The Spare Man

by Mary Robinette Kowal

Tesla Crane, a brilliant inventor and an heiress, is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner, cruising between the Moon and Mars. She’s traveling incognito and is reveling in her anonymity. Then someone is murdered and the festering chowderheads who run security have the audacity to arrest her spouse. Armed with banter, martinis and her small service dog, Tesla is determined to solve the crime so that the newlyweds can get back to canoodling—and keep the real killer from striking again.

Genres: Mystery, Science Fiction, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Space, Adult

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 11, 2022

About the author

Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winning alternate history novel The Calculating Stars, the first book in the Lady Astronaut series which continues in 2025 with The Martian Contingency. She is also the author of The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost Talkers, The Spare Man and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo awards, the Nebula and Locus awards. Her stories appear in Asimov’s, Uncanny, and several Year’s Best anthologies. Mary Robinette has also worked as a professional puppeteer, is a member of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses, and performs as a voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), recording fiction for authors including Seanan McGuire, Cory Doctorow, and Neal Stephenson. She lives in Denver with her husband Robert, their dog Guppy, and their “talking” cat Elsie.

Her novel Calculating Stars is one of only eighteen novels to win the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards in a single year.

Reviews

[Nataliya · Rating 2 out of 5]

A locked spaceship murder mystery with an obscenely rich heiress on her honeymoon and chapters starting with cocktail recipes. A lot of money and glitz and alcohol, and rich people being rich. Yeah. It’s a beach read in space to which I’m apparently indifferent.

It’s not fun when the satisfaction of seeing the protagonist intimidate the bad guys gets immediately ruined when you realize that the intimidation is accomplished through money and social status and basically screaming “Do you know who I am?!” in the most entitled privileged fashion without any doubt that it will work. Because money bullies everyone. Because for every obstacle in her way Tesla has a solution of either (1) tip too much, (2) show off her supposedly adorable dog, (3) speak condescendingly to those “below” her on the social ladder and (4) intimidate her way into getting what she wants while (5) demanding to speak to the manager. She expects the world to bend to her influence — and it always does. So whether Tesla is in the right or not, I just was hoping to see that smug self-satisfaction wiped off her extra-rich face once and for all.

In the middle of a murder investigation my heart just doesn’t bleed if this Tesla lady gets downgraded to a room that’s not a suite and gets subpar cocktails. Oh, and I’m that stone-hearted bitch that does not immediately go all “awwwwww” no matter how cute the protagonist’s dog is. I’m a pet rock person, ok? I’m immune to literary dog cuteness. (Also, it’s one of those books where if you’re not immediately going gaga over a dog running towards you then you’re probably a killer or an accomplice, and my natural response to strange dogs - caution and not blind trust in the “the puppy doesn’t bite” reassurance - would have made me suspect number one). Oh, and while we are on dog subject, Tesla really messes with the protocol for service dogs, and it seems habitual and annoying.

“It did make me pause to think, because she is correct that anyone who is not charmed by that absurdly cute wee doglet is somewhat suspect.”

Yup, I was right.

After the first few pages I was hoping it’d be a parody of the lifestyle of the rich and famous, but it seems to be pretty seriously done. But it turns out that my tolerance of hanging out with rude spoiled privileged judgmental people who bask in the security of their gagillions of currency units is limited. I would have preferred a viewpoint of someone working on that luxury spaceship, talking crap about the spoiled patrons. And I would have preferred for the mystery to be solved with brains and not status-based intimidation. (And while I’m at it, would be nice if the rich couple did not screw with the investigation by an actually competent professional just because they can).

“I know you make an effort to be conscious of your privilege, but … you’re doing a lot of running roughshod over people right now.”
“They arrested you. They beat you.” Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment or anger, and she stalked away from him to the vanity. “That’s what privilege is for. Fighting people who are abusing their power.”

Except that you’re doing just that yourself, the abuse of power. Hypocrite much?

2 irritated stars.

——————

Also posted on my blog.

[The Captain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ahoy there me mateys! I love this author's work and yet this was a complete miss for me.  The short version is that privilege and money solve everything in the novel.  The longer version is that the individual elements didn't work when mixed together.

For example, I liked that the main character, Tesla, suffers from both chronic pain and PTSD.  I liked the inclusion of a service dog.  I enjoyed the setting of a luxury cruise liner in space.  I loved that there was an extra dead body but everyone is supposedly accounted for.  I liked that Tesla's spouse, the detective, is a suspect and is locked up leaving her to solve the crime and save him.  I liked the concept of Tesla dealing with her lawyer in space and having to account for the time lag.  I enjoyed how the future dealt with gender and identity.  And I absolutely loved the author's notes behind the novel.

Sadly, I think what the author was going for fell spectacularly flat.  Tesla wants to care about the poor but once her secret identity is blown she throws her name, money, and attitude around like crazy.  Her PTSD and pain seem to fluctuate in direct relation to what is needed in the storyline and her internal computer is real convenient.  The police force on board is so stupid that they all came across as villainous caricatures and botch everything to further the plot.  I got tired of all of the focus on drinking.  Ditto for the romance elements when there is a murder investigation going on.  Tesla has a service dog that is not actually used correctly to do its job but always seems to be off-duty to be petted.  How the spouse is dealt with didn't work at all and Tesla is always looking to him for validation.  Tesla doesn't seem to actually use deductive reasoning well and "solves" the crime by accident.  There are several red herrings and a ridiculous solution to the murder.  Seriously how climax and ending happened were laughable.

I honestly spent the entire book waiting for the magic moment where the story would click for me and I would fall in love.  This didn't happen and I am heartbroken.  Arrr!

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 stars
I have previously enjoyed Mary Robinette Kowal's fiction so I was eager to read this one. Unfortunately this new release revealed that the author writes the same story, with the same woman, married to the same man, in all her books. I like those characters, but I'm disappointed by her lack of range as an author.

As a sci fi mystery story, this one is really cute with a light humorous tone. Despite revolving around a murder, this story managed to stay fun and light hearted. I nornally enjoy mystery stories but I found myself rather disinterested in figuring out "whodunnit". In terms of the science fiction elements, this one takes place in a future, but those details are really in the background of the story. This novel will likely appeal most to readers who love cozy mysteries with some cute banter between the characters.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Nick and Nora Charles in space! 🤩🤩🤩 Please tell me you know who Nick and Nora Charles are. (I might unleash my murderous crustaceans on you if you don't. But hey, no pressure and stuff.) You know, The Thin Man? Myrna Loy, William Powell and Asta the dog?



