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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Cozy mystery in space. It was ok. If you like cocktails there’s a recipe at the beginning of each chapter.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved it! This was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the characters and the setting.
3.5 stars rounded up for excellent portrayal of a character with an anxiety disorder. My brain is holiday-fried at the moment, so review in list form:
Things I liked:
-World building was phenomenal. Kowal clearly spent a lot of effort building a futuristic society, complete with social rules and expectations.
-Having my brain's language-based gender shortcuts challenged. The language here is gender neutral unless otherwise needed and it's fantastic and also a reminder in how far we have to go to overcome the language conventions we unconsciously absorb as children. This was challenging in the best way.
-Science fiction aspects were useful but not overwhelming. I love hard sci fi too, but this makes it easier to hand to a larger audience.
-Ending tied up the mystery aspect satisfactorily.
-Again, the way Tesla's PTSD is integrated into her life. The randomness of it was incredibly realistic and I definitely recognized many of the techniques she uses to prevent overwhelm and also manage panic attacks when they happen.
Things I struggled with:
-I really thought for large portions of the book that Shal would turn out to be, if not guilty, then complicit. There were a lot of lines dropped about everyone lying and having secrets that felt like strong foreshadowing. Ultimately, because the story starts on their honeymoon and we don't know anything about him, it was too easy to speculate when, in retrospect, we're never meant to suspect him. (I wonder if I missed this because I've never read Hammett's The Thin Man or seen the films.) Regardless, more about his character early on would have helped.
-There were a couple of plotlines related to the other passengers that felt unresolved, although we did get a satisfactory "whodunnit" answer.
-Tesla spends a lot of time pointing out how much she hates using her fame/money privilege to get around the system... and then doing it anyway. She never really experiences any consequences from doing this either, which felt off. That may lean towards realism, but it was weird to hang a lantern on it as problematic and then never see her refrain or have someone refuse to cooperate with her because of it.
I could see this evolving into a series and I would definitely read another installment.
Things I liked:
-World building was phenomenal. Kowal clearly spent a lot of effort building a futuristic society, complete with social rules and expectations.
-Having my brain's language-based gender shortcuts challenged. The language here is gender neutral unless otherwise needed and it's fantastic and also a reminder in how far we have to go to overcome the language conventions we unconsciously absorb as children. This was challenging in the best way.
-Science fiction aspects were useful but not overwhelming. I love hard sci fi too, but this makes it easier to hand to a larger audience.
-Ending tied up the mystery aspect satisfactorily.
-Again, the way Tesla's PTSD is integrated into her life. The randomness of it was incredibly realistic and I definitely recognized many of the techniques she uses to prevent overwhelm and also manage panic attacks when they happen.
Things I struggled with:
-I really thought for large portions of the book that Shal would turn out to be, if not guilty, then complicit. There were a lot of lines dropped about everyone lying and having secrets that felt like strong foreshadowing. Ultimately, because the story starts on their honeymoon and we don't know anything about him, it was too easy to speculate when, in retrospect, we're never meant to suspect him. (I wonder if I missed this because I've never read Hammett's The Thin Man or seen the films.) Regardless, more about his character early on would have helped.
-There were a couple of plotlines related to the other passengers that felt unresolved, although we did get a satisfactory "whodunnit" answer.
-Tesla spends a lot of time pointing out how much she hates using her fame/money privilege to get around the system... and then doing it anyway. She never really experiences any consequences from doing this either, which felt off. That may lean towards realism, but it was weird to hang a lantern on it as problematic and then never see her refrain or have someone refuse to cooperate with her because of it.
I could see this evolving into a series and I would definitely read another installment.
A fun and sexy SF mystery with characters I hope to see again in future books.
Tesla Crane is on a honeymoon cruise to Mars with her handsome husband, Shal. Because she's rich and famous, the newlyweds are using fake names and using disguises. But when a fellow passenger is murdered right in front of their cabin and security decides Shal's the killer, Tesla knows she has to do everything she can to clear his name. If she has to reveal her identity, call her lawyer, and draw on her science skills, then so be it.
This is a fun mystery, with several believable red herrings, a series of murders, and a somewhat surprising ending (at least *I* didn't figure it out). I loved the banter, the relationship between Tesla and Shal, their service dog, and the details of the cruise ship. Each chapter starts with a recipe for a cocktail: some are classic, some are variations of familiar drinks. The sex scenes are left to the reader's imagination, but their chemistry is real.
I couldn't find anything promising more books about Tesla and Shal, but I sure hope to see them again. This is my first Kowal novel, but now I want to read her Lady Astronaut Series.
Thanks to the publisher for the print ARC.
Tesla Crane is on a honeymoon cruise to Mars with her handsome husband, Shal. Because she's rich and famous, the newlyweds are using fake names and using disguises. But when a fellow passenger is murdered right in front of their cabin and security decides Shal's the killer, Tesla knows she has to do everything she can to clear his name. If she has to reveal her identity, call her lawyer, and draw on her science skills, then so be it.
This is a fun mystery, with several believable red herrings, a series of murders, and a somewhat surprising ending (at least *I* didn't figure it out). I loved the banter, the relationship between Tesla and Shal, their service dog, and the details of the cruise ship. Each chapter starts with a recipe for a cocktail: some are classic, some are variations of familiar drinks. The sex scenes are left to the reader's imagination, but their chemistry is real.
I couldn't find anything promising more books about Tesla and Shal, but I sure hope to see them again. This is my first Kowal novel, but now I want to read her Lady Astronaut Series.
Thanks to the publisher for the print ARC.
Rich, disabled Tesla and her handsome ex-investigator husband Shal are in a space cruise for their honeymoon under assumed identities when it all goes wrong. Shal is framed for murder and the ship's police think it's open and shut.
Billed as The Thin Man in space this is way more emotionally grueling than that implies because the couple aren't just dabbling in a bit of private investigating, they are accused of murder and only end up investigating to clear themselves. There's a threat to them all the way through the book.
It's definitely a page turner, full of vivid people, with a diverse range of genders and identities, very much a world where gender binary isn't the assumed norm. Tesla is a wonderful lead, an inventor who suffers chronic pain from a spinal injury which she has to dial down with a deep brain device that numbs her sense of touch. She has an absolutely adorable Westie service dog which thinks it is the centre of the universe (mainly because it is).
In summary, a very satisfying read.
[This is a murder mystery not a romance so although the newly married couple are all over each other throughout the book there's no actual hanky panky. I didn't expect any, but just so you know!]
Billed as The Thin Man in space this is way more emotionally grueling than that implies because the couple aren't just dabbling in a bit of private investigating, they are accused of murder and only end up investigating to clear themselves. There's a threat to them all the way through the book.
It's definitely a page turner, full of vivid people, with a diverse range of genders and identities, very much a world where gender binary isn't the assumed norm. Tesla is a wonderful lead, an inventor who suffers chronic pain from a spinal injury which she has to dial down with a deep brain device that numbs her sense of touch. She has an absolutely adorable Westie service dog which thinks it is the centre of the universe (mainly because it is).
In summary, a very satisfying read.
[This is a murder mystery not a romance so although the newly married couple are all over each other throughout the book there's no actual hanky panky. I didn't expect any, but just so you know!]
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious