I read many Sci-Fi books, and I was pleasantly surprised by this novel clever mix of science fiction and crime thriller. The storyline is full of twists and turns. The Science Fiction is interesting, frightening yet believable. There is a definite gritty take on the station that adds to the story as well. The character descriptions are excellent and the plot comes with enough action and twists to keep the reader captivated.

A really interesting crime novel... in space!

This was my first Brookmyre novel, and I'm very glad I read it. I enjoyed the investigation and the characters, as well as how they developed over the course of the novel. Brookmyre is a talented writer, and you can clearly see his background in the crime/thriller genre - it's especially evident in the pacing of the novel. I'm going to be checking out more by him in the near future.

Recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during that 2nd attempt, I have only managed to make it halfway through so I’d rather stop here and state that this book just wasn't for me.

This book is outta this world!
No, literally it is. I loved the numerous plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat, the amazingly fleshed out world, and well-developed characters. PLACES IN THE DARKNESS is a mix of hard sci-fi and mystery steeped in noir with thrilling aspects. I would highly recommend!

This was one of the best books I've read this year. Tons of plot Twists to keep the reader guessing, an amazing setting and fantastic world-building (off-world-building?), and a great cast of characters made this a great deal of reading pleasure.

Aspects of noir, hard sci-fi, mystery, and multiple levels of whodunit make this a high recommendation.

"Places in the Darkness" eBook was published in 2017 and was written by Chris Brookmyre (https://www.brookmyre.co.uk/). Mr. Brookmyre has published more than 20 novels.

I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of Violence, Mature Situations and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future with humanity having built a large space station Ciudad de Cielo (CdC) -- The City in the Sky.

The CdC is considered to the the best humanity can create, but there is a dark underside to the CdC. In spite of the lofty goals for the CdC, smuggling, booze and prostitution form the basis for a strong underground economy.

When the "first" recorded murder occurs on the CdC former LA cop and now CdC law enforcement officer Nikki "Fix" Freeman is called on to investigate. Freeman is familiar with the gritty underground economy. She, like many of the other CdC residents, have a second job tied in some way to illegal enterprise.

Arriving just as the murder is discovered, new security chief Alice Blake finds the that the CdC has far more illicit and corrupt activities than she had expected. She and Freeman are forced together in the investigation. Powers are manipulating events to keep both Freeman and Blake off balance. The murder investigation soon evolves into an effort not only to solve the murder but also for Blake and Freeman to simply stay alive.


I really enjoyed the 11.5 hours I spent reading this 448 page science fiction mystery novel. I liked the world created for this novel. The space station makes a different setting for a mystery. I also liked the characters of both Freeman and Blake. The cover art is OK. I give this novel a 4.5 (rounded up to a 5) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

I can never resist a good mystery in space! Chris Brookmyre blends the science fiction and thriller-suspense genres to give us Places in the Darkness, a gritty crime noir type story set hundreds of miles above Earth. Our story begins with a murder, though those in charge on board the Ciudad de Cielo are very keen to keep the details of it quiet. Officially, the space station’s reputation is that of a crime-free utopia where everyone has a place and purpose, operating like a well-oiled machine. The reality, however, is much less appealing. There’s a reason why the people who live on the CdC call it “Seedee”, and it quickly becomes apparent why it’s more than an apt nickname. Like any city where people are packed so close together, the station has its problems, from petty smuggling and prostitution to gang violence and illegal fighting rings.

Enter Alice Blake, a young and brilliant federal national government representative newly arrived from Earth to overhaul the CdC’s security division. She is unsurprisingly greeted with much suspicion and dislike from the elite who have benefited all these years from the status quo. Unable to hide such a gruesome murder for long though, they reluctantly hand the investigation over to Alice, who requests to be paired up with an unscrupulous former LAPD investigator named Nikki Freeman, the only person on the station with the experience to catch a ruthless killer.

Best known for his crime thrillers, Brookmyre brings his good sense of timing for action and suspense to the science fiction genre. We are drawn immediately to this dark, dangerous world full of secrets and conspiracies. The plot itself begins at a careful and measured pace, ensuring readers are properly immersed in the wickedly alluring atmosphere of Seedee before ratcheting up to full-throttle action and twisty surprises. Before I knew it, I was completely sucked into this compelling tale, knowing it would soon escalate into something big and explosive.

And yet, we still had plenty of time to get to know our characters. I loved how we had two amazing female protagonists at the helm, both of whom made this book a much more memorable read with their fascinating backstories and strong narrative voices. Alice is an idealist, and a bit of a stickler for the rules and regulations. When she first arrives on the CdC, readers are given the sense she will either bring some much needed law and order to the space station, or be eaten alive by its cutthroat politics. On the other side of the coin, Nikki is a jaded ex-cop who is part of the rot that’s gnawing away at the heart of Seedee, representing all the crime and corruption that Alice hopes to bring an end to.

