Eccentric yet brilliant detective Ana Dolabra must prove a man's innocence to stop a civil war in the third book of the series that began with the award-winning The Tainted Cup.

In the canton of Sapirdad, two of the Empire's most powerful families are moments away from going to war with each other, their hundreds of retainers gathered with swords drawn. If blood is spilled, the whole of the empire may be plunged into starvation and chaos.

To deescalate matters, someone must do the impossible: prove that one family's eldest son is innocent of a gruesome and unforgivable murder, despite the incontrovertible evidence against him.

It is with this undertaking that the great detective Ana Dolabra is tasked, her assistant Din at her side - and the two find themselves racing with great speed and little dignity to the scene.

As ever, the impossible proves little obstacle for the deadly combination of Ana's intellect and Din's keen eye, and mere hours after riding into the dusty town, Ana glimpses the greater pattern behind the crime. A deeper, subtler web of death is being woven in plain sight, by a mastermind with an ancient magical technology at his disposal.

But even Ana's uncanny insight is of little use when each new suspect she uncovers ends up dead--with each new killing calculated to bring tensions between the two rival clans past the boiling point. And as Din pursues their adversary through the canton's wild ranges, sprawling ranches, and reeking slaughterhouses, he finds his loyalties divided in unexpected ways.

PRAISE FOR ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT
A riveting murder mystery wrapped in a twisty conspiracy, set in a vivid fantasy world terrorized by eldritch monsters . . . If you love unique, genre-bending, boundary-pushing fantasy as much as I do, look no further than Robert Jackson Bennett * Fonda Lee, World Fantasy Award–winning author of the Green Bone Saga *
I loved this. A twisty detective story, a weird fantasy, a thrilling adventure - The Tainted Cup is a masterstroke. I want Bennett to write a dozen of these, and send them to me yesterday * Max Gladstone, New York Times bestselling co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War *
Part Sherlock Holmes murder mystery, part Through the Looking-Glass, The Tainted Cup is one of the wildest, most original stories I've ever had the privilege to explore * Wesley Chu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The War Arts Saga *
Original, imaginative, and suspenseful, The Tainted Cup superbly blends mystery and fantasy in this vivid, complex novel. I couldn't put it down. Give me more of this world and these characters ASAP! * Meg Gardiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the UNSUB series *
A wicked clever immensely fun sequel that ups the ante further on a remarkably fun and imaginative series. A Drop of Corruption is already shaping up to be an early forerunner for book of the year (like its predecessor). I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift than this book and this is my Pick for the Month * Fantasy Hive *
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett seamlessly fuses together fantasy and sci-fi, politics and mysticism, nature and technology, new life and horrifying deaths. It is another incredible tale that is set to satisfy on every level * The Fantasy Hive *

Robert is the author of American Elsewhere, The Troupe, The Company Man, Mr. Shivers, as well as The Divine Cities trilogy and The Founders Trilogy. The final installment of The Founders Trilogy, LOCKLANDS, is in stores June of 2022.

His work has received the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Phillip K. Dick Citation of Excellence, and he has been shortlisted for the World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Locus Awards.

He lives in Austin with his wife and two sons, one of whom is very large and one of whom is very loud.