One of the other Christmas reads was the latest Retrieval Artist book by K.K. Rusch. The RA books are science fiction mysteries, centering around the talents of Miles Flint, a computer expert and one-time cop, who suffered the tragic loss of a daughter at the hands of a children's worker. That led to a divorce and his eventual movement from police work into private practice as a Retrieval Artist.
Explaining what a Retrieval Artist is would take several books to do properly. Say the prior volumes in this series. All are uniformly high in quality, that rare series that maintains a top level of quality even after the initial idea has petered out. Flint finds (and occasionally loses) people for a living, in a future where various laws from various species make staying strictly legal at times close to impossible.
The latest, Recovery Man, brings in a new level of a private detective. Recovery men are like Remora, useful to some degree, but basically ineffectual without a big bad shark around. They pick up the work RA's won't or can't. The Recovery Man in this book gets involved with Flint's ex-wife and her daughter.
Yep, her daughter. And maybe Flint's too. Well, at least a clone, it appears. The book eventually becomes young Talia Shindo's tale, and it's a harrowingly interesting one. BUT, and there had to be a but, it's a book you can't enjoy without reading the earlier books in the series. There's no understanding Miles' actions at the end unless you do.
So read the five other books in order before taking in this one. You'll enjoy the experience and be ready for the next book in the series, which undoubtedly will see Talia become a major part of Miles' life.
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