What happens when a rogue scientist decides she wants to kill an entire moon city with a virus in order to create her own version of a superhuman race? That question is the basic plot of Extremes by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Extremes is the second novel in the multi-genre Retrieval Artist Series.
Miles Flint has become a retrieval artist after quitting the police force in the first book of the series, The Disappeared. Retrieval Artists are basically intergalactic bounty hunters that track down people who have disappeared in order to escape punishment from the human-alien societies created in this series. Most retrieval artists usually work outside of the law. But, Flint’s background as a detective and his strong moral compass has caused him to be conflicted as he works on his first assignment as a retrieval artist.
He is chosen by a major law firm to investigate a former retrieval artist work on tracking this rogue scientist, Frieda Tey. In the process, he comes across a murder at the moon marathon on the colony of Armstrong. Flint finds out his work for the law firm and the murder are connected. As a result, he meets up with his old partner, Noelle DeRicci, from the police force who is investigating the murder. The two work together to solve the case and begin to understand that there’s a new dynamic in their relationship now that Flint is a retrieval artist.
Extremes is another solid novel in the Retrieval Artist series that combines elements of traditional science-fiction and mystery into a genre gumbo I enjoyed reading. Rusch is an old fashioned storyteller where characters and plot both work together to create a solid story. No fancy or superfluous prose that distracts from the story. This novel was refreshing to read and I’m looking forward to reading and reviewing Consequences, book three of the series. Recommended.
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