Shadow of the Leviathan - Review
Link to the author's (R. J. Bennett) personal website
Book 1: The Tainted Cup
Book 2: A Drop of Corruption
Blurb: (From Book 1) In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.
Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.
At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.
Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.
As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.
Review: I fear that while reading this series, I am in some way in contact with a contagion whose single effect is addiction. I could not stop myself from reading. The writing is absolutely fantastic, and the waves of suspense trap me in a state of reading bliss. The setting is wonderfully creative, with engaging dialogue and a gripping story all taking place in a rich interesting world that has so much going on. The rather small amounts of meaningful travel within the story, while constantly acknowledging the larger world and how it connects to the local murder mystery is juggled perfectly. This is also the first series I've read that has combined "futuristic" biologically themed advancements with a world that is otherwise not very technologically advanced.
The two leads, Din and Ana, bounce off each other with constantly amusing dialogue. I truly enjoy their dynamic, and find that they complement the wide array of minor characters, giving those characters more character instead of reducing them to one-dimensional potential suspects. The awe and amazement I feel at certain points of the series was so unexpected given my expectations for a murder mystery style book. I believe this a blanket recommend for everyone, and highly encourage picking this series up!