Early Review – A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan, Book 2) by Robert Jackson Bennett (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery
Length: 432 pages
Publisher:‎ Del Rey
Release Date: April 1, 2025
ASIN: B0D4HRSDSJ
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 5/5 stars

“In the canton of Yarrowdale, at the very edge of the Empire’s reach, a Treasury officer has disappeared into thin air—vanishing from a room within a heavily guarded tower, its door and windows locked from the inside.

To solve the case, the Empire calls on its most brilliant and mercurial detective, the great Ana Dolabra. At her side, as always, is her bemused assistant Dinios Kol.

Ana soon discovers that they are investigating not a disappearance but a murder—and one of surpassing cunning, carried out by an opponent who can pass through warded doors like a ghost.

Worse still, the killer may be targeting the high-security compound known as the Shroud, where the Empire harvests fallen titans for the volatile magic found in their blood. Should it fall, the Empire itself will grind to a halt, robbed of the magic that allows its wheels of power to turn.

Din has seen his superior solve impossible cases before. But as the death toll grows and their quarry predicts each of Ana’s moves with uncanny foresight, he fears that she has at last met an enemy she can’t defeat.”

Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: This was an excellent follow-up to the first book in this series. I think I enjoyed it even more because we learned so much more about the background of the characters and about this amazing world. I was reading this at the same time as Alien Clay by Tchaikovsky and that probably wasn’t the best decision since both books have some similar themes to them. However, I really enjoyed this.

Din and Ana have been called to the canton of Yarrowdale to investigate the disappearance of a Treasury officer. The mystery leads them to a high security compound known as the Shroud. The Shroud is a mysterious compound where the Empire harvests fallen leviathans for magical bits that enable the citizens of the Empire to modify themselves to aid in their survival.

This book blends amazing world-building, intriguing characters, and a complex mystery together to make for an excellent story. This is an engaging read but not necessarily the easiest read; the plot and mystery are complex, and the world is complex as well. The world-building here really drew me in. Yarrowdale isn’t officially part of the Empire…yet. However, Yarrowdale is of extreme strategic importance because of the Shroud and what the Shroud means to the Empire.

I loved getting to learn more about this world and how the bits from the leviathans are used to give the citizens of the Empire an edge in survival. I also adored getting to learn more about both Kol and Ana’s background. Ana was a true mystery in the first book, and we are finally getting a deeper glimpse into her mysteries and background in this book, and it is absolutely fascinating. I also enjoyed watching Kol try to figure out the future path he wants to take, he never wanted to serve as an engraver, but the longer he stays working with Ana the more he starts to see how he is impacting the Empire in an important way.

The mystery was well done too. It tied in very nicely with the politics and overall world here. It keeps you guessing. I think the only complaint I have about this series so far is that sometimes the police procedural qualities of it get a bit too bogged down in details, but I suppose that is necessary to give readers the clues to solve the mystery. Sometimes all of the fine details slow the story down a bit too much for me, though.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this. I love the world-building here; this is an absolutely fascinating world. I also really enjoy the complex characters and learning more about the background of both Din and Ana. The amazing world and characters, coupled with this very well done mystery, make this an excellent and engaging read. My only small complaint would be that I felt like some times there was too much time spent on the fine details of the mystery and this slowed the story down some. However, I am not a huge fan of police procedurals in general, so if you are, you will love this. I look forward to the next book in this series.