As the mystery deepens, we get to see how each character is affected by new information, thanks to the intimate look we get into their heads. That said, Alice and Nikki’s eventual partnership will become the crux of the novel itself, and that’s a lot of potential for interesting dynamics. The two women have no reason to like each other, for one; they come from very different backgrounds, and even their first meeting is one tainted with deception and lies. Consequently, Alice and Nikki spend the majority of the book distrusting one another, though ultimately, both realize they are working towards the same goal and that the future of Seedee will depend on whether they can put their differences aside and trust each other with their private fears.

Brookmyre gets you to feel invested in his characters, and makes you care about what happens to them. His background in crime fiction also shows through in the elaborate plotting of Places in the Darkness, which is his first science fiction novel but often reads like a murder mystery which includes elements of a political thriller. In this complex setting full of machinations and intrigue, half the fun is the experience of watching its secrets unfold before us, and the other half is immersing yourself in the incredible world and its characters. I would recommend this one to mystery-suspense and sci-fi fans alike.

Places in the darkness

Places in the Darkness is a Science Fiction Noir novel that tells the story about the first ever murder on the Ciudad de Cielo, a space station where people volunteer themselves to go work in the hopes of saving money and eventually returning to earth.

The first 100 pages of the novel are slow and slightly clunky. Brookmyre takes his time setting up the world, political field, and characters. Each of these elements plays an important role in the novel, so a certain understanding is imperative to the story as a whole. Once all the pieces are in position, the story is thrilling, twisted, and complex.

Places in the Darkness focuses on two characters, Nikki and Alice.
Nikki was my favourite of the two. She’s corrupt, street smart, and hard. She doesn’t take flack from anyone.
Alice, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. She has a set of ideals that she follows without fail, she’s book smart, and unwavering.
These two very different personalities create an interesting dynamic between the two that is complicated and multifaceted. They play off each other in ways that makes for great reading. As the investigation progresses, their personal codes of conduct clash and they challenge each other’s ideologies.

The mystery itself is the shinning star of this novel. Every layer of the mystery kept me guessing until the final reveal that I did not see coming!

Overall, Places in the Darkness expertly blends two genres and creates a novel worth reading.

Set some time in the future on a space-station called Ciudad de Cielo or more colloquially CdC, which spearheads humanity's scientific efforts to colonise distant planets. Unfortunately the lofty scientific ideals are underpinned by a seedy underbelly where menial workers drown their sorrows, and supplement their incomes through prostitution, gambling and illegal fight clubs. The centre of this den of iniquity is Nikki 'The Fixx" Freeman, a former cop on Earth who runs a small-time protection racket alongside her offiicial role on the station.

Alice Blake is the baby-faced new broom from earth who has been tasked to take over from the current head of CdC, a straight arrow she is horrified by the constant rule-breaking and casual lawlessness that she sees everywhere, even allowing children to float free in the shuttle ship and illegally growing mint for cocktails.

When a body is found gruesomely murdered by two technicians it is the first official murder on CdC, Alice is tasked with investigating the murder and she asks Nikki to be assigned to assist, hoping to get he fast track to the level of corruption by working (undercover) with someone who has been described as the most corrupt police officer on CdC! Nikki is having enough problems with a potential war abut to erupt between two groups of bootleggers, she doesn't need to babysit some richie rich kid from earth who has pulled some strings to see CdC.

Written in the present tense (which frankly, made me a little tense), this story was bot confusing and gripping as it switched between different points of view. It reminded me of that Arnold Schwarzenegger classic Total Recall with the wealthy elite pontificating on corruption whilst not paying their employees enough to live on.

I'll confess I did put this book down a few times at the start, I was just totally confused by the characters and who was who, and what was what. But I'm glad I persevered, this had practically everything I could ever want in a sci-fi book set on a space-station. There's seedy bars, bootlegging, corrupt cops, mysterious assassins, high tech equipment that allows users to record anything and everything they see, lots of bodies piling up, memory loss ... it's got it all.

I've only every read one of Chris Brookmyre's books before, this is a substantial departure and, aside from the use of the present tense, I really enjoyed it. The plot kept me guessing right to the end.

Published by Orbit on November 7, 2017

I’ve generally enjoyed Chris Brookmyre’s crime fiction. Judging from Places in the Darkness, his science fiction version of crime fiction doesn’t have the same depth. Still, the story if fun, even if it lacks originality.

