To Kill a Unicorn

This was a fun read! It had all the good stuff I love in a book: funny, atmospheric, and mystery. It took my brain on a joy ride. and. Definitely recommend if you are looking for something spontaneous to read. The writing was so good!!
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

this was a great entry in the Silicon Valley Mystery, it had what I was hoping for from the description. It had a great concept in a mystery series. The plot worked out really well and I enjoyed every part of the journey. The characters worked well in Silicon Valley and I hope there is more in this series.

"I was sure Satoshi was hiding something, but I was no closer to finding out what. My trip had been a failure. And I had no doubt he’d tell Katie everything we’d discussed. The entire ride home I waited for the phone to buzz with the news of my firing. But all that popped up on the screen was a warning to avoid a big backup on the 880."

The publisher noted that this book “defies easy categorization” and they were not kidding! There’s a little bit of everything in this one. The book jumps into the deep end right away and it took me a good 30-40 pages to catch up and get my bearings. It’s not that its fast paced, it just took a while to get a grasp on who the characters were and what was going on. The pace is a bit slower until roughly half way through the book when it seems to pick up the pace and hit its stride clear through the end. The characters are a bit flat throughout, this is definitely a plot driven story. As far as the story itself, it gets a bit tech heavy at points but, I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like it before. It has the vibes of a modern film noir. The SüprDüpr technology (sorry to be vague, don’t want to spoil it!) is actually very well thought out and I loved the reveal of the sinister way it actually works. An interesting read for sure, I’m grateful to have gotten an eARC from NetGalley and Panda Moon Publishing!

I'm pleasantly surprised to hear that this is Palter's first novel. The writing was well done, and I especially loved the clever chapter names. The plot is really solid and makes for an engrossing experience. I would highly recommend this book, it had me hooked.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read To Kill A Unicorn as an ARC courtesy of Netgalley & Pandamoon Publishing. 🫶

To Kill A Unicorn is a true genre mash for me and I LOVED every second, this was the most imaginative book I have read in a long time. Our main character Tatsu AKA Ted is pulled into a mystery that even he can’t imagine the depths of when an old friend Ryu goes missing shortly after joining a new tech start-up and Ryu’s sister (and Ted’s ex-girlfriend) seeks out his help in finding her brother. SüprDüpr is the newest start-up headed by an enchanting redhead & backed by billions in cryptocurrency that no one can figure our the goal of BUT with the company building homeless shelters and promising to clean up the community, no one feels the need to question it all that much.

Ted, a programmer by day, and a hacker and an alcoholic by night, dives head first into SüprDüpr to find his friend and discover the impossible: is teleportation possible; SüprDüpr discovered it; what is the cost of the greatest transportation advancement in human history? There a few sinister turns in this book as the reader realises the lengths people will go to when they stand to become the richest people on Earth.

DC Palter created so many layers and it was just exciting to read. The themes that they explore include corruption, addiction, grief, sacrifice and beating the odds in a city where the truth is fighting to stay hidden. I just loved everything about it - the characters were well-constructed, the sci-fi elements were made very easy to understand, and if you know me you know I need a cry at the end of the book which I got. 🥹

Side note: there were even a few manga entries in the book which were so beautiful and added a lot of the story.

To Kill A Unicorn is out now & I 100% recommend you pick up a copy! 📚

4.5/5 ⭐️
Set in the startup world of Silicon Valley, mathematician and programmer Ted Hara sets out to find his missing friend. When he discovers his friend started working at new startup SüprDüpr, he starts to investigate and go undercover. What he discovers involves teleportation, missing people, murder, and elephants.

I enjoyed this book a lot! It was so unique and kept me wanting to know what happened. It definitely is not your typical novel, but I’d really recommend it! Mystery, tech, with a little sci-Fi mixed in, this book is a delight!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fun take on the tech industry. Pretty entertaining. I like the author's imagination, which is put to good use here. Recommended.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

I really do not have any notes for this book. I was hooked pretty early and had trouble ever putting it down. If I do have one issue, it is with the ending. It fits, and I guess that it is perfectly fine; I just thought the feeling of " they all lived happily ever after" was a weird way to end the book, considering that Sumire lost her brother, Ted lost his friend, his job, and is lucky not to have an extended prison sentence, and Katie is still on the loose with what appears to be billions of dollars at her disposal. Additionally, I felt that the whole coding school angle could have been omitted from the story, and nothing would have been lost other than maybe a sense of closure that Ted landed on his feet. Besides that, no additional notes. Great book!

What a book! This one was a fabulous read. It sucks the reader right into the plot. Would definitely recommend it for being one of those good books that tick all the boxes!