Rings a bell? Anyone…? Anyone…? Bueller…? No? Sigh. Such hopeless souls some of you are, Little Barnacles Mine. Anyhoo and stuff, all you need to know about this book is that's it's a Super Extra Cozy Crunchy Whodunnit (SECW™) aboard a luxury space liner, featuring a heroine who suffers from both PTSD and chronic pain (which is slightly amazing, if you ask me), her yummy new husband, and their despicably irresistible Westie service dog. There's also a pretty great cast of secondary characters. And dead bodies, yay! And cocktails galore! And mysteries and twists aplenty! And time lag shenanigans! And lots of generally cool stuff (like the way gender and identity issues are handled in this world, or the author's notes at the end of the book)! And yes, the story made me feel all revoltingly warm and fuzzy inside. (It's disgusting, I know, but helped it could not be.) And yes, I wish this turned into a series. (In case you were wondering.) And now I'm off to rewatch The Thin Man for the hundred-and-sixtieth time. Let's drink to that, shall we?



Cheers and stuff.

[Fiona Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light and breezy murder-mystery drags an heiress into an investigation aboard a cruise ship - in space!

I enjoy Mary Robinette Kowal's writing, and really mean to get around to more from her in the future. This novel was a great homage to the classic murder-mystery genre, while updating it not only for today, but for the near future. Tesla, our protagonist, is easy to like, as are her new husband and their dog, Gimlet (who steals every scene and has much fuss made over her, as she deserves).

The Spare Man is definitely on the softer end of the sci-fi scale, but I did find those elements to be more than window-dressing. I like that the author tends to feature existing couples for her main characters, too.

All in all, it hasn't blown my mind, but not every book needs to. This was enjoyable and fun, and a very good way to spend some time.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a closed circle murder mystery on a luxury cruiser to mars and it hits all of the mystery tropes, but doesn’t have anything special to add to the genre imo that would make it award winning. There is some good rep for chronic pain and disability as well as PTSD. Overall a little flat but a quick read.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ah, man. I loved loved loved Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series, so I was really excited for this one since she’s returning to sci fi and it’s a murder mystery (which I typically love!), and I can see how it’s riffing on Nick and Nora in The Thin Man (also a fave!). But I did not enjoy this.

In short: Famed roboticist Tesla Crane and her husband Shal are on their honeymoon on a luxury spaceship cruise from Earth to Mars, when a murder occurs and they decide to investigate it.

Murder mysteries are honestly probably one of the toughest things to plot out and structure, but this one fumbles the bag in so many other ways too, so quite literally none of it worked for me. This is going to be a really long ranty essay about all the things I disliked about this one, sorry if you liked it!

Tesla’s physical disability: I was initially stoked to see this representation of a heroine with chronic pain and disability… but Tesla’s Deep Brain Pain Suppressor (DBPS) is near-magical tech to turn off her pain receptors and pretty much eliminate her problem entirely, to the extent I don’t even feel great shelving this under physical disability. Because Tesla can turn off her pain and not feel it at all, and can literally sprint around whenever it’s convenient, and whenever the plot just needs her to function as an able-bodied person.

The narrative keeps warning of her pushing too hard past her limits, but there are literally never any consequences to this behaviour. I’m uncomfortable with how Tesla deactivates her safeties and abuses this pain management system, when even the narrative was saying she was pushing it too high; functionally, what’s the difference between that and a painkiller addiction?

There should be consequences to this, too, when she turned the numbing so high that she also loses normal sensation: running your leg into a table, slamming your hand in a door, tripping, all these ways of accidentally hurting yourself because you’ve gone too far. Instead, it’s just used like “flick a switch & you’re ’normal’ for this amount of time”. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop re: her explicit misuse of the system, and it never happened.

tl;dr: One of my biggest pet peeves in fiction is disability with a magic solution, so this disability rep just feels disingenuous if Tesla has a Magic Switch she can hit to completely override it, plus her service dog isn’t even required in those long stretches when Tesla’s without her. I dunno, man.

Speaking of, her service dog Gimlet: The author’s note at the back of the book makes it clear that Kowal is aware of the three rules about service dogs:
- Don’t make eye contact with the dog.
- Don’t touch the dog.
- Don’t talk to the dog.

And yet… Tesla breaks these rules in practically every single scene?? Her service dog is supposed to be a crucial aid, but Tesla manipulates her so often as a mere tool for her investigation. She continually, constantly, all the time uses her service dog to distract people with cuteness (rolls my eyes) more than anything else. Everyone is always, always touching and petting and cooing over and playing with the dog.

Kowal does drop mentions of whether or not Gimlet is wearing her vest, and Tesla stops people from petting her maybe once or twice because she’s on duty — but the flipping-on-and-off-duty is constant. I don’t have much firsthand experience with service dogs, but surely you shouldn’t be switching them back and forth so frequently?? It’s like every single minute!

Plus it seemed like Gimlet was in Casual Play Mode like 95% of the time, so there was rarely any representation of the “hey she’s an actual physical aid and working dog, Do Not Touch Her” side. Which feels like an irresponsible representation, because it’s instead depicting that playing with a service dog is “probably okay 95% of the time”.

Her relationship with her husband: Shal is boring!! This is actually a similar problem to Lady Astronaut — the spouses are simply not interesting, because Shal is just Perfect and Supportive and Loving and Horny. These are like, his defining traits. He’s just a cozy accessory like Gimlet is. Every time there was a hint of some more intriguing conflict between the couple, nothing comes of it.

I also cannot adequately express my ire whenever they were engaging in thoroughly inappropriate PDA, even at times when it wasn’t necessary as a ruse for their local skin-to-skin comms. Someone has been fucking murdered! You’re in holding with other panicked passengers! This is NOT THE TIME to be nibbling on each others’ earlobes!!! Screams.

The wise-cracking humour & the sleuthing itself: Tesla and Shal, and particularly Shal, have a problem with snarky humour at people they absolutely should not be snarking at. I get the impression it’s supposed to be charming and witty and likeable, ha ha look they are so funny, but instead, I found this behaviour offensively inappropriate. Again, someone has been literally murdered and an earnest officer — who is doing her best — is genuinely trying to solve the case and needs to ask you some serious questions, and you’re cracking jokes about a doggie playdate? Okay! You just seem like an asshole! This is a serious situation, please take it seriously!

It’s possible to write a character being a fun tongue-in-cheek wisecracker without also being horrifically disrespectful and inappropriate, but this was not it!!

The married couple also goes rogue with their renegade investigation, circumventing the ship’s security officers. Which is a very noirish trope, skirting actual law enforcement when they’re buffoonish or untrustworthy — but Maria Piper is on the level, and she’s trying to do her job, and Tesla and Shal are straight-up fucking with the investigation and muddying the waters and making it so much harder for her.

I would be so much more sympathetic to these protags’ investigation if Piper didn’t exist, and the only security rep was Wisor being unhelpful and antagonistic and not pursuing the case at all — but they do have an ally whose job it really is to do this investigation, and they are just making it worse for her. So instead I found myself asking myself: why is this plot even happening? After Shal is released from holding, why is Tesla so hell-bent on looking into this, when even her retired private eye husband is telling her to let it go? In addition, it would have made more sense if our main character were the private eye, instead of a roboticist running chaotically rough-shod all over the criminal investigation.