Alice Blake travels to Ciudad de Cielo on behalf of the Federation of National Governments to begin her tenure as Principal of the Security Oversight Executive. While ascending the space elevator, she blacks out. When she regains consciousness, she’s a little fuzzy on the details of her trip.

Alice isn’t on the job long before trouble breaks loose. The orbiting colony has its first (reported) murder as cargo from an inbound ship is being hijacked. Former LAPD homicide detective Nikki “Fixx” Freeman is assigned to investigate it, shadowed by Alice in an undercover identity. Rumor has it that Nikki is corrupt and Alice would like to determine whether the rumor is true. It is immediately apparent to the reader that Nikki, for all her virtues as a detective, is involved in a protection and shakedown racket and perhaps some other shady activities.

The juxtaposition of those two characters contributes to the novel’s interest. Alice is morally binary; she has the virtue of refusing to be corrupted, even when her scruples limit her effectiveness. Nikki is morally flexible; her corruption gives her access to information that makes it possible for her to enforce the laws that she deems important, while ignoring or benefiting from violations (like black markets) that arguably make life easier for the colony’s residents. But by the novel’s end, neither character is quite what we expect them to be (one of them even worries that she might not be human). Having said that, neither character is given enough fullness to make think of them as real people.

The story revolves around the familiar transhuman theme of brains interfacing with computer software, and the implications of that technology. One of the questions the novel asks is whether a character should be held accountable for actions that are motivated by false memories, which parallels the current debate about whether individuals should be held accountable for actions that might be traced to damaged or underdeveloped brains. The philosophical implications that drive the story could have been explored more deeply, but Places in the Dark is more about action and solving mysteries than an exploration of free will. In that regard, the novel earns points for its steady pace and smooth flow. The story isn’t shockingly original, but it takes enough unexpected turns to keep the reader guessing for much of the novel.

RECOMMENDED

Nikki "Fix" Freeman and Alice Blake seem to be very different. Alice is very uptight and law-abiding while Nikki should be but is anything but. Both start as opponents but end up having to work together to solve a series of murders. Brookmyre has built a very interesting and complex world that is home to a large cast of characters. Ciudad de Cielo--The City in the Sky is a space station that should be a example as humans head to the stars but human failing have followed them into space. The backstory starts to come out as the story starts it just takes a while to see what has happened in the past and how it is changing the present. The pace of the story is slow at first as the character development, world building and backstory develop. Then it takes off and things start speeding up. An interesting mystery filled with surprises as Nikki and Alice find out who is responsible for the murders. Biggest surprise - Nikki and Alice are more alike than they thought.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

An excellently plotted murder mystery set on a space station. Pacing struggles a bit in the middle, but it doesn't last long and then quickly proceeds at a breakneck pace again. When the pacing felt off it also seemed like the book was going to try to go into "What is the nature of an android? Is it human?" and I'm glad that was really just a red herring because it felt like an afterthought and a bit too common in current media. Would recommend if you're looking for a mystery with an unusual setting or a fun bit of hard sci-fi.

At least, that's what I tell myself to excuse the fact I couldn't finish the book. It had everything going for it- a compelling murder mystery set aboard a space station, a version of the closed room tale but set on a grander, futuristic scale. Perhaps it's the fact that October had such excellent reads in it. Perhaps it's the fact that I read this after Andy Weir's Artemis, to which the book has superficial similarities.

It could also be the writing style- I'm not a fan of present tense, and I'm the first to admit it. I think it works fine for shorter stories, but I find that once it's applied to the novel, it doesn't tend to work out. I'm aware this is an entirely personal thing- some people very much like it. I'm just not one of them.

The two female protagonists should have meant I'd be all over this, but I couldn't find myself drawn into either Alice or Nikki's orbit, different as they were. Something about them felt faintly one dimensional, but again, I didn't finish the book; I quit just as the plot was truly beginning to pick up, already feeling as if it took too long to get there.

I can't offer the best review. I can only say that the novel didn't work for me, personally, but it may well work for you.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
First off, I don't normally read books that take place in space but am very glad I had the opportunity to read this one. The action was well paced with the storyline playing out smoothly, doling out just enough info for the reader to stay intrigued throughout the narrative. The story takes place on a space station that is also a research facility for advanced technology to further expand space colonies. There are no children allowed and people sign contracts to work at the station. Many of the residents have joined up in order to escape a tragic past life on earth .Everyone has two jobs, their official assignments and a second one that for a lot of people runs along the lines of corruption. Our main character Nikki Freeman, also known as Nikki Fixx, was a former police officer on earth and is now a security officer with the Seguridad with a hand in the seedier side of life aboard the station. When a murder is committed Nikki is tasked with solving the crime only to find that she is being framed with this one and others that follow. Next we are introduced to another main character, Dr Alice Blake, who has come to the space station to take over as Principal of the Security Oversight Executive. These two at first seem to be in opposition to each other but as new facets of the storyline are revealed, they must find a way to trust each other to uncover a deeper secret that profoundly affects everyone on board.
A great book that combines future technology with the human condition.

