Shari Garmise

I continue on with my quest to understand what makes a good spec mystery. Today, I am reviewing A Drop of Corruption, the second book in Robert Jackson Bennett‘s Ana and Din Mysteries (Shadow of the Leviathan). I read the first book, A Tainted Cup, and enjoyed the unusual pairing. The Ana-Din duo resembles Holmes with Watson. Ana exhibits exceptional power of reasoning and deductions, quirky habits including being perpetually blindfolded, unusual and grotesque eating habits and a predilection for mood enhancers. Unlike Sherlock, she is part of the Justice apparatus that helps keep the Empire together.

Like Watson, Din narrates and provides the investigative and administrative footwork. He is enhanced, as many in this complex world are, given a perfect memory for every detail including muscle memory. We relate to Din, his debts, commitment to his family, his yearning for a past lover, need to find temporary comfort and all those things that make him human.

A Drop of Corruption starts with a locked room murder, which Ana easily explains how (not who) by the end of section one – an early display of her talents. Corruption is woven through Ana and Din’s world as they live in an empire consistently under threat. Externally from leviathans, who attack from the sea. Internally, they battle to keep the empire together. Their work is strengthened and inhibited by the work of many to harness the powers of the leviathan whose blood, bones and marrow all have enhancing properties.

What I Loved

The mixture of police procedural and speculative world. This blend allows us deep glimpses into: 1) complex relationships that tie people to each other in ways we often underappreciate, 2) how zealotry and arrogance make crossing the line between doing good and doing evil way too easy, and 3) the costs of enhanced capabilities. I am not going provide more detail to avoid spoilers, but I like the intensity of the world and the people. Even the superficial encounters have a depth to them, as they remind us of the need to escape, if only for a moment.

The creativity. It’s a well-crafted world with well-crafted characters, twists and turns regarding both the mystery, the story and our understanding of Ana and Din. And as someone trying to write a spec mystery with depth and complexity, seeing how the author uses twists, twists and danger ramp-ups, of value all on their own in a good story, to increase the complexity was both interesting and instructive.

What I Could Have Lived Without

The Gore. In this book, and the first, Ana and Din inhabit rough-edged, end-of-the-world places – packed with blood, mutilated corpses, putrid smells, scratchy, hard materials – no place I’d like to visit. Even the opulent castles and mansions are uninviting, damp with mold and rotting moss. I kept wishing for a sense of beauty somewhere, somehow. We get it in the quality of the relationships, and the glimpses of nature. Even as nature plays a major role in these stories, I struggled to grasp its beauty amidst all the gore that touches it. I can admire and respect the flower that grows in a dump, but I can’t unsee the trash.

Even with the gore, I highly recommend this boot and the series. For me they are a guide about how to get a spec/paranormal mystery right. For anyone, they are a good read.