There’s also just some big weird glaring lapses in protocol, and Piper letting them get away with some extremely suspicious nonsense when she has zero reason to trust them, and in fact has explicitly stated how suspicious their behaviour is. And then they proceed to just mess with Piper more, including hanging up on her and pretending there’s static on the line. She’s an ally!!! If I were Piper I would have been murderously furious with this couple, not friendly with them by the end of it. Over time, I just grew to dislike our main characters so much.

The mystery: Okay. So. In a mystery plot, you are supposed to be laser-focused on the mystery. But the narrative’s approach here is so shambolic and disjointed: because it’s also so easily distracted by going on and on about how cute Gimlet is, how much everyone loves her, the cocktails our characters are making and drinking, the cocktail recipes at the start of every chapter, Tesla trying to avoid public notice, Tesla and her husband making out over and over, their lawyer’s crocheting, talking about how Awesome her lawyer is, and they’re prevented from investigating because they’re locked in their suite, and then they’re prevented from investigating because Shal is in sickbay.

So the book is just continually derailed from the actual mystery, and for fully the first half of the book it felt like Barely An Afterthought even though it’s meant to be the prime thing.

And even when the puzzle does get rolling more in the back half of the book… ugh! I won’t spoil specifics, but the cardinal rule of mysteries is that there should be enough breadcrumbs sprinkled along the way for you to solve it alongside the detective; or, even if it requires a leap in Poirot deduction which most people aren’t going to make, it should still be coherent. Here, the resolution is laughably out of left field… and, even more damning, Tesla doesn’t even solve it. She doesn’t successfully put the pieces together! She just accidentally blunders into the resolution! So ultimately, Tesla and Shal might as well not have been here in the plot??

The privilege: Tesla is rich and powerful and untouchable, but isn’t even particularly smart about wielding those tools. I grew tired of her Quirky Crotcheting Lawyer with the Quirky Insults and Steaming Temper and All-Powerful Resources. Like, okay, Lawyer Fantine can accomplish literally anything under the sun, I get it. Fine. But in the end, the plot wasn’t even examining anything about Tesla Crane’s privilege, when I kept expecting that to be examined more critically.

Anyway. Unfortunately I hated this.

[Marzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Spare Man" is a very pleasant diversion, with what I consider a lighter murder mystery (no gore in this novel, thank you!) in a SFF alt world. The protagonist, Tesla Crane, is the ingenious and physically disabled daughter of a wealthy family. She deals with chronic pain, which made her very relatable for me, personally. Tesla is newly married and hopes she's traveling incognito but no sooner is her honeymoon started than it is disrupted when her shiny new husband is charged with murdering someone on their space cruise. While I enjoyed Tesla, the secondary characters, and the cocktail recipes that head up (and give the tone for) each chapter of the novel, I ADORED Gimlet, Tesla's terrier. MRK loves animals and it totally shines through in Gimlet, who the reader will want to take right out of this novel.

Written during the pandemic, this novel is different in tone from Kowal's more recent work but the character development and care that she puts into all her novels shines through in here. It is, as I say, a very pleasant diversion.

__________________________________________
Pre-Release review, which I'm including here because I was so ticked off by people who could not possibly have read this book in February 2021 giving one star:

I was a beta reader for this novel, which I'm sure will be very well-received. Inspired by the Dashiell Hammett novel "The Thin Man" and film of the same title, this is a fun suspense novel set on an interplanetary cruise vessel. It has plenty of diversion and funny elements to it, making it a very enjoyable murder mystery.

Unlike mean-spirited people who hide behind private profiles and then one star a book they either haven't read or haven't read the finished version of, I will not assign a rating until closer to the release date.

[Margaret Schoen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a review of an ARC from Edelweiss.

Billionaire Tesla Crane is on her honeymoon, traveling incognito on a cruise to Mars, when she and her husband stumble onto a murder. When he's accused of the crime, she, along with her service dog Gimlet, have to try to solve the mystery.

I loved the idea of this - The Thin Man in space. But Kowal didn't seem to get the feeling right. The "this is a crazy caper for sophisticated rich people" was too over-the-top and it felt like a parody (these people drink A LOT). And there's so much going on! We're dealing with murder, Tesla'a PTSD from a horrible accident, smuggling, magicians, -it just goes on and on. But the main issue was that Tesla was just not a likable character and I didn't enjoy spending time with her. She's rude, spoiled, and imperious, and it just wasn't fun to be reading about her. And no one else got anything more than a one-note characterization, so it just became tedious.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up

Isolated, closed-circle murder mystery on a glamorous space ship with disability rep! If you're looking for sci-fi with a side of mystery, The Spare Man offers something that feels quite fresh and is a fun read.

Tesla Crane is on a luxurious cruise to Mars for her honeymoon, traveling incognito to avoid the attention her celebrity as a wealthy and brilliant inventor might bring. But when someone turns up dead and her new husband is accused of murder, their honeymoon takes a sharp turn. There's a killer loose on the space ship and Tesla is investigating while also dealing with chronic pain and disability. Also she has an adorable service dog!

I thought this did a fantastic job of delivering both a page-turning mystery, and a thoughtfully built sci-fi world that uses technology in cool ways. There is an author's note at the end discussing the inspiration for some of the tech, including an implant for pain management based on real technology used to treat Parkinsons among others.

Tesla makes for a great heroine and offers a character we don't often get to see- a bright, funny, beautiful woman who is constantly masking the pain she is in, and also dealing with the effects of PTSD including panic attacks. I found it interesting that one of the grounding tools she uses in high-anxiety moments was one I learned from my own therapist. I love seeing this full person using her brains, her privilege, and her body such as it is to protect the man she loves and track down the truth. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think it has potential to be a series, which could be cool. I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

[Anissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mystery set in space is my OTP but this just did not work out. I got to 85% and I'm just not going to force this anymore. I literally don't care how this ends and I don't even want to discuss my disappointment with it. I have one compliment, the cover is perfect.

I suggest skipping it but if you absolutely must, make this a library borrow.

[L (Nineteen Adze) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere around 3.5 stars- there are great elements here, but also frustrating ones. If it's currently rounded up, it's because I’m convinced this was more about bad timing than the book itself. If it's rounded down, I'm missing some valuable tooth enamel from grinding my teeth at the conclusion. Welcome to another episode of "I had mixed feelings about a book and wrote an essay about it."

