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"Deep in the stars, a young officer and her lover are plunged into a murder mystery and a deadly conspiracy in this first entry in a stellar military science-fiction series in the tradition of Lois McMaster Bujold. When her crewmate, Danny, is murdered on the colony of Volhynia, Central Corps chief engineer, Commander Elena Shaw, is shocked to learn the main suspect is her lover, Treiko Zajec. She knows Trey is innocent--he was with her when Danny was killed. So who is the real killer and why are the cops framing an innocent man? Retracing Danny's last hours, they discover that his death may be tied to a mystery from the past: the explosion of a Central Corps starship at a wormhole near Volhynia. For twenty-five years, the Central Gov has been lying about the tragedy, even willing to go to war with the outlaw PSI to protect their secrets. With the authorities closing in, Elena and Trey head to the wormhole, certain they'll find answers on the other side. But the truth that awaits them is far more terrifying than they ever imagined, a conspiracy deep within Central Gov that threatens all of human civilization throughout the inhabited reaches of the galaxy--and beyond"--… (more)
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Elena Shaw is a strong lead character who is driven, competent and no nonsense. Elena hooks up with Treiko Zajec, a retired space captain and erstwhile chef, for a presumed one-night stand. When Elena’s former lover winds up murdered, things quickly get a lot more complicated. Strong secondary characters, particularly Elena’s friend Jessica and captain Greg, add to a story that’s fueled by mystery and conflict involving both planetary and galactic governments. The mystery dates back to a 25 year old tragedy involving Greg’s mom and may just be the tip of something even more sinister.
Bonesteel does a good job of juggling different plot elements, but it is the strong characters that drive the story here. There’s a lot to like here and I’m looking forward to where she takes the story next in this new Central Corps series. Bonesteel is clearly a talented writer and The Cold Between stands out as something a little different than your typical military sci fi. Recommended read.
I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book.
The underlying mystery and action sequences in this book were pretty well-rendered and the plot moves along at a reasonable clip. However, the dialogue was often awkward and character interactions also felt a bit contrived. The main set of characters are
For a debut novel, it's not all bad and there is hope that Bonesteel will improve with time but this debut novel just didn't really grab me.
Things move off planet and towards the wormhole as things don’t appear to be what everyone first thought. The story is good and the mystery of the wormhole is pretty much solved by the end of the book but there are more questions and a good ending for most of the people involved.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss.
Bonesteel (is that her real name?) has written a fast-paced, high-stakes story with plenty of twists and reversals -- a story which kept me up too late on a work night, which is of course one of the highest praises for any book.
I've bought the next book in the series and am looking forward to reading it, not just because I anticipate a fun plot but because I genuinely want to find out what happens next to the characters.
But...
There I go, trying to rewrite a book that I could never have written.
It does have bits of murder mystery and bits of romance (OK, a seriously steamy chapter), but it is space opera at the core and that is not a bad thing.