Review: Phoenix (The Carter Files, Book 1) by Lori Janeski

Sci-fi candy wrapped in a police procedural and it is absolutely worth the purchase price

Even in the future, crime exists. Thus police officers must stand between the innocent and those who would do them harm. But what happens when one of their own appears to be going rogue?

The story

Decorated Interplanetary Police Force Agent David Carter is a hero in the IPF. But for the last two years he has been taking dangerous missions that put his life at risk. Many of the criminals he pursues also tend to be fatally shot, and the IPF is getting tired of trying to ascertain whether or not he crossed the line.

Veronique de Tournay, meanwhile, is a profiler in Division 7. A “specialist in deception analysis and interrogation,” she has skills that make her a human lie detector. She also happens to be deaf. For the most part her job keeps her in the IPF building and away from the field, something she sees no reason to change.

Then her boss assigns her to Carter in an effort to determine whether or not he has gone rogue. Unhappy with the change in her circumstances, Veronique finds her new colleague equally displeased by her presence, since he knows she has been sent to spy on him. The two barely get along even after they stop a terrorist attack on Mars.

Carter believes the attempt to destroy the Red Planet was just the beginning and sets out to follow some leads, with Veronique refusing to leave his side since she has not yet completed her assignment. The two are drawn into a desperate race against time to save the solar system from utter devastation. As they penetrate layer upon layer of conspiracy and intrigue, the two IPF agents will have to learn to work together despite their differences if they wish to survive, let alone save the day.

The characters

Veronique and Carter are the two characters whom the reader spends the most time with, and Veronique is initially the more pleasant companion. Sheltered by her desk job, her polite tactics and tendency to seek a non-confrontational way of dealing with suspects clashes with Carter’s jaded, brusque approach. As the story continues the two develop a stronger, smoother partnership that allows them to balance one another better.

The side characters who come and go during the course of the story are well-drawn and often pleasant company, while the villains range from fanatical maniacs to the worst scumbags in the galaxy. Before you are even halfway through the novel, you will want to see them receive their just desserts. Luckily David Carter isn’t afraid to deal out their punishment, and Veronique comes to the same conclusion in time to make the climax that much more intense.

The world

Our solar system is the setting, so the locations change almost from chapter to chapter. Readers start out on Mars, which looks and feels a little like a tamed American West, transfer to the more urbane Luna (the moon), head to a station orbiting Jupiter, then hop over to Callisto. By the time the you reach Earth it feels like the entire galaxy has been opened up to you, and you have to remind yourself that this is just the solar system.

The technology is well-thought out and explained, and nothing that happens within the story violates the rules set down by the author. A good part of the tension in the book comes from Carter and Veronique working against time to stop the technology that makes the solar system habitable from going critical. Every world has its own personality and feels so lived-in that I had to stop and remember it isn’t actually real.

The politics

The protagonists are Catholics, the extremists are Manicheans, adherents of a heresy from the late Middle Ages. It has nothing to do with any present-day terrorist group. Even the conservative radio show heard on the trip to Luna discusses in-story politics, leaving real world political issues at the door.

Content warning

This is a PG-13 book. If the characters use any curse beyond “damn,” it is simply described as profanity or swearing. The sketches of the crime scenes are not particularly graphic, since Janeski does not linger on such things, and there is no sex to speak of in the narrative.

Who is it for?

Fans of Babylon 5, people who like murder mysteries, those who enjoy a good thriller, and sci-fi enthusiasts. People who like a good police procedural or buddy cop story will also find Phoenix entertaining. Anyone who had fun watching the Sci-Fi (now Sy-Fy) channel will experience serious nostalgia reading this novel at the same time they pray for a sequel.

Why read it?

It is sci-fi candy wrapped in a police procedural and it is absolutely worth the purchase price. Why not read it?