The Spare Man is a murder mystery in space, loosely inspired by the Thin Man movies—a retired detective and his wealthy heiress wife drink a lot of cocktails and get involved in crime-solving while taking their cute little dog everywhere. The twist here is that the wife, Tesla, is a brilliant former engineer pulled into investigating a murder after her husband Shal is framed for it—and the little dog is a service dog. The premise is great, and I want to read more space-detective books, but I struggled with this one. I had thought (and hoped) that this would be a quick, witty read. Instead, it took me over a week to drag myself through a 350-page book.

Spoilers from here on in for just about everything but the identity of the killer.
This may have been a case of reading the book at the wrong time. A few chapters in, I suddenly had to spend quite a lot of money on a surprise car problem, and that was probably the wrong headspace for reading about a rich woman throwing money and power around to solve problems. Tesla calling her lawyer before answering questions and being assertive about her rights was more than fair, but I had less patience with the way she ignored everyone’s orders/ pleas/ advice, including her lawyer’s, to leave this alone and instead acts as an amateur detective whose main methods of (clumsy) problem-solving are massive tips, showing people her cute dog, and demanding to speak to the manager of everything. It was also frustrating to see her dial up the outrage and condescension toward people in her way and then seem surprised at their audacity when they made her life difficult again later. She’s sometimes a bulldozer in a good cause, making the point that pushing back against abuses of power is what privilege isfor, but just as often seems determined to use that privilege in the service of doing whatever she wants and reacting badly to obstacles. 

There's a core of something I love here. I think that Kowal has, as always, done some stellar writing about disability and mental illness. Tesla was in "the Accident," a terrible science disaster—in the process, she permanently damaged her spine and six people died, leaving her with chronic pain and PTSD at the thought of spinning space, explosions, or engineering. Tesla uses a cane and her adorable service dog Gimlet to navigate everyday situations, and it's interesting to see Gimlet reacting to both subtle signs of physical pain and oncoming panic attacks. The way Tesla uses exercises from therapy to calm herself feels very real and grounded—she explains them when needed, but they’re part of the rhythm of her thoughts.

If this story had leaned harder into the way Tesla is on the verge of a panic attack when she does even small engineering work, but needs to use those skills to solve the mystery, I honestly think this could have been five stars. She blames herself for the accident, but it's not clear to what extent this was an unavoidable problem and to what extent she was hasty or arrogant in her testing. It's fine that we as readers don't have those answers, but I was so curious to know more about both the events and about her perception of them over the years. This also could have been an opportunity to flesh Shal out: as a couple, these two seem to be deep in their hobbies and in upper-class social life, having left careers that meant a lot to them. Solving the mystery and getting back to painfully useful old skills would have been great.

The way Tesla sometimes tries to do without her dog or her cane in order to briefly feel"normal" is also such a human response. My one quibble there was the way so much of Gimlet's time on the page is spent being off-duty and friendly as a distraction. It's a fine role, especially when Tesla needs a buffer when her feelings are raw, but the idea that this is bad for Gimlet's training only gets lip service, and Tesla mostly seems to ignore or push through Gimlet's signals to stop or dial back whatever she's doing. I wanted to see a little more of what their routine looks like when Tesla is taking care of herself, or of Tesla holding her boundaries around people not touching her dog (or even of Gimlet actually getting distracted at a crucial moment after inconsistent reinforcement). 

What I wanted to love more was the resemblance to the Thin Man movies, which I'd never seen before Kowal mentioned them in an interview about this book. I watched three (enjoyed the first two quite a lot, while the third one is just okay; I'm planning to see the rest at some point) and think that she captured the interest in cocktails and some of the wit between the leads. Unfortunately, my favorite part of the film relationship was the way Nick and Nora express affection by bothering the absolute hell out of each other for fun, and that's not present here at all. Tesla and Shal are always very straightforward and sincere with each other, only getting into the best banter when they're trying to annoy other people, like they're putting on a show. They sound, in accordance with their backgrounds, like nice people who've been to plenty of therapy and learned about good communication, and it just left the relationship a little flat for me.

Shal shows hints of being an interesting person, but the cover art is on the money here: his face is in shadow while Tesla is spotlighted because this book is her show. That could be fine (and makes sense, since this is written from her point of view), but she often seems to run over Shal the way she does for everyone else, pushing back against big things like him not wanting to investigate this murder and small things like going back to the cabin to rest when they’re both injured. We learn that he retired from detective work when being Tesla's significant other made him too famous to be good at his job, but that's just mentioned and then never explored: I don't think we even learn his next career move. There doesn't seem to be much glue in their relationship besides sexual chemistry.

The worldbuilding also swings between being completely plausible and feeling just slightly off. I really liked details like humanity living on Earth, Mars, the moon, and varied space stations, each with different gravity—and, as a result, people having different physical builds and struggling with non-native gravity if their parents couldn’t afford to pay for gravity conditioning. The gravity keeps coming back in all kinds of ways, especially around the different levels of the ship having different environments, levels of the Coriolis effect, and consequences for Tesla’s chronic pain. It’sso good, explained in just the right level of detail: Kowal is reliably great at writing science in an engaging way. The language, on the other hand, feels partly futuristic and partly like it’s either awkwardly rooted in 2022, with questionable gems like “sexy fun times” and “surprised face”, or just absolute nonsense. Tesla’s lawyer coins a lot of colorful phrases like “mammering lobsters,” and I think it’s supposed to sound quirky, but the lawyer is such a one-note character that she wears thin in a hurry. (I’ll give credit for an extra half-note here because Fantine notices and handles one of Tesla’s trauma responses during a call, but that’s so brief that it doesn’t stand out.) 

And then there's the conclusion, where Tesla goes into a bathroom with a killer alone, unarmed, and so badly injured that she can barely walk. When asked afterwards why she didn't ask for help, she just says that she didn't have confidence in ship security. Sure, but why not just stand outside the bathroom door with a camera running, or ask someone who she's just ruled out as a suspect to go with her? The confrontation scene itself is okay, but the way she goes into it has such "too stupid to live" energy that I didn't enjoy it much.

During the following struggle over the identity of the killer, a pivotal clue is "anyone who is not charmed by that absurdly cute wee doglet is somewhat suspect" (yes, that's a direct quote). The original person loved dogs, but the imposter is allergic and doesn't like dogs. It's a little funny, but "you can tell he's the villain because he doesn't like dogs!" is right out of the children's cartoon writing playbook, and there's no indication of the real person's love for dogs before this moment, so it feels like cheating, setting up a mystery where the reader can't deduce anything from clues. Would it have been so hard to have Tesla have met this person once years ago and remembered that he had a dog then? There was room here for some layers of deception or the villain using Gimlet's role as a service dog to justify distance (and being the only person who demonstrates respect for that), but no, it's all just a block of exposition in the end. Mysteries with bad foreshadowing are just so disappointing.

