Thomcat
10/29/2026
This book is two things - a police procedural (set in Scotland) with a background description of a somewhat near future. That future feels much more possible today than it did in 2008.
Of course the mystery connects with the background, from the characters to the victims and the motives. Without spoilers, it was well written, with suitable twists. Definitely kept me engaged until the end, which did seem a little abrupt - but it worked.
The world is not given in an infodump, and the hints that we get can leave us wanting more. People Ogle information (instead of googling) and use their iThink (instead of iPad). There are apparently colonies on the moon and Mars, and two space elevators are even used for space tourism and extreme sports. Robots are more frequent, and some have achieved a sentience. Most of that is window dressing - the major part is the oil war (or faith war, depending on which side you are on) and a complete rejection of religion in government - to the point of an amendment to the constitution in the US. This was the most interesting part for me, and the author uses it well in the plot and the mystery.
I've had this on my to-read pile for a while. It is interesting that it surfaced just after I finished No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism. These two books complemented each other well, I recommend both.