Station Eternity is the first Midsolar Murder SF mystery by Mur Lafferty. Released 4th Oct 2022 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 464 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.
Over the years of reviewing and discussing crime fiction with other fans, it's been a perennial joke about how being an amateur sleuth from the reader's side is unproblematic, but from the actual sleuth's point-of-view, it would have to be tiresome (and absolutely *full* of run-ins with the official constabulary). Jessica Fletcher's and Ellery Queen's hundreds of solved mysteries would have to have their families and acquaintances begging for a card or letter instead of actual appearance at any function where people would be gathered, since statistically one (or more) of them would have to come a cropper in some violently unlikely fashion.
This book is self aware enough to take that idea (people are dying everytime protagonist Mallory shows up) and run with it. Mallory seeks refuge/protection from the peripheral incidental death by hiding on a sentient space station where she's the only human around, and all is blissfully quiet... until the first shuttle from Earth shows up.
This is a very very well written and cleverly plotted and engineered book. The author is rightfully hailed by the public and her peers alike, and deserves every bit of hype. Some of the early bits of the book are more stately in the pacing department, but patient readers who allow the author room to develop the characters and setup are richly rewarded in the last 2/3rds of the book.
Four stars. Engaging, funny, and so well constructed.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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