And on a personal tangent: some people (hi) have had bad/scary experiences with dogs and prefer to keep their distance. Some people are allergic. Some people are germaphobic and don't love dog smells, fur, and tongues in their personal space. In this book, you can reliably tell who's nice by whether they're baby-talking the dog and who's bad by whether they stay away, grimace at barking, or otherwise react with anything but fawning adoration. Ending the story on this note reminds of the very worst variety of dog people I've met, those who will watch you uncomfortably try to push their dog's mouth away from your face, respond with a high-pitched "aww, he's just trying to give you kisses!", and then pout about how you're SO MEAN for wanting a few inches of personal space from an animal with lots of teeth and atrocious breath. (Before anyone starts: Not All Dog Owners, but this is a very real and irritating pattern.) I'm torn between "liking dogs is a morally neutral quality" and "I'm adopting twenty cats and becoming a serial killer out of raw spite."

Other parts of the conclusion feel hazy too. We learn that two mysterious side characters are a sixteen-year-old and the man who kidnapped them and posed as their father: again, interesting, but there's not much to work with before that point, so it's a very "okay, that happened" moment. The teenager is also given their mother's contact information "if they want it." Are minors fully emancipated in the future? Is the mother of this kidnapped child not even alerted that the kid is alive? The ship's magician is a smuggler, and we get some good hints about him learning the camera blind spots to facilitate his magic tricks, but not really any about him being a smuggler before the end (and it would have been so easy to have him turn up with exotic liquor for our cocktail-loving duo).

It also turns out that one ship staff member who may have been involved in crimes is actually twins. I'm still not sure of the relevance (couldn't we have had better scenes of the twins trying to keep this secret or not filling each other in?), and even less sure of how this didn't come up during the many times that Tesla and ship security are going through pictures of everyone on board. Of the friendly couple traveling under aliases, one used to be a movie star, while the other knows a lot about robotics (and doesn't think much of Tesla's scientific past), but that turns out to not matter at all. Instead of red herrings coming together in a satisfying drawing room scene, there's just a lot of weird stuff shoved into the last few chapters without adequate setup or payoff. I may have missed something, but I was left with a lot of questions.

All in all: a badly timed and somewhat frustrating read for me, despite its strengths, but perhaps a great read for you! If you like reading about well-drawn mental health problems, and if you like space mysteries with a real regard for science, this one might be great. Pick a week when you’re in a light mood and feeling flush with cash, make a fancy little cocktail, and settle in.

Content warnings: on the low side of moderate; there are multiple murders and Tesla tries to save the victim of one of them, so there's blood and trauma around that. The story also includes a lot of PTSD-rooted panic attacks and some poisoning.

 Other recommendations:
-If you want to see what Mary Robinette Kowal can really do with a mystery in space, The Relentless Moon is by far my favorite of her books, a real 5-star achievement. 500 pages, but I absolutely inhaled it. Nicole Wargin would eat Tesla Crane for breakfast.
-Check out the first two Thin Man movies. They're funny and hold up generally well given their age: great mysteries, sparkling banter, and delightful acting all around.
-If you’re okay with your “glamorous rich lady solves crimes”media being on TV instead of in book form, I can never recommend Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries highly enough. That show is based on a book series (starting with Cocaine Blues), but I haven't had a chance to try those yet.

[Ranjini Shankar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something was missing in this one. I never got sucked into the world that the author built, never really rooted for either of the main characters and never cared about who was behind the murders.

The Spare Man follows Tesla Crane and her new husband on their honeymoon in an interplanetary cruise. They’re both incredibly rich and famous and are traveling incognito. All is well until someone is murdered and her new husband is accused. Determined to figure out what is really happening Tesla and her dog Gimlet set out on the ship to investigate.

I found the brief snippets of Tesla’s back story to be far more interesting than the ongoing mystery. Her wealth and privilege allows her to demand things instead of actually using any detecting or subterfuge that usually makes these books interesting. With her lawyer constantly screaming at everyone she just barges her way to the finale. It’s not a fun way to solve anything. I also really don’t like reveals that the reader could never have guessed which is how this one ended. It was really unsatisfying.

[Algernon · Rating 3 out of 5]

[5/10]

Good ideas do not always translate into good books.



This was supposed to be a reboot of the popular books and movies featuring Nick and Nora Charles, a couple of socialites from the 1930s who engage in crime solving while steadily getting sozzled on Prohibition liquor. Their particular trademark is a machine-gun banter filled with innuendo and wordplay, spiced up with slapstick physical comedy.
The title is a riff on the first book in the original Dashiell Hammett series : The Thin Man and the cover picture is a thinly disguised pastiche of the William Powell and Myrna Loy posters. Asta the smart dog is included, renamed Gimlet for the current story.

Can we train Gimlet to make cocktails?

Mary Robinette Kowal, in the name of originality and modernism, put her couple on a luxury spaceship in transit to Mars and switched gender dynamics for the married couple, with Tesla Crane taking over the role of amateur sleuth and her newly minted husband relegated to a mostly passive-decorative role.
She even has them occasionally sip exotic cocktails in the cruise liner's numerous bars, but this theme is barely followed up by actual heavy drinking. The cocktails can be mostly found only in the chapter headings.

Unfortunately, the author forgot two of the main ingredients that made the originals so attractive: the funny part and the crime investigation part.
The dialogues are forced and artificial, veering into cringe worthy, and the actual crime they try to solve is a hot mess. I guess this is what happens when you engage a team of sensitivity readers to pour over the text and troubleshoot it according to political correctness, something Nick and Nora Charles were blissfully unaware of in the pre-Code Hollywood.

Rude, to omit the person’s pronouns, since it was unimaginable that the security chief wouldn’t have access to that information. Based on the chief’s age, he’d probably grown up before that was standard etiquette.

The book seems more concerned with promoting radical changes in grammar instead of plot coherence.
The science part of the novel is moderately OK, with the luxury liner having a rather improbable design but functional for the needs of the plot. More intriguing is the Deep Brain Stimulation device that Tesla Crane has had implanted into her vertebral column after a laboratory accident that left her in chronic pain. Apparently, such devices are currently under development.
If the main reason to write the book was to raise awareness of people with chronic trauma and of people with non-binary self image, then it probably deserves a better rating than my film buff expectations led me to.

I had high hopes from Kowal after noticing her name on a lot of prize lists in speculative fiction, but I probably picked the wrong book to discover her style and her ideas.
Probably she deserves a second chance with a more science oriented book and with a more original plot.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this, have read all her other books and really enjoyed them. However, this book has been rendered unreadable due to the confusing use of pronouns. I don't care to stop every other sentence and stumble back to remind myself who is "they". Then, the "mx." is added in and just, no. Super disappointed this story was ruined this way. I hope her next book is readable, I thoroughly enjoyed the Lady Astronaut series.

