In Retrospect

the sci-fi murder mystery

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Pub Date 11 Dec 2013 | Archive Date 30 Mar 2014

Description

Former elite operative Merit Rafi suffered during her imprisonment at the end of a devastating war, but the ultimate torment is being forced to investigate a murder she would gladly have committed herself.

The year is 3324. In the region once known as Turkey, the Rasakans have attacked the technologically superior Oku. The war is a stalemate until the Oku commander, General Zane, abruptly surrenders. Merit, a staunch member of the Oku resistance, fights on, but she and her comrades are soon captured. An uneasy peace ensues, but the Rasakans work secretly to gain control of the prized Oku time-travel technology. When Zane is murdered, the Rasakans exert their control over Merit, the last person on Earth capable of Forensic Retrospection.

Merit, though reinstated to her old job by the despised Rasakans, knows she is only a puppet. If she refuses to travel back in time to identify Zane’s killer, her family and colleagues will pay the price. But giving in to Rasakan coercion means giving them unimaginable power. She has only three days to make this morally wrenching choice; three days to change history.

As the preliminary investigation progresses, Merit uncovers evidence of a wider plot. How did the Rasakans defeat the technologically superior Oku? Why did the Oku surrender prematurely? How did the Rasakans discover her true identity? Merit realizes she will only find the answers by learning who killed the traitor, General Zane.

In Retrospect is a good old-fashioned whodunit set in a compelling post-apocalyptic future.

Former elite operative Merit Rafi suffered during her imprisonment at the end of a devastating war, but the ultimate torment is being forced to investigate a murder she would gladly have committed...


Advance Praise

In 2009 Ellen entered an earlier draft of In Retrospect in the ABNA contest. The book got to the quarter finals, where it was awarded a critique by a Publisher's Weekly reviewer. Here's what she said:

"After a rocky start, this story — about Merit Rasmy, former time-traveler (or Retrospector) on a future Earth decimated by warfare — finds a sure footing. Merit fought in the failed resistance movement, but is saved from execution because she is the last Retrospector alive, and the new government needs her help. As Merit struggles with despair and how to hold true to what remains of her ideals and loyalties, she must discover who can be trusted from among her old allies and new enemies. The story shies from hackneyed good vs. evil themes, while the author expertly plays out the implications of society-wide upheavals on the scale of a single woman’s choices. Even the eventual time-travel Deus Ex Machina is made fresh by the reversals of context and emotion that precede it."

In 2009 Ellen entered an earlier draft of In Retrospect in the ABNA contest. The book got to the quarter finals, where it was awarded a critique by a Publisher's Weekly reviewer. Here's what she...


Marketing Plan

Book Launch, MA: 2-4 PM Dec 8 2013, Somerville Public Library, Somerville, MA

Book Launch, FL: Sat. Jan 25, 2014, Art of Literature, Cape Coral, FL

Book Launch, NY: TBD

Virtual Book Tour: Dec 2013 – Jan 10 2014

Book Trailer: www.inretrospectbook.com/trailer.html

Conference Schedule:

Bouchercon 2013 (19-22 Sept., Albany, NY)

Crime Bake 2013 (8-10 Nov., Boston, MA)

Arisia 2014 (17-20 Jan, Boston MA)

Sleuthfest 2014 (28 Feb - 2 March Orlando, FL)

Malice Domestic (2-4 May, Bethesda, MD)

Bloody Ink 2014 (6-8 June, Toronto, CAN)

Confluence SF 2014 (July, Pittsburg PA)

Book Launch, MA: 2-4 PM Dec 8 2013, Somerville Public Library, Somerville, MA

Book Launch, FL: Sat. Jan 25, 2014, Art of Literature, Cape Coral, FL

Book Launch, NY: TBD

Virtual Book Tour: Dec 2013 – Jan...


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781432827335
PRICE $25.95 (USD)

Average rating from 9 members


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