Personal Consumer Issues • What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

The Tainted Cup - Robert Bennett Jackson

The Tainted Cup is at it's heart, a murder mystery, set in a world of wild biological magic, with a core plot line being these Leviathans that arise from the sea during the wet season and destroying everything in their path. The best I can describe this book is as follows from an online review:

I suppose if you want a high-concept mashup of recognizable elements, you’ve got Sherlock Holmes in a world with magic that is somewhat reminiscent of the spores of The Last of Us or the plants of Batman villain Poison Ivy all under threat from creatures out of Pacific Rim with a plot that favorably draws comparison to Knives Out. That’s a lot of disparate elements, but Robert Jackson Bennett pulls it all together as these elements were meant to come together.

It's not everyone's cup of tea. I generally burn out after 4 or 5 books in any detective/mystery series as the plots become conformist and predictable. So, I'm finding this book an engrossing change of pace with the "Sherlock Holmes" character in this book, Ana Dolabra, a delightfully snarky, quirky, and brilliant detective, who could cares less about what anyone thinks about her. It's the first book of a trilogy, and I've already ordered the 2nd book.

Statistics: Posted by Barkingsparrow — Wed Jul 22, 2026 8:58 am — Replies 9747 — Views 2363921

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