Saturday, April 25, 2020

Seven thrilling SFF murder mysteries

Elisa Shoenberger is a freelance writer and journalist. At Tor.com she tagged seven books that combine "the genre of murder mysteries with that of fantasy and science fiction, whether it’s the locked room mystery but in space, or innovative retellings of the British manor history." One entry on the list:
Golden State by Ben Winters

The Golden State has made lying a crime. Citizens meretriciously record all details of their lives, even signing each other’s registers about conversations had. Laszlo Ratesic is a veteran of the Speculative Service, a police force that specifically fights against misrepresentation, following his brilliant brother Charlie. When Ratesic is brought in to inspect a likely accidental death, something feels wrong to him. Members of the Speculative Service physically feel the impact of lies. He starts investigating with his new, unwanted partner, a rookie who reminds him of his brilliant brother who died in the Service. They discover several incongruences with the death that makes him wonder if it wasn’t actually an accident. Ratesic will have to figure out if the man was murdered and why that may cause him to question the very apparatus of the state that he is sworn to protect.
Read about another title on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue