An intriguing blend of Science Fiction with a hard boiled Private Investigator, Angela Hardwicke, who is on the hunt for a missing person and also some mislaid fireworks.

The story has a fun cast of characters including the criminal fraternity of E-Town (Capital of the Universe).

Angela has problems of her own - drug addiction and an estranged child - to add to her increasingly complicated tasks, neither of which are quite what they seem. The ending packs a punch but is in keeping with the rest of the book.

Russ Colchamiro has peened a fine story and there is also a Batman reference, which was nice. A enjoyable book and a clever concept. I hope that we see Angela Hardwicke again in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Book about a private investigator in the world of galaxies. She solves a case and finds Hersfeld during this.

Angela is a P.I. with quite a backstory – she has a small child she yearns for, which I liked, as there are a dearth of mothers in sci fi adventures. And the reason why she doesn’t have her son alongside, is that she is an addict, struggling to recover from a terrible drug. In the process of putting her life back together, she has also garnered a reputation in the highest circles of Eternity for being able to solve knotty problems. So when a frantic accountant contacts her to report that one of his interns has gone missing while handling sensitive material… And in Eternity, the place where new galaxies are created – sensitive material has consequences.

I like Angela, who is suitably hardboiled and streetwise, but also has her vulnerabilities. She has a nose for when folks are telling her the truth and is experienced enough, so there wasn’t too much flailing around, getting nowhere. I also liked her occasional meltdowns and found her struggle with dRod – the drug she is addicted to – poignant and believable. I also liked that she is attracted to both men and women and thought that was well handled. The investigation produced plenty of twists and unexpected turns, which I thoroughly appreciated.

However, I wasn’t convinced by the world. While I liked the concept of Minders running the universe as a large corporation, I didn’t find the actual depiction of it persuaded me to suspend my disbelief. Which, while it wasn’t an absolute dealbreaker, did interfere with my overall enjoyment of the story. That said, there wasn’t any stage when I was tempted to DNF this one – Colchamiro writes fluently, there was plenty of pace and Angela is a nuanced, well rounded character, with a strong supporting cast. There were moments of real drama and poignancy and the investigation was satisfactorily wrapped up, providing plenty of surprises along the way.

Recommended for fans of sci fi crime adventures. While I obtained an arc of Crackle and Fire via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
7/10