This book is the sixth installment in The Murderbot Diaries, a series I discovered, then promptly devoured in 2023 (a seventh book has just come out, which I’ll probably start tonight).
Murderbot, the main character in this series, isn’t human, but the kind of introvert I’d love to spend my time watching space operas with (which is what they would rather be doing instead of saving humans). They somewhat accidentally discovered a group of humans they care about, and now they keep having to rescue them.
I love the action and world-building, but really, it’s the character of Murderbot that keeps me coming back.
No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body in the station mall. When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people-who knew?) Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans! Again!
This is a murder mystery set on a series of moody habitats orbiting Jupiter—connected by trains (and I’m a huge fan of trains!).
The main character is an academic trying to figure out how to make Earth habitable again when an old girlfriend knocks on her door and asks for help solving a crime.
I enjoyed how the world-building played into how the characters found clues to the crime—and the twists that followed. Most of all, I loved the coziness with comfy apartments, warm fires, and baked goods.
On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colony's erudite university - and Mossa's former girlfriend, a scholar of Earth's pre-collapse ecosystems.
Pleiti has dedicated her research and her career to aiding the larger effort towards a possible return to Earth. When Mossa unexpectedly arrives and requests Pleiti's assistance in her latest investigation, the two of them embark on a twisting path in which the future of life on Earth is at stake - and, perhaps, their futures, together.
In the Paradox Hotel, time itself is breaking down. Things are happening out of order, and someone has smuggled in baby dinosaurs. Someone is murdered, and it’s up to the head of security to figure out who did it—of course, the murder hasn’t happened yet because timelines are out of order.
This story is delightfully twisted with quirky details. Stories dealing with time travel are so difficult to get right—but this one does. I loved how the investigation played out in such a nonlinear fashion, yet it all made perfect sense in the end.
“Time travel, murder, corruption, restless baby dinosaurs, and a snarky robot named Ruby collide in this excellent, noir-inflected, humor-infused, science-fiction thriller.”—The Boston Globe
An impossible crime. A detective on the edge of madness. The future of time travel at stake. From the author of The Warehouse . . .
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, Kirkus Reviews
January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.
Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting…
After a tarnished military record leaves her unable to find work on Earth, Margo is hunting for a fresh start. A colonizing mission heading to a new world creates the perfect opportunity—or at least that’s what she thinks. Strapped into a crashing colony ship, she realizes how wrong she is.
The straightforward colonizing mission becomes a scramble for survival. Her new world is harsh and unforgiving. Accidents keep happening, too many to blame on bad luck alone. The trail of evidence leads Margo to a startling conclusion—one of her fellow colonists is a saboteur.
Tomorrow is the colony’s first communications window with Earth and their only chance to send a message home. Can Margo stop the saboteur before it’s too late?