[Christine Sandquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y'all are going to like this one a lot :)

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tesla Crane and her brand new husband Shal are on honeymoon, a cruise to Mars on the ISS Lindgren. Tesla is incredibly wealthy and quite handicapped from the horrible accident that ended her stellar career in cyber engineering. They have paid the premium to be incognito and have been enjoying being able to act like regular people. That is until someone in a neighbouring suite is murdered. Shal, a retired detective, pursues the murderer and ends up framed for the crime. Tesla is not going to allow this injustice to stand.

First, let me say that this is set in the future, but it is definitely not a Star Trek kind of universe, as great disparities in income are glaringly obvious. This world isn't past money yet. There are staff who admit to being forced by poverty to take serving jobs aboard the cruise liner, much like today. As with present day cruise companies, staff must be careful of their words and actions. Nor is this society past misogyny as Tesla must contend with a belligerent Chief of Security who couldn't reason his way out of a paper bag.

Frankly, the action flows quickly and I quickly gave up trying to finger the murderer and just enjoyed the ride. I alternated between being a bit annoyed at Tesla for capitalizing on her fame and money to get everyone to dance to her tune, and absolutely adoring her shark-like lawyer, Fantine, who crochets wildly during the time lapses in their conversations and spews the best insults ever. I was particularly fond of “mammering lobsters.” Tesla was saved for me because of her adorable service dog, wee Gimlet, and the fact that Shal actually is being railroaded by an incompetent bully in a position of power. Tesla and Shal exude charm enough to make up for some imperiousness and, truly, being rich shouldn't mean that you have to accept shoddy investigation.

I kind of wish that I had read The Thin Man before this novel. I have it on good authority that Tesla and Shal are a future-timeline Nick and Nora. The general vibe is very reminiscent of the crime fiction of the 1930s.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a strange reading experience with this book: I think I liked all the things around this story better than the story itself? I picked it up expecting frothy murder mystery in space, and this book is both more and less than that.

I have not read Mary Robinette Kowal before so I have no idea how on par or not this book is compared to her others. But right off the bat, I thought the choice of main character in Tesla Crane was somewhat...interesting? Like, first, she's named after an inventor, yes, but also a car associated with a total jaghole? And the "jaghole" side of things is emphasized since Tesla is like, superrich. Recently it seems that the only way to write wealthy characters sympathetically is to have them be clearly and heavily aligned with the underclass, and almost apologetic about their wealth. Tesla is not that. To her credit, she's very aware of her privilege, but also not above using it to her advantage, like all the time. So I appreciated the honesty of this portrayal but was a bit confused as to why Kowal even chose such a personage to be the MC?

Speaking of, we join Tesla on her honeymoon cruise from the Moon to Mars, and her new spouse, Shal is very conspicuously 1) a brown person, 2) a retired detective, 3) has a knitting hobby? Again, why any of these things?? I mean, I know why a retired detective - it's to help move the investigation along - but I was a bit at sea with the relationship between the two. Yes, we see they are very physically affectionate, but I didn't understand at all why these two came together, and that's never covered in the narrative. It's relevant because the story inevitably tries to do a "but is Shal the murderer?" thing, but I didn't care?? Because I didn't really know who he was to Tesla really, so like maybe??

I might be overthinking things. As for the murder mystery itself, I'm not a common reader in the genre, but I don't think it was one you could puzzle out just from reading closely and thinking through the clues - there were reveals late in the book that were like, "how could anyone have known this?"

Despite this, there were things I really liked. For one, a very thoughtful take on moving beyond gender binary (and how that would affect investigations). For two, the science realism of the ship and dynamics of moving around it. For three, the cocktail recipes at the start of every chapter and the notes about them at the end! (And that they include zero-proof cocktails as well.) I'm not a small dog admirer, but yes, Gimlet the small dog was very cute. (Though being petted an awful lot for a service dog.)

The biggest thing I appreciated was that Tesla was a trauma survivor with PTSD and continuing physical disability. I thought this was realistically and sensitively portrayed and very much appreciated its inclusion in the MC of a book. I appreciated it even more when I dramatically pulled a muscle in my right shoulder during the course of my time reading this book, and was living (am living as I type this from a strange position) in near constant pain and with severe restrictions in my abilities. It definitely made me more sympathetic to Tesla than I ever expected to be.

So: as a story it was pretty much a total flop for me, but how the story was told was pretty darn cool. Like I said, very weird reading experience.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got lured in by the tagline "The Thin Man in space" plus by the gorgeous cover, but this didn't really work for me. There is a way to write this kind of uber-rich and hyper privileged protagonist so that they are fun and sympathetic (thinking of Kerry Greenwood's Miss Fisher books) but Tesla just sounds like a spoiled kid alternatively asking to see the manager and threatening everyone with her lawyer. I couldn't feel much chemistry between her and her husband, and while I'm reasonably fond of dogs even I was a bit fed up with the constant baby talk aimed at Gimlet. The mystery itself wasn't particularly interesting, and so the only thing I enjoyed was the futuristic cruise backdrop.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not off to a good start, and I'm not sure I will continue. So far, no sparks. And I'm not a dog person! The MC, an annoying celebrity on her honeymoon, has a disgusting little Yorkie. The new husband isn't promising either. Neither is the Celebrity! Sigh.

Closing out with prejudice as DNF. Not for me! I read maybe a quarter before setting it aside. Oh, well. At least I cut my losses early!

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, although the middle part seemed to last forever and I could have cared less about quite things? But the murder mystery aspect of it was good and Gimlet was adorable.

Maybe full review to come, I dunno.

I received an ARC from NetGalley

[Chantaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book. It was a delight.

The Spare Man follows inventor and heiress Tesla Crane on her honeymoon, which takes place on a space ship cruising to Mars. Shortly into the honeymoon, someone is murdered, her husband is fingered as the murderer, and she has to clear his name.

Kowal writes a sci-fi mystery that takes place in a really neat, hopeful future and it's a great backdrop for a familiar mystery that lives somewhere in the space between noir and cozy. I did have a bit of trouble with the logic of the mystery itself and the reveal of red herrings and the actual murderer, but I had so much fun reading it that I could let many things slide.

Tesla herself is a great contradiction to read: she has PTSD from an accident that left her with constant back pain, and she has a service dog (the best dog in the entire universe) to assist her. On the flip side, she IS one of the richest people in the galaxy and as much as she tries to acknowledge she has massive privilege, she wields that privilege when it suits her. I think everything that goes into Tesla makes her feel so well rounded, flawed, and real.

All the other characters - her husband Shal, fellow passengers, the security detail - all felt like they were their own distinct, individual characters.

Here is where I have to praise the audiobook: Mary Robinette Kowal narrates it herself and she is goddamn FANTASTIC. It's ridiculous how talented she is. Every single character had their own voice and personality and made it feel like a neat episode of mystery TV, not just a novel.

Overall, this was a really fun mystery to read. I really wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, and I really hope Kowal considers writing more with Tesla or in this universe.

