his head!!' 'Robert Jackson Bennett does it again with A Drop of Corruption, the kind of fantasy-mystery that grips you from the first page and refuses to let go' 'You can always count on RJB to write a stunningly original work of fantasy that's precisely and cunningly crafted to leave its reader feeling bereft and abandoned and craving a sequel like an ember craves air. This was so good. 10/10. Would read again in a heartbeat' 'It's like knives out but if knives out was set in a fantasy world and benoit blanc was an old woman who had hired the most disaster bisexual to be her eyes and ears' ' A murder investigation. No, a coming-of-age. No, a political fantasy. No, a murder investigation. No... well, I don't want to spoil it. Let me just say that I found it rather delightful how my expectations were simultaneously met and thwarted' 'Watson and Holmes but fantasy . . . if Watson is aware that Holmes is a complete crazy person and is a bit terrified of him (actually, her)' AUTHORS LOVE THE SERIES 'Original, imaginative, and suspenseful, The Tainted Cup superbly blends mystery and fantasy. I couldn't put it down. Give me more of this world and these characters ASAP!' Meg Gardiner 'Part Sherlock Holmes murder mystery, part Through the Looking-Glass, The Tainted Cup is one of the wildest, most original stories I've ever had the privilege to explore. This is a book that has planted roots in my head for the rest of my life.' Wesley Chu 'A riveting murder mystery wrapped in a twisty conspiracy, set in a vivid fantasy world terrorized by eldritch monsters . . .' Fonda Lee 'I loved this. A twisty detective story, a weird fantasy, a thrilling adventure- The Tainted Cup is a masterstroke. I want Bennett to write a dozen of these, and send them to me yesterday' Max Gladstone ' The Tainted Cup is a true fantasy mystery, with a leading duo who stand with Holmes and Watson among the greats. And Bennett sets it all in a squishy, fascinating, biopunk world I'm dying to find out more about. Bring on the next one!' Django Wexler 'A classic murder mystery set against dazzling world-building and sly social commentary. Robert Jackson Bennett doesn't miss' James L. Sutter