The Tainted Cup

Dinios Kol, assistant to Investigator Ana Dolabra, visits a very fine mansion, belonging to an extremely wealthy and powerful family. He was sent there because a death had occurred. And not just any death, but one that sounds impossible: a tree has spontaneously grown from the dead man. Din is an engraver, someone biologically altered to remember perfectly everything that he experiences and recall this data at any time. Ana, the investigator he serves, is one of the more unusual fictional detectives. Among her other idiosyncrasies, she often wears a red blindfold, so as not to be overwhelmed by her senses. For similar reasons, she only rarely leaves her house, relying on Din’s altered abilities to provide her with necessary evidence. She has recently been appointed to the Outer Rim of the Empire, and she is catastrophically bored. But a death is an excellent cure for boredom. Ana quickly determines that the engineer’s death was not a strange and horrible accident, but rather a very deliberate murder. And then a leviathan, having made its way up from the depths, breaches the Empire’s walls. In the wake of this, it becomes clear that the murderer has struck again, not only killing multiple people this time, but also weakening those protective walls at the beginning of the wet season, the time when even more leviathans will venture forth to try them. As if murders and monsters aren’t enough, Din has secrets of his own, ones he is desperate to keep from Ana. But as he watches her astounding skills, their discovery seems more and more likely. THE FALLEN MASTER: In the imperial town of Temir, one of the greatest metalmasters is found dead at his forge. Suspicion instantly falls on his apprentice Olsev, whose powerful cerebral augmentations—and neurodivergence—make her an astonishing genius at craftsmanship, yet difficult to understand. Olsev’s pleas of innocence go unheeded by the authorities—until the Imperial Iudex takes an interest in her case and sends two very unusual detectives to investigate: Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol. Caught between the machinations of the Empire, her colleagues, and the powerful interests of the gentry class, Olsev must decide if she can trust these detectives—and if her master’s death might hide a truth too terrible for her to bear.

About the Book: Dinios Kol, assistant to Investigator Ana Dolabra, visits a very fine mansion, belonging to an extremely wealthy and powerful family. He was sent there because a death had occurred. And not just any death, but one that sounds impossible: a tree has spontaneously grown from the dead man. Din is an engraver, someone biologically altered to remember perfectly everything that he experiences and recall this data at any time. Ana, the investigator he serves, is one of the more unusual fictional detectives you might have the good fortune to encounter. Among her other idiosyncrasies, she often wears a red blindfold, so as not to be overwhelmed by her senses. For similar reasons, she only rarely leaves her house, relying on Din’s altered abilities to provide her with necessary evidence. She has recently been appointed to the Outer Rim of the Empire, and she is catastrophically bored. But a death is an excellent cure for boredom. Ana quickly determines that the engineer’s death was not a strange and horrible accident, but rather a very deliberate murder. And then a leviathan, having made its way up from the depths, breaches the Empire’s walls. In the wake of this, it becomes clear that the murderer has struck again, not only killing multiple people this time, but also weakening those protective walls at the beginning of the wet season, the time when even more leviathans will venture forth to try them. As if murders and monsters aren’t enough, Din has secrets of his own, ones he is desperate to keep from Ana. But as he watches her astounding skills, their discovery seems more and more likely. Ana and Din share literary kinship with Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. But just as there is no place quite like the Empire, there is no literary duo quite like Ana and Din. About the Bonus Novella, The Fallen Master: In the imperial town of Temir, one of the greatest metalmasters is found dead at his forge. Suspicion instantly falls on his apprentice Olsev, whose powerful cerebral augmentations—and neurodivergence—make her an astonishing genius at craftsmanship, yet difficult to understand. Olsev’s pleas of innocence go unheeded by the authorities—until the Imperial Iudex takes an interest in her case and sends two very unusual detectives to investigate: Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol. Caught between the machinations of the Empire, her colleagues, and the powerful interests of the gentry class, Olsev must decide if she can trust these detectives—and if her master’s death might hide a truth too terrible for her to bear. From Publishers Weekly (Starred Review): “Bennett (the Founders trilogy) brilliantly melds genres in this exceptional mystery-fantasy, the first in his Shadow of the Leviathan series... The worldbuilding is immediately involving, Bennett’s take on a classic detective duo dynamic feels fresh and exciting, and the mystery itself twists and turns delightfully. Readers will be wowed. ” From Booklist (Starred Review): “Inspired by Nero Wolfe with a bit of Hannibal Lector added to his prime investigator, Bennett (Foundryside, 2018) kicks off the Shadow of the Leviathan series, which will delight fans of fantasy-infused mysteries. ” From Library Journal (Starred Review): “Bennett’s (Locklands) series opener introduces readers to a conspiracy of murder and skullduggery as seen through the eyes of a naive junior investigator who is forced to grow up fast and hard as his boss and mentor, the rather Sherlockian Ana, threads her way through a complex conspiracy of murders. ” From Kirkus: “Call Bennett’s latest a drawing-room mystery, albeit the drawing room is the size of a small otherworldly kingdom… With plenty of red herrings—beg pardon, red leviathans—and neatly imagined plot twists to work through, the reader fond of faux medieval neologisms and occasional grownup moments (‘a glimpse of her body, and a winking tuft of pubic thatch’) will enjoy solving the mystery with our heroes. ”

In an opulent mansion at the borders of the Empire, an Imperial officer lies dead - killed when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even here, 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 solve the crime is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricity. At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. Soon, the mystery leads to a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself. For Ana, all this makes for a deliciously thorny puzzle - at last, something to truly hold her attention. And Din? He'll just have to hold on for the ride.

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.