The Tainted Cup

4.5 stars 
Fantasy mystery where an investigator and her assistant, helped by enhancing abilities, try to solve a series of strange murders, in an empire whose external walls are threatened by terrible leviathans.  As a fan of the author's previous Foundryside trilogy (though I still need to read book 3), I was looking forward to check out his newest work. As with his previous books, this fantasy mystery was a great read, with unique world building and very compelling characters, written in an evocative and smooth style. 
I loved how the world and magic portrayed is centred around plants, brews, poison, contagion and special enhancements.  The mystery itself was really interesting and I loved seeing the characters intelligently putting the pieces together. It felt very much in the vein of a classic detective story like Sherlock Holmes but the fantasy setting and quirky characters made for an intriguing story. 
I loved the inclusion of queer characters, specifically in the mc as the author has done in his previous books. 
This was an incredible read and I'm really looking forward to read the next book in this series.