An interesting sci-fi novel, well written, it was an ok read.
There were quite a few plot holes that raised questions, so that derailed the story for me as i prefer stories that make sense, especially in sci-fi - in fantasy it's easier to be more forgiving but for a space exploration story you need to work eith some facts and things need to make sense.

DNF at 25%.

I expected a tight thriller and murder mystery in space. Instead I got a high school trip vs junkies story on a new space colony.

And the premise itself is so stupid that I simply can't suspend my disbelief that much.

Instead of sending conducting an extensive geological, meteorological, and biological survey of the newly discovered planet, we will just throw a bunch of settlers on it and expect them to start a fully self-sustaining colony.

Oh and the first colonists will all be criminals with not many useful skills between them... and the second wave will be a group of boy and girl scouts barely out of high school. Surely they at least know how to operate the machines that will keep them alive and help build said colony? No? Cool, that's cool.

That's the perfect recipe for a successful colony! What can go wrong? Seriously, the person who came up with that mission plan on earth must have been high as a kite. End sarcasm.

Oh, and at a quarter of the book in, still no sign of the murder that is supposed to be at the center of this story. Sorry, I'm out.

PS: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Pretty good writing and a pretty good mystery and I liked this more than the first one in the series. Above average.

Thanks very much for the free review copy for review!!

[Blurb goes here]

Leif Grettison, aka, Leif the Lucky is back in another adventure. Mind you, this is a stand alone story.

Leif's mission: to deliver settlers and supplies to 'Heaven,' a recently colonized planet. While aboard their ship something becomes evident. The colonizers are not qualified enough to carry out their mission. Also, communications from Heaven differ from standard protocol, these are, for lack of a better word, cryptic.

Leif, along with Yang Yong, his significant other, and pilot in command, transport the new colonists to the planet, only to find that the majority of the original settlers, want out. The planet, according to them, is not adequate to sustain human life. To make matters worst, the first inhabitants are non-violent criminals.

While trying to navigate the politics established by the first settlers, to fulfill his mission, Leif is confronted with murder. He's no detective, but is forced to become one.

Reading the story a lot of questions came to mind. Let us say you're planning to colonize a planet. Would you send criminals to do the job? Would you send average citizens to be the first inhabitants of the new world? No, and no. Down on the planet, would you listen to the only person that has a semblance of rationality, to help fix things? Of course you would! For reasons unknown, this is the one person to get shunned and ignored by the others.

The writing is not great. The characters...all of them cardboard cut outs. This book had the makings of a great adventure but the world building is wasted. I mean, wouldn't the colonist, flaws and all, be able to at least know how to use the machines and technology needed to survive? they don't...

After all the blunders, a happy ending (IMHO,) doesn't make things right.

This was ok. The writing is competent, the characters consistent (if mostly unlikeable or downright reprehensible) and the story doesn't have any gaping plotline holes. It's a bit too simplistic and unrealistic for my liking though. It seems so unlikely that the enormous investment made in sending a group of people 76 years away to establish a colony on another planet would include almost no scientists, engineers, and doctors. The sole merit most of the colonists have seems to be the ability to procreate, though incubators and embryo banks are mentioned. There's a lot of technology nobody is able to use competently, much less maintain. The majority of the colonists are either convicts or floundering underachievers. The people who are in leadership positions are all either sociopaths or bullies, or both. Everyone else just follows along without the slightest intelligence. The colonists are described as unable to do anything more physical than pushing a button on a robot. There is one single colonist with an idea of what it will require to produce food and medicine, but everyone hates and torments her, presumably because she is smart. There's a lot of focus on military style team building and how to motivate unhelpful workers, but it's more about how to fail than to succeed. The happy ending was kind of an incredulous relief given the setup.