An Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older

Source: Many, many thanks to the publisher!
TL;DR: Maybe not as good for me as book one, but still a very fun adventure, with more world building and a bit more relationship building.

Plot: Disappearances with perhaps a smattering of murder? Again, this was more focused on the world and characters but it was an intriguing setup
Characters: Mossa and Pleiti are our focus entirely here and they continue to delight.
Setting: Loved this, we actually travel to Io and follow Mossa Pleiti as they circumnavigate Jupiter!
Science Fiction/Mystery: The mystery of this mystery book was perhaps the weakest portion for me. But the SF part was excellent as we see much more history and building of our Jupiter and Io settlements

Thoughts:

I truly enjoyed The Mimicking of Known Successes last year, I thought it was a new and fresh take on the Holmesian style mystery. The novellas are set on Jupiter, the rings that orbit Jupiter, where the last of mankind established a new colony after fleeing a destroyed Earth. Mossa and Pleiti, our Sherlock and Watson, are old friends from school who cross paths after Mossa is sent to investigate murders. From there they get into hijinks and now they’re back at it.

This time the problem that faces Mossa is a disappearance which quickly leads to more. Mossa approaches Pleiti and asks if she would perhaps be her official civilian assistant (a thing the Investigators of this settlement are allowed to have) and the two begin to work the case. In truth, one of my favorite pieces in this is we spend almost the entirety of the book following just Pleti. Mossa is there for a good chunk but Pleiti spends a lot of time independently investigating around campus and it was with all the love in the world that I thought ‘Look at this poor woman stumble into harm’s way’.

In addition to focusing a lot on Pleti this one takes an interesting look at the idea of self reliance. Which, while writing this, I realize is probably also reflected in Pleiti working alone for a good chunk. We visit Io, Jupiter’s moon where another portion of the citizenry live, and we learn about the divide between them, what caused it and how it plays into our disappearances.

If you enjoyed the first book, I definitely recommend this as a pick-up. I think it’s strength lies in it’s world-building as opposed to it’s mystery but it’s well worth it. We see Pleiti grow, and just for fun Malka Older throws in some great mentions of current SF stories (Murderbot and her own Infomocracy appear as plays/musicals in the world).

4 out of 5 creepy cats from the Cat Club