Under The Shell: An Agent Pilakin Mystery

by David Wilkinson

Engalise is a city under siege. Without a government or the usual series of formal laws, relative peace is kept under the premise of the Ten Free Rights of the Individual . Freedom Protection Agent Jaq Pilakin specialises in investigating violations against the First life. As a freelancer, she’s forced to pick up the less lucrative cases cast aside by the big agencies, and stumbles into a scene where an artillery strike by the besieging forces has left a plumber dead under the rubble. As Pilakin digs deeper into the case, she finds a trail of murders - and a would-be murderer finds her . When she finally identifies the perpetrator, it turns out she holds Engalise’s entire fate in her own bloodstained hands.

392 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 2, 2018

Reviews

[Pat Eroh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a few books by this author and love them all. this one is very good and I recommend it to anyone who. loves a good mystery. A large and. good cast of characters, Jaq is complex which adds to the story for me.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, this was a complex story with a complex heroine. Jaq did not come off too well at first. I wasn’t sure I liked or trusted her to do the right thing. As her past is slowly revealed, I understood more about why she did what she did. The setting of a libertarian city-state surrounded by foes is a fascinating setting, especially in light of all the libertarians running amok in the US these days. There are no real laws except that people have 10 rules they can’t break which basically boil down to don’t hurt anyone because that’s a violation of that other person’s rights.

The imperials and the feds take advantage of the lack of laws and a law enforcement system which appears to be privatized. Jaq has to survive this system, which she believes in, since she’s grown up in it, and try to solve her case so she can get paid. As the story unfolds, there are new revelations that Jaq has to assimilate into her thinking about the case and about the city. There are twists and turns everywhere, and the cast of characters is intriguing. I never knew who could be trusted. The Anjelikan part seemed to be an offhanded throwaway that didn’t go anywhere. I haven’t read anything else by the author so I’m not sure if it was a part of an ongoing world.

All in all, it’s a satisfying read that kept me engrossed. I found the premise of the society thought-provoking. The twists were intriguing – I was never sure what Jaq would discover.

I received an ARC for an honest review.

[ghost-hermione · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've got mixed feelings about this book. It was good, but not brilliant. The characters were fine - I especially loved robot-Jess, I thought she was interesting - and there were even some glorious moments. But despite my usual love of unconventional female characters, I just wasn't grabbed by the story, and especially not by the main character. Her emotions weren't coming through, so I felt a bit too external to what was going on in her head for me to relate to her. Even when we get to the bottom of her problems, it doesn't really hit home.
The mystery itself was intriguing, but there were so many moving parts that I kinda got lost. There's clearly a lot that went into the worldbuilding here but I feel like a lot of it could've been a bit more subtle too.
The ending was pretty satisfying, except for the very last page, which I'm going to pretend did not happen.
TW: drug abuse The way drug and alcohol abuse was portrayed felt quite callous. You can see there's a point being made about how it's a bad influence on Jaq's life, but the actual drugging and drinking reads as a kind of voyeuristic fantasy... and the last page, where Jaq basically uses her hard-earned money to spend in drugs-and-prostitution-heaven, left a bad aftertaste. Maybe the author thought it fit with the character, but to me it did not fit with her character arc

[James Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the world building of a state built on transactional and libertarian lines. Terrifying, but well built.

The detective tropes transplanted to a female character and a sci fi setting were also really well done. Pilakin was an effective and compelling portrait of a traumatised person who acts out and processes in messy ways.

Plot was nicely twisty and built satisfyingly to a wild conclusion.

[Anne Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page-turning dystopian thriller set in a besieged city patrolled by a gun-slinging drug-dependent cash-strapped agent intent on discovering the killer of a seemingly anonymous husband and father. Not my usual fictional territory, but expert plotting, convincing world-building and fine writing kept me on the edge of my seat.