Another SF book, which felt like it was in the same bucket as Bedlam, although I see that one is by "Christopher", so perhaps not (I'm not sure how he's deciding which name to use when).
In this book, there's a murder that's taken place on a space station(?): murder is so unusual in this culture that it takes a special kind of investigator to sort it out.
This was quite readable although it wasn’t anything special. Like Bedlam there are some SF ideas in here which aren't very original - in this case: might you be an android and not know it; how do you know you weren’t created 10 minutes ago with a set of memories that make you think you’ve been alive for 30 years etc..
I don't think I'd have guessed it was Brookmyre if I’d read it unseen. E.g. for this bit I'd have expected a bit more inelegant variation
As well as the suit and shoes, Hoffman has had very pricey cosmetic work done too. For a man of his experience, he looks a lot younger than the file photos taken before he left his post more than five years ago.
It wasn't until quite some time later in the book I highlighted this bit in the text that sounded a bit Brookmyre like:
"Okay, I'm gonna try fill in some of the blanks for you. Would it
be possible that your current anxiety derives from a fear of reprisals
by one Yashmin Sardana, known associate of one Julio Martinez?"
DeLonge's eyes react, drawn to Nikki in reflexive response to
these names.
"Or should I say, the late Yashmin Sardana, known
associate of the late Julio Martinez. In fact, I could save
myself some time by telling you that the words 'late' and 'associate of
Julio Martinez' are now so synonymous as to constitute a
tautology. They're not coming for you. But somebody is, and I'm
guessing you know she looks a lot like my colleague right here."
and
She knows it has passed the greatest safety standards the human race has ever exacted, but she also knows that the motivator behind every increase in safety standards has always been that the previous attempt didn't quite cut it.
It must have something because I did look forward to reading it - compared to The Right Stuff which I have on the go at the same time, it was this book I wanted to read to find out what would happen. But I don’t think it would be worth reading a second time.
Maybe it's being on holiday that goes with Brookmyre - after reading this I bought the Kindle version of A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away because I wanted to keep reading his stuff. I think it does go down easily.
Completed : 29-Aug-2018