 | A Drop of Corruption is an incredible adventure featuring the brilliant and unpredictable investigator Ana Dolabra and her dedicated assistant Dinios “Din” Kol introduced in The Tainted Cup. This time they’re thrust into a jungle coastal town on the outskirts of the empire to unravel a locked-room murder. Ana quickly deduces that they’re dealing with an extraordinary criminal mastermind—who stays several steps ahead of their every move. Din has left behind the love of his life. He tries to lose himself in sex with strangers to relieve his loneliness. “Afterward: when all was spent, and the shuddering grew still, and the sweaty limbs atop my own grew cool. Only then could I hold them and make the world small [and] controllable.” |
A perpetually mud-covered, tobacco-spitting Apoth guard named Malo becomes Din’s guide and sarcastic sidekick in the investigation. Malo has enhanced hearing, sight and sense of smell, which allows her to track smugglers hiding in the swamps. She’s an absolute delight: a loyal guard, defiant of authority, and protective of the downtrodden, she takes Din to task for being overzealous and getting in her way. She also makes quite a few hilarious jokes about the scent of his “undercarriage” after he’s had sex.
 | The story highlights the Apothetikal branch of the empire: chemist-geneticists who modify plants, fungi, and insects to heal sickness and suppress contagions. I enjoyed learning about the various types of apparatus the “Apoths” use in their work: multi-spouted samovar-type pots, ceiling nozzles squirting extracts and oils, and healing nests. Their tools have a steampunk sensibility, but with organic components dominating the “machinery.” The Apoths also work offshore in the Shroud, a strange half-living structure where they harvest the magical blood of fallen leviathans, the strange sea monsters that come ashore during the wet season. |
The leviathan's blood is used to augment individuals with specific skills: for example, Din’s perfect memory. The blood is also synthesized into specific reagents, which are shipped to the heart of the empire via canals dug through the inland swamps. Smugglers routinely try to steal and resell these valuable reagents—and it falls to Malo and her peers to track them down in the muddy swamps.
 | The murder that Ana and Din investigate was of a Treasury delegate sent by the empire to negotiate with the local nobility—all of whom have terrible teeth. The investigation is full of surprising twists and turns, including witnesses dying before they can divulge critical information, locals who hate Imperials like Ana and Din on principle, and a trail of bodies left by the mastermind killer. Ana’s final push to solve the case is dazzling and an absolute joy to read. The criminal mastermind gets his just reward, as do his co-conspirators. Even more satisfying is Malo’s probable future in the Imperial Service and the tender bond between Ana and Din. |
A Drop of Corruption is a five-star read: the writing is inspired, the characters are complex and fascinating, and there’s plenty of action, intrigue, and pathos.
The first book featuring Ana and Din is The Tainted Cup.
Also by Robert Jackson Bennett: City of Stairs, City of Blades, and City of Miracles.
Also by Robert Jackson Bennett: City of Stairs, City of Blades, and City of Miracles.
