Dead Space

3.5 stars: A murder mystery in a remote space station, cryptic messages and secrets about historic tragedies. I was so excited after hearing the premise for this one! Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to what I was hoping for. It was a little slow and, instead of the clever main character following clues to solve the murder, the focus seemed to be on Hester’s history and trauma. Whilst this is well done, it is far from the spooky sci-fi thriller I was expecting. It is more space politics than locked-room mystery.

I took a chance on buying this book, especially because at the time it seemed like most reviews were written by people who got the book for free. Well, I paid money, and I don't regret it. This book was excellent.I've read the Expanse series, so I'm comparing heavily against that. This book had a similar vibe in terms of the geopolitical situation of belters vs inners (though in this book, Mars is even worse off since they lost their war for independence, and the moon is its own nation.) Corporations run things in the belt, with a very obvious disregard for the work force. The world building is scattered throughout the story in very few pages, and I liked that I could get that background while the story continues forward. The addition of AI in this book is something I realized that a futuristic series like the Expanse is missing.I've never read murder mystery books before, but I have to imagine it'd be something like this. I spent half the book wondering (in a good way) what the heck was going on, and trying to make guesses of who done it. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The setting is the asteroids and a production centre that claims to be a valuable investment for Parthenope---a powerful corporation in the belt. Hester Marley is a former AI developer, who's mission to Titan was sabotaged and her life reduced to accepting a noncount security position to pay for her medical 'restoration' from the attack. While on Hygiea, a company town, she is contacted by a former friend and survivor (David) from the Titan project/disaster who cryptically claims his new position on Nimue, a small asteroid, masquerades a serious threat as its stated purpose is a fraud. Soon after, David is murdered. Marley volunteers to investigate his death as part of a company security team. It is an wonderful blend of the two genres--- science fiction and mystery. Highly recommended!

Well the story is fun. Short enough that even if you don't like it, it will be over quickly. My big issue is with the editing. Grammar and punctuation was all over the place. Very poor grade like it was rushed out onto a first draft and they printed it.

Wow it went in directions I didn't expect, excellent storytelling with cool characters.