My Five Word TL:DR Review: in a nutshell, simply superb

I loved A Drop of Corruption by RJB, which didn’t come as a surprise as I’ve read and enjoyed so many of his previous books. What I’m particularly enjoying about this series, apart from the fabulous world and two amazing central characters, is the combination of fantasy and mystery. For sure The Tainted Cup was one of my favourite reads and Ana and Din made a great first impression but without doubt A Drop of Corruption was even better (although that feels almost impossible to believe given how strongly I felt about the first).

In this second instalment Ana and Din have been sent to the furthest reaches of the empire, a canton known as Yarrowdale to investigate the disappearance of a treasury official. It pretty soon becomes clear that the official has been murdered and as Ana begins to make her enquiries and dwell upon the strange circumstances, it soon begins to feel like, on this occasion, she may actually be out of her depth as the perpetrator of the crime is always one step ahead. 

First things first, if you haven’t read the first in series this review may contain spoilers so be aware of that.

So, what did I love about this. 

I thoroughly enjoyed being faced with an almost impossible to solve mystery. This is such an intriguing plot that hooks you quickly and pulls you deeper and deeper into its cunning web. I admit that I have such a lot of respect for an author who can come up with such a deeply perplexing crime whilst at the same time keeping so many things in the air and working smoothly together. 

He builds on this fascinating world uncovering a remote outpost where canals take you deep into jungle type vegetation or travel to the sea brings you to the protective walls and the Shroud. I’m not going to say anything about the Shroud but leave you to discover it for yourself. It’s yet another small piece in this complex world where Leviathans could destroy everything.  Speaking of complexity Bennett continues to build on the tricky politics at play and  and breadth and span, not to mention ambition, of the Empire. 

On top of this the relationship between Ana and Din continues to develop. We learn more about them both, Din is experiencing something of a crisis concerning his role and the way Ana quietly runs interference was really good to read. I think I mentioned previously that this strange duo have great potential to go on and appear in so many mysteries yet to come and I seriously hope that this turns out to be the case. We still have such a lot to learn about them and this world. 

The writing is superb, the pacing is perfect, I frankly have no criticisms whatsoever and I simply cannot wait to read the next instalment.  A perfect fantasy version of Holmes and Watson, this time with the added bonus of an almost Moriarty type foe in terms of his intelligence and ability to outfox Ana. 

In conclusion. Thoroughly enjoyable and gripping. 

I purchased a copy through Audible and really enjoyed this version. 

My rating 5 out of 5 stars