A Drop of Corruption
the gripping biopunk murder mystery sequel to The Tainted Cup
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Hodder & Stoughton
Published:26th Mar '26
Should be back in stock very soon
'A riveting murder mystery wrapped in a twisty conspiracy' FONDA LEE
'A twisty detective story, a weird fantasy, a thrilling adventure'MAX GLADSTONE
In sequel to the Hugo award-winning The Tainted Cup, an eccentric detective 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 - vanishing from a building whose entrances and exits are all sealed. To solve the case, the Empire calls on its most brilliant and mercurial detective, Ana Dolabra, and her bemused assistant Dinios Kol.
Ana soon discovers they are investigating not a disappearance but a murder - and one of surpassing cunning, carried out by an opponent who can pass through warded doors like a ghost.
Din has seen his superior solve impossible cases before. But as the death toll grows and their quarry predicts each of their moves with uncanny foresight, he fears she has at last 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...
PRAISE FOR ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT
A riveting murder mystery wrapped in a twisty conspiracy, set in a vivid fantasy world terrorized by eldritch monsters . . . If you love unique, genre-bending, boundary-pushing fantasy as much as I do, look no further than Robert Jackson Bennett * Fonda Lee, World Fantasy Award–winning author of the Green Bone Saga *
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, New York Times bestselling co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War *
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 * Wesley Chu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The War Arts Saga *
Original, imaginative, and suspenseful, The Tainted Cup superbly blends mystery and fantasy in this vivid, complex novel. I couldn't put it down. Give me more of this world and these characters ASAP! * Meg Gardiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the UNSUB series *
**PRAISE FOR A DROP OF CORRUPTION**
Bennett's wonderfully clever and compulsively readable sequel to 2024's The Tainted Cup offers another winning blend of fantasy and classic detection. . . . Bennett skillfully integrates humor and magic into the complex puzzle plot and plays fair with planting clues for the reader. Randall Garrett fans will be hooked * Publishers Weekly *
A thoroughly satisfying delight from start to finish * The New York Times Book Review *
Superb . . . [Bennett] writes the kind of fun, propulsive work that kept my teenage self scouring the shelves for the next installment * Locs *
A wicked clever immensely fun sequel that ups the ante further on a remarkably fun and imaginative series. A Drop of Corruption is already shaping up to be an early forerunner for book of the year (like its predecessor). I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift than this book and this is my Pick for the Month * Fantasy Hive *
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett seamlessly fuses together fantasy and sci-fi, politics and mysticism, nature and technology, new life and horrifying deaths. It is another incredible tale that is set to satisfy on every level * The Fantasy Hive *
A Drop of Corruption did not disappoint, building on the foundation of book one with an even sharper and more compelling murder mystery that opened the world in intriguing new ways * Gizmodo *
Din is a charming narrator, and their banter propels the reader through a truly baffling mystery to satisfying conclusion * Gizmodo *
Just as good as the first... If deep and complex fantasy worlds are your thing, this is where to go * The Standard *
Fuses together fantasy and sci-fi, politics and mysticism, nature and technology, new life and horrifying deaths * Fantasy Hive *
Wicked, imaginative, chaotic, unputdownable, and a lot of fun * Fantasy Hive *
ISBN: 9781399725446
Dimensions: 192mm x 122mm x 34mm
Weight: 340g
480 pages