**I received this book free from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.**
All spoilers will be tagged.

Crime Mystery in Space...done right!
Put simply, this was really enjoyable. I have very few areas where I could possibly criticise.
But just for fun lets do a pros/cons list.

Pros:
Excellent setting: I had a lot of fun imagining the space station because it felt so realistic. You get the fun of space and the character of a shanty town all rolled up in one.

Honest characters: Really well developed protagonists. Wonderfully interesting supporting characters. But honestly would have loved to have seen more of the antagonist. There was a lot that could have been done with them.

Not predictable: I love guessing the endings to books when i am only half way through and am thoroughly disappointed when i am right. In this case, I was not right. At all.

Fantastic writing: I haven't read anything from Brookmyre previously. I will correct this mistake. Clearly a talented writer. The story never lulled, pacing was excellent. Technical details were handled with a level of ease that made it seem simple.

Cons:
...
I wouldn't call it a con so much as a personal reader preference, but the reason this got 4 and not 5 stars for me was that it pushed me slightly beyond my limit in terms of suspension of disbelief.
Because the story was so realistic, when it got to the really advanced stuff, it kind of felt like a scifi-ing too far.
<spoiler>The mind control process seemed to be fairly flawless, immediate and without consequence. It made it feel more like magic than science when compared to the rest of the world around it.</spoiler>

All in all, I would happily recommend to a friend and I am happy to go exploring some of Brookmyre's other work.

Really good book! Kept me guessing as to what was actually happening right up until the end - quite the page turner! Disparate threads of the story that seemed unrelated and not furthering the story ended up being necessary and coming together as the story unfolded.

3 stars (releases Nov. 7,2017)

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fairly good sci fi book and an easy read. The story takes place at a space station above Earth that is touted to develop the latest technology, while at the same time providing refuge to people trying to escape their problems on Earth. Everyone has a job on the station, sometimes more than one, and they take their free time very seriously. Black market booze, underground sex parlors, prostitution and fight clubs dominant the inhabitants' time off. The peace is kept by a government security force, for which our lead character Nikki "Fix" Freeman works. She also has a lucrative side business providing security and problem-fixing for the more seedy businesses of the station.

A grisly murder is committed on the same day a new straight-laced government person, Alice, is put in charge of the station. Upon the advice of another by-the-book government official, Alice assigns Nikki to investigate the crime. As the bodies start to pile up and Alice and Nikki's memories start to falter, it's a race to find out who and what is behind the new crime wave.

The book gets a bit too technical at times and bogs down in the middle. Despite the space station setting, it's still just a murder mystery with a few twists and turns along the way. Overall it's an ok read with a fairly satisfying ending.

Been meaning to check out Brookmyre for a while and then saw this on Netgalley, so sure, why not, great, in fact. At least, on paper...as it were. I really liked the concept behind this, the space station miles and miles above us, built with two levels (just like it looks on the cover) as a sort of in between experimental place until earthlings can properly expand into populating other planets. But then, of course, the problem with many great concepts is execution, which was the case here twofold, first within the plot as the Ciudad de Cielo (The City in the Sky) falls prey to its mother planet vices and becomes rife with gangs, violence, greed, lust and other deadly sins...secondly the book itself just isn't as engaging as I was expecting/hoping it would be. It has all the right ingredients...strong characters (nearly all female in this case, which is pretty awesome for a change and came as a nice surprise and an interesting juxtaposition to a definitive nourish style), a grand conspiracy, some murders, some mystery, lots of action...and yet something wasn't quite right, to continue with the food metaphor it was either the seasoning or the texture or in book vernacular it just wasn't as compelling as it ought to have been and, despite the dynamic present tense narrative, read kinda slow. Not even quite sure why, just that somewhere along the intricacies of the plot, the details overwhelmed the characters, some sort of failure to engage occurred. Mind you, it was still good, I'm glad to have read it and I wouldn't be averse to checking out more of Brookmyre's work. It's just that I think I appreciated this book way more on the intellectual level than I did on the emotional one. Great idea for a story, some really clever thought provoking aspects involving free will, identity, memory...in that respect it definitely does what I expect of scifi, challenges the norm, creates otherworldly settings to ponder and postulate real world scenarios even if taken to extremes, a lens to shine the light on all the places in the darkness and reflect upon. That sort of thing. Genre fans should enjoy this one. Thanks Netgalley.