3.5/5 stars! This is a sci-fi thriller by author Laurie Bell. I haven't read anything else by this author and was excited to see what this one was about. I thought the concept of a investigator in the context of space was a cool spin on the thriller genre. The pacing was kind of trash though. It dragged on at times. But the overarching story was enjoyable. Would give another book by this author a shot.

Stars: 2 out of 5.

How can a book about 3 detectives doing an investigation be so slow and boring?

Let me start by saying that this is my first sci-fi book, so maybe take some of my comments with a grain of salt! Anyway, here we go: this book is sort of a science-fiction meets murder mystery book, with 3 main characters, each going through their own struggle. We first meet Mich Janelle, and later Rel and Zeth. The three meet up and we follow them along their mission to solve a gruesome murder. As more and more comes to light about the murder, the three must work together to stop a conspiracy to kill millions.

As an overall grade, I’d say this book did okay. The story itself is nice and exciting: there’s twists and turns, and if the story went too fast for you, there is typically a little recap so you, yourself, know whats going on. There we some things I didn’t like as much though.

First of, there’s the names: Mich Janelle (really Michele Janelle), Rel Charley and Zeth Wen. All these names are fine, but multiple variations are used throughout the book, like Mich, Michele, Janelle, Michele, but more annoyingly for Rel and Zeth. They are sometimes referred to as Charley and Wen. Not really a problem perse, but this happens before the characters are fully fleshed out in the book, making the read sometimes complicated and confusing on who is who, when it doesn’t need to be.

Secondly, I think the book could have done with a little more world building (but that is my personal opinion). For example, the main characters often use the words ‘res’ or ‘res it’, or ‘resing hell’, but the origin is never properly explained. The worlds aren’t really described: we as a reader don’t know what the planets look like, for example. Are they desert-y or forest-y? We are also continuously told that there’s been a war, but what kind of war or why isn’t really touched upon. I feel like overall, both the worlds and the characters could be fleshed out a little more, especially since the book hints upon a second book.

Having said that: if you are looking for a fast-paced, sci-fi, action packed novel that has twists and turns at every chapter, this one is definitely for you! The book reads fast & the writer knows how to build suspense.