RogerBW's Blog

2023 science fiction. In a mostly-recognisable near future, Cal is a police contractor who smooths the way in cases that involve Titans, the super-wealthy subjects of the life-extending drug T7. So when a Titan commits a dodgy-looking suicide, he investigates…

One of the side effects of T7 treatment is that you get another adolescent growth sport (just go with it, it's not even slightly hard SF), and so the sort of people who are rich enough to get hold of it are now literally able to tower over others too. Quite a bit of this book is a picaresque tour of the world that's influenced by these people, including for example those who try to live in the Titan style since that's obviously a trapping of wealth, and the way society is forced to change when the people with all the money are suddenly taking a long view.

But of course a significant part of classic noir is the one honest man dealing with the corrupt authorities that can simply make him go away if he ever becomes enough of a nuisance, and that's here too. The rich really are becoming a separate species.

When I first came back to the city, Lacarte's was a cellar with aspirations, but like a lot of things those aspirations have been around for a while without getting any younger. The original Lacarte was a gnarled French Canuck with a gambling habit, on the run from his ex-wife and maybe some bad smuggling decisions somewhere between Jammu and Sierra Leone. I don't know, I didn't ask, and for a wonder, no one ever told me

All right, the process of the investigation is more satisfying than its resolution, a common problem in mystery plots exacerbated by some of the specific details of this one. But it's a good investigation, involving both old and new secrets, with plenty of people who have something to gain if the truth never comes to light.

Good worldbuilding, and solid characters (even the minor ones) and plot. Recommended.