[PlotTrysts · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of things to love about The Spare Man. The setting is particularly wonderful, comprising an interstellar cruise ship, complete with three levels of gravity, multi-level theaters, and delightfully tacky cruise ship decor. It is also refreshing to read a book with a main character who is disabled, especially in a far(ish) future setting - technology is a great aid to Tesla, but she also has a service dog and a supportive social infrastructure that allow her to interact with the world. Also, the mashup of noir detective novels and near-future SF is great fun!

We were left a little cold by Tesla's character. She's one of the wealthiest people in the world(s), and acts like it. Although Kowal does a good job of making the reader (and Tesla) aware of her privilege, it can be tough to read a detective story without real consequences. (It's made very clear that even though Tesla's husband is accused of the crime, he will definitely not go to jail because her high-powered lawyer will get him off.)

The worldbuilding was perfectly executed, though, and we'd love to read more books set in this universe!

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

[Sana]

Space murder mystery is my favorite kind of murder mystery and then you add in 'the glittering banter of 1930s noir' \O/

[Para (wanderer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look: I’m weak for a good cover. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. In hardcopy. Oh, my weakness got me burned plenty of times in the past, but this time it paid off. Despite some initial misgivings because the protagonist is so rich and influential, it turned out to be a fun, fast-paced, twisty mystery set in a queernorm world. Oh, and each chapter begins with a cocktail recipe (alcoholic and not!).

Tesla Crane is a famous inventor and the heiress to a business empire. But only a short time into her incognito honeymoon on a luxury interplanetary cruise ship, a person is murdered and her new husband is framed. Armed with her wits, her adorable service dog (Gimlet is BEST GIRL), and a foul-mouthed lawyer on speed dial, she must find a way out of this mess and clear her husband’s name.

Most of all, The Spare Man was a book that charmed me with its plot. I’m not, normally, a plot-focused reader. I like slice of life and romance, and am bored by action…but I do love a good mystery and this was a real page-turner. I always wonder a little if an author will manage to keep the tension for all 300, 400, or however many pages and the pacing even, and Kowal more than did it. And like the protagonists, I couldn’t even begin to guess the murderer – too many suspects.

Since an incident in her past left Tesla with a spinal injury and PTSD, the book also deals quite extensively with both mental health and disability, in a way that felt quite realistic. Tesla constantly struggles with chronic pain – even though she has a device that helps manage it, it never goes away, dialling it up has negative side effects, she uses a cane on bad days, and she cannot walk at a fast pace without consequences. Explosions also give her flashbacks.

I won’t lie, though, when I saw “rich, famous inventor” in the blurb, I winced. I trusted the author enough to give it a try regardless (plus, that cover is really gorgeous), but I couldn’t help but think of Elon Musk’s reputation and my long, long hatred for him that far predates the twitter mess. Luckily, Tesla is not an absolute fascist asshole and she’s at least somewhat aware of her privilege – she still sometimes has moments of “don’t you know who I am, how dare you” that made me cringe and wonder just how poorly an average person would fare in her situation, but I can’t really blame her for using any tool at her disposal to get her husband’s name cleared. For the most part, it was bearable, and I do recommend it.

Enjoyment: 4/5
Execution: 4/5

Recommended to: mystery fans, anyone looking for disabled MCs or queernorm worldbuilding (even if the MC is in a het relationship, everything around is INTENSELY queer), if you need some cocktail inspiration
Not recommended to: hmm, dunno, if rich and privileged protagonists are an absolute dealbreaker?

More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.

[Allan Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was the September monthly for the SFF Hot from Printers: New Releases group, and it was also Hugo-nominated, so part of the 620-book list of Hugo & Nebula nominees.

I didn't go in with high expectations, as the Hugo nominees this year were pretty weak as a whole, and those expectations were met. It was clearly an attempt to recreate a Thin Man mystery aboard an interplanetary ship. That's fine as a tribute, but I found it stilted in execution. For one thing, the main characters are staggeringly rich & famous, as are some of the other elite passengers. Tesla was injured in a serious accident, leaving her traumatized and aided by a device that can support her and numb or sharpen her physical sensations. Virtually any time she takes any action, a sentence follows that tells what adjustments she makes to this device. It's virtually a distracting character in the story. Then, I didn't find Kowal's writing particularly sharp. While she makes a point of using modern gender-neutral pronouns, there are also numerous characters, such that there are scenes where you can't tell if she talking about a person who uses "they" as a pronoun or "they", a group of people in the scene. This caused frequent confusion and re-reading for me, losing continuity & smoothness in the telling. Finally, the SF elements are minimal, this could have taken place on an ocean liner on Earth & been the same story.

My opinion is that this was a very weak entry into the Hugo race, likely chosen because of Kowal's political position in the SFF community. I've liked other books of hers, I just didn't feel this one was strong & deserving of a Hugo nod.

[Ruxandra Grrr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would have loved this book a few years ago! It is a fun scifi whodunit, about a lady who loves cocktails, has a nice husband and the world's most adorable dog and is also a bajillionaire, so she can afford to travel in style! But the thing is my tolerance for bajillionaires has drastically dropped recently and no amount of 'giving grants' or 'charity work' (I have those in quotes because I have also become painfully aware of how a lot of charity is a tax break scam or an undue exerting of power and influence to further the bajillionaire's agenda! I can't turn off my analysis brain not even when reading a cozy mystery!)

I keep saying bajillionaire because this is the future and I have no idea how much wealth Tesla Crane, our main character and amateur detective has accrued of the hard work of working class people! Tesla is on her honeymoon and she suffers from PTSD and also has had a Deep Brain Stimulation device installed, to help her with pain management after a catastrophic accident. And her adorable Westie dog, Gimlet, is a service dog! I mention this because the PTSD + DBS + service dog is the only reason I was able to get through this book and being in Tesla's bajillionaire head for 350+ pages. It brings a real sense of stakes and viscerality to the book and the character. It makes her someone you can connect to.

Because beyond that... hoo boy! Tesla is such a product of wealth and privilege and it is so deeply baked into the book plot that the novel could not exist without her wealth and privilege. That privilege and power is *very summarily* explored in this book and honestly I think if it had been ignored, my brain would have been able to turn off easier. But no. I had to be inside her head each single time she had to *remind* herself not to yell at a lot of service people and use tip/ bribes instead to get her way. Shal, her devoted husband also has to kinda rein her in and make her aware that she is overstepping with regular, working people she has a huge amount of power over (even before they knew she was Tesla Crane!). Also, her sharky crochet-ing attorney Fantine is played for laughs in this book, but she uses the money, power and connections she has to basically help Tesla get her way. She keeps threatening lawsuits. For a good cause? I guess!

