The Tainted Cup

Original excerpt
5/26/2025

I was very surprised by this book. It's a murder mystery wrapped in a fantasy world with giant sea creatures which attack the city during the rainy season. I think this is the first murder mystery I thoroughly enjoyed. I was able to follow the progression of the investigation, was surprised by the big reveals, and really liked the two main characters. The world building is great, although the names of the cities, regions, and other characters had me a bit confused at times. Many times during murder mysteries, regardless of the genre or setting in which it takes place, I get lost in the details. There was just something about the way this book was written and the premise of the investigators that kept me from getting lost, and kept me completely engrossed. This book is nominated for a 2025 Hugo Award.

Reread 5/31/2026

I reread this book because it’s sequel, “A Drop of Corruption” has been nominated for a 2026 Best Novel Hugo and I wanted to reread this to refresh my memory.  Once again, I absolutely loved this book.  I think this second read was more enjoyable than the first last year.  I found Ana’s jabs much funnier.  Add in Din’s stoic humorlessness and I just ate it up.  I took a lot more care in understanding the details of the mysteries flying around.  Mystery books are not usually my thing because I forget details.  So this time, I worked extra hard at keeping them in the forefront of my mind.  I also paid more attention to the integration of the mystery with the attacks of the Leviathans.  It amazed me at how well they blended into one complete whole rather than feel like the giant sea creatures were just thrown in for extra drama.  My experience with this reread was so positive, I’m going to up my rating to five out of five stars.  I loved it that much.  I still would choose Someone You Can Build a Nest In over this book, but I feel a little better about it having beaten Nest at last year’s Hugo ceremony.

Come visit my blog for the original full review plus update…