In a litigious future America, detective Marcus Carver sticks to civil cases. When a space tech CEO wants him to investigate a business rival for illegal hydrocarbon combustion, Carver reluctantly agrees. But the case takes an explosive turn when the police find the target’s head of security murdered. Probably a bad day for him.
The thing I love about Greg’s books is somehow he finds the time to both build proper suspense and to revel in quiet moments no matter the manuscript length. This one is another slow burn, and not my usual faire: I don`t normally read detective series, and I have more gusto to scroll through my uncle`s political rantings on Facebook than I do another cyberpunk dystopian. Yet, somehow, he did it to me again. I am here, finishing up the story at 3 am on a Friday night. I bought into the narrative. I care about what happens to Marcus Carver. I`m invested, something that others with four times the word count fail to manage. Descriptions of holo-heads and California be damned.
Murder in Retrograde is intriguing, captivating, even while formulaic at times. It succeeds mainly due to the wit and grit (hah, I rhymed) of the protagonist. It works as a novella. It would work as a novel. And, in a final praise of the writing herein, I am sure many folks reading this would love to have had a series with this fellow. Tough luck, you get a novella.
Addendum: Just found out there is a sequel, guess I have more reading to do.
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