On the surface, Tesla seems to be aware of her power and privilege, but it mostly actually seems like she hasn't emotionally internalized the tools she needs to actually question it. It seems like she is more interested in projecting a right image than being kind to 'the help' and she also asks for the manager quite a lot in the book.

But the issue goes much deeper than that. The killer is an actor, not a rich person and his helpers are also working people, like the magician Nile Silver and also 'wall' security guy Bob. And of course, the chief of security on the ship, still someone with much less privilege than Tesla is and he is painted as a villain, through and through. So there is a framing here where all the rich people are innocent lambs and the people who want to relieve them of their wealth are evil. Oh, and the cocktail god mixologist, Josie, is impaled by acupuncture needles all over her body near the end, but we don't hear anything else about that, it's only relevant because Tesla's husband was almost the victim of that, and Josie doesn't really matter. .

Oh, I will never forget how Tesla says to a character: 'I would offer to recommend you a lawyer, but I can't imagine a universe in which you could afford her'. Wtaf??? is this supposed to be witty banter from our main character?! 'You're poor and I'm rich nyah nyah nyah nyah'?

Beyond this, I quite liked a lot of stuff in the book, like the whole genderless society that respects the way people identify, that was ok rendered. But it also feels kinda sad, because there has been tech progress, we are 50 or so years into the future, we have gone to Mars and the Moon and have colonies there, but still there is a huge disparity in wealth that is not looked at.

The mystery worked for me if I divorce it for the unfortunate privilege framing, the device of 'communication lag' with Earth worked really well for both humor and suspense. The relationship between Tesla and Shal was... adequate. There is a very little tease there about their disparity in wealth, but it's also in the first 30 pages or so and then it's dropped.

Was I too harsh on this book? I don't know. It's probably a 2.5 stars. I really think just ignoring all of the 'trying to engage with privilege but doing it very superficially' would have made this a funner experience, because once you raise those issues, you can't unring the bell!

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m unimpressed.

So the whole point of this book is to write a sci-fi murder mystery set on a cruise ship in space. That’s cool as hell! I was so psyched to start reading this, and the cover only added to my anticipation.

First of all, Tesla and Shal are alcoholics. Let’s get that out of the way. They brought a traveling bar with them, and they use it frequently. They are consuming copious amounts of alcohol throughout the entire book, probably upwards of six drinks a day. Each chapter begins with a cocktail recipe. They’re alcoholics, and I will brook no arguments about this.

Second of all, despite Tesla’s claims to the contrary, she absolutely uses her wealth and privilege to degrade and bully others. The number of times I winced while she was harassing innocent employees during one of her (not so) valiant attempts to solve the murders, has to have numbered in the thousands. Speaking of annoying things Tesla did, let’s talk about her service dog, Gimlet. Tesla also uses Gimlet as a tool to be used in her own manipulation. Gimlet is supposed to be a service dog, yet it feels like there are more scenes of Tesla sending Gimlet to be petted by someone they’re trying to get information out of than there are of Gimlet actually working. And Gimlet’s role in the unveiling of the murderer was nothing short of preposterous. (Spoilers) The murder was solved because someone didn’t like dogs. Okay, fine, some people don’t like dogs. That’s okay. I understand that. I myself am very picky about the dogs I do and don’t like. There was nothing to indicate that what’s-his-face liked or disliked dogs at all. That Time magazine cover was thrown in there as a Hail Mary. This gave the same energy as the Shadow and Bone series, when Alina decided Tamar was a lesbian because she didn’t find Mal attractive. Like sure, the base of the idea is there, but then you took it and ran with it in a direction that made no sense.

And the prose! The prose was awful! The word “buttocks” was used way too much to be novel, and I found myself annoyed by Tesla’s diction. Every time she described her pain, it was always something like, “red starbursts” or “green fireworks.” That’s fine to use once or twice, but when it’s on every single page, it gets old quickly. It got to the point where if I read a color followed by a synonym of explosive, I knew I was good to skip the next paragraph or so. I would have appreciated better descriptions of Tesla’s pain.

The ending was disappointing. It came out of nowhere, and it was not fleshed out well. I think the author created too many characters to try and throw off the reader, and then struggled to find an ending for them all. (Like, wtf was that Ewan kidnapping side plot? Crazy sauce. Or Annie and Jalna? What was the point of them being in the story, other than being wholly unoriginal red herrings. Also, Annie’s comment about Tesla being seen as a sham in the robotics field both cracked me up and made me angry. Sometimes things go wrong, Annie. At the same time though, Tesla has an overinflated ego.)

Really, the only things this book has going for it are the setting and the inclusivity. (Especially regarding gender!) But that’s not enough to redeem it of its errors. We’re approaching a point where we’re allowed to pick and choose the diverse books we like- it’s no longer a matter of seizing upon the first possible novel we see ourselves reflected in and grasping on to it for dear life. We’re allowed to dislike media, even when we see ourselves in it. We’re allowed to let inclusive materials be bad. And this is a prime example of that philosophy. We can acknowledge what The Spare Man attempted to do. We can appreciate it. But that doesn’t mean it did it well, and that doesn’t create an obligation for us to enjoy it.

[Georgen Charnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

So an incredibly famous, chronic pain and PTSD suffering, rich scientist ("Tesla," unfortunately) is travelling to Mars incognito with her retired detective husband and service dog. They exit a club and see a woman who has been stabbed. The husband gives chase. Inexplicably, he's charged with the murder and beaten. The security chief won't allow Tesla to access her communication network, or her room, or her money, for no apparent reason. A lot of very detailed events happen, including someone letting her dog out of her room, and someone substituting their gin with a different brand (two events that weren't sufficiently explained), lots of calls with her crocheting lawyer with a time lag, introduction of a twin very late, octopoid robots, none of which has anything to do with the plot and make it feel chaotic. There are several unfamiliar terms used ("spoof," "joyfri..," "gamer's belly," "Mx.," people with multiple names) that cause some flow interruption to figure out. Also, it felt like the second book in a series or an offshoot of a series, since I didn't really get to know the main characters or the universe.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy
The book seems to settle down at about halfway through and becomes a lot more engaging to read. It also includes an interesting, optimistic vision of a future where gender is fluid and pronouns are chosen and respected.

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for me, 4 stars as a general review

Oh how I loved this book.

I suspect, if you aren't already a MRK fan, then this will just be a mildly entertaining Who Dunit ala Murder on the Orient Express, but in SPACE, with a slightly insufferable billionairess.

But I am a huge fan of hers, and have followed the writing of this book for years. And I've been quietly waiting to meet Gimlet for all that time. And I was not disappointed. I loved the expert use of the Service Dog. It was great.

As always MRK writes very detailed mental illnesses and issues, in this case PTSD. And she also tackled physical pain and impairment in this book, and both were handled with aplomb.

The cocktails made my mouth water.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable read, and her narration was perfect.

I just loved it.