Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed on 4/26/2020 + 1032 more book reviews

This is the fourth in the series, and despite many references to previous events - mostly involving the alien Mutes - I think a new reader could start here. You may not get a lot in the way of character development, and I never try to figure out if the science is plausible; for me these are nice solid SF thrillers. I thought the initial mystery was a good one - while Vicki voluntarily chose to undergo the mind-wipe procedure, Alex is sure that she did it because it was the only way she could cry for help. These follow something of a formula, and I thought I had the Big Secret figured out but much to my glee I was wrong. I like Alex's doggedness, and despite her stated skepticism Chase is right there on the hunt too. Small gripe: I am still amazed that Alex and Chase manage to survive an average of two air/spacecraft crashes per book - McDevitt needs another method to put them in danger. The solution to the "murder" takes place about 3/4 of the way through, but the initial problem needs to be solved as billions of lives are at stake, and this is where a knowledge of previous books might be nice.

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