Far From the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson

Happy Halloween eve! Today I'm part of the Compulsive Readers tour for Tade Thompson's latest, Far From the Light Of Heaven. 

Michelle "Shell" Campion is a third generation astronaut. But she gave up her NASA training to join up with a private company, shuttling settlers off world to their new home planets. 

It's her first assignment and though she's technically First Officer, it's in name only. The AI that captains the ship never fails. 

Except this time it has. Not only that, something has gone horribly wrong on the ship.

Rasheed Fin is a detective noted for his observation skills. He's also been on forced leave for almost a year when he's assigned the investigation upon the Ragtime. Oh, and he hates being in space. Together with Shell and his own AI partner, Salvo, they must quickly determine exactly what's happened on board the ship. 

But as they investigate, political personalities on Earth and on the Lagos station have their own agendas. And the ramifications of the investigation affects them all, one way or another. Which means they have a vested interest in how it plays out and, ultimately, what is revealed. 

This might be my favorite book by Thompson so far!

The author of the acclaimed Molly Southbourne series and the Wormwood trilogy has already proven he can do dark and he can do complex science fiction with fascinating characters. Here he blends both creating a science fiction mystery (LOVE IT!) set in a future that's incredibly believable.

In this world, humans have set sail for the stars, settling new planets in the name of Lagos, Waikiki, and others. 

But humans are humans and politics are always an issue. As is murder. 

Shell and Fin are both fantastic characters. 

Shell, whose own father went missing while on a mission, has trained to be in space. And she keeps her cool in spite of a discovery that would shake even the strongest of people. In part because the only way she can survive on Ragtime is doing exactly that—keeping her cool and doing exactly what she's been trained to do. 

Fin's transgression isn't revealed when we first meet him, but we soon learn why he specifically has been chosen for this case in spite of not being trained for space (he fails the quick training, horribly). And of course he's suspicious of Shell too. 

Fans of Thompson's work are going to love Far From the Light of Heaven. And readers who have yet to discover him are in for a real treat! (This one is absolutely perfect for fans of cross-genre sci-fi such as Six Wakes and The Expanse series.)

Far From the Light of Heaven is out now from Orbit. Order a copy from your favorite indie via Bookshop!