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Star Cops #3.1
Star Cops: The High Frontier 1
It’s the near future, and mankind has expanded its presence in space. Maintaining law and order beyond Earth is the responsibility of the International Space Police Force, known colloquially as the Star Cops. Their leader is Commander Nathan Spring.
3.1 Dead Air by Roland Moore
When Sonia Garrett dies during a routine moonwalk, the Star Cops suspect that her suit was sabotaged. As part of the investigation, Devis and Paul travel to an ancient space station to interview Xander O'Brien.
But the reclusive meteorologist has a surprise in store. He knows exactly who killed Sonia Garrett. Aliens!
3.2 Hostile Takeover by Rossa McPhillips
A crashed shuttle with no passengers or crew on board. The murder of a gangster. The kidnapping of a space station union leader. What connects all three cases?
As Nathan’s team investigate they encounter Alice Okoro, a corporate investigator for Wolfe International. What is her agenda? Is she there to hinder or help the Star Cops?
3.3 Death in the Desert by Sarah Grochala
When the sister of Lee Jones, his deceased former lover, is kidnapped from a research lab in Chad, Nathan travels to Earth to investigate in person.
At the same time, Paul and Devis discover evidence that someone may have found a way to smuggle narcotics onto the Moon, bypassing drugs testing.
As both investigations progress, an enemy of the Star Cops sees an opportunity to close a trap.
3.1 Dead Air by Roland Moore
When Sonia Garrett dies during a routine moonwalk, the Star Cops suspect that her suit was sabotaged. As part of the investigation, Devis and Paul travel to an ancient space station to interview Xander O'Brien.
But the reclusive meteorologist has a surprise in store. He knows exactly who killed Sonia Garrett. Aliens!
3.2 Hostile Takeover by Rossa McPhillips
A crashed shuttle with no passengers or crew on board. The murder of a gangster. The kidnapping of a space station union leader. What connects all three cases?
As Nathan’s team investigate they encounter Alice Okoro, a corporate investigator for Wolfe International. What is her agenda? Is she there to hinder or help the Star Cops?
3.3 Death in the Desert by Sarah Grochala
When the sister of Lee Jones, his deceased former lover, is kidnapped from a research lab in Chad, Nathan travels to Earth to investigate in person.
At the same time, Paul and Devis discover evidence that someone may have found a way to smuggle narcotics onto the Moon, bypassing drugs testing.
As both investigations progress, an enemy of the Star Cops sees an opportunity to close a trap.
- GenresScience Fiction
Audiobook
Published November 17, 2022
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 28, 2026
The first half of a six-episode miniseries that sees the Star Cops going up against organised crime on orbiting stations and on the Moon.
Dead Air
The first episode takes the form of a straightforward murder mystery with the apparently motiveless killing of a technician at the moonbase. The regulars are the same as in the previous audio releases, minus Priya, who is apparently not returning in the series. The whodunnit elements are minimal at best, since there’s only really ever one suspect, with the bigger questions being why and how he did it, and how long it will take the protagonists to prove it.
The extreme isolation of elements of the setting plays a role here, forcing some of the characters to rely on their own resources to survive and leading to some tense segments on a failing space station. There’s also a nice touch with the victim having kept an audio diary about her life on the Moon. This obviously provides clues for the investigation but, perhaps more importantly, also contrasts the darker elements of the story with snapshots of the wonder of space travel and giving the victim a human voice. It’s a good, if relatively low-key, kick-off to the series, with the larger plot arc only making a clear appearance at the end.
Hostile Takeover
The main arc really kicks off with the second episode, in which a shuttle crashes on the Moon and the accident investigation turns deadly. The story includes both action and intrigue as Kenzy is called to a space station to investigate a kidnapping and Paul looks into why a suspected gangster is visiting the Moon. As with the previous episode, the adult nature of the stories is perhaps less apparent than in the earlier audio releases; there are quite a few deaths, but nothing more gruesome than you’d get in any other action story, and there isn’t any noticeably bad language or sexual content. Instead, the ‘adults only’ rating may be more down to the themes, which retain a sense of realism that may make the violence seem more real.
There’s also quite a lot going on, as the plot arc builds and things become more tangled. Some of the science may, however, not be quite as strong as intended. For one, space stations supposedly orbiting the Earth seem a lot closer to the Moon than you’d expect, but there’s also a laser that forms a key part of the plot and which seems to defy the laws of physics – something that wouldn’t matter were the genre not ostensibly hard SF. But it’s unlikely that this will detract too much from the story for most listeners, leaving it to rely on the standard thriller elements, which remain universal despite the unusual setting.
Death in the Desert
The series takes a detour to the Earth (as the original TV show occasionally did) as Nathan heads to Africa on the trail of a kidnapped woman he has a personal connection with. It’s the sort of thing that makes the series feel more like a regular crime thriller, but it’s nonetheless fits with the plot arc, with it being obvious that the still-mysterious enemy has its roots on Earth and fitting things into a larger perspective – difficult, perhaps, when you’re as far away as Mars, but sensible when much of the season takes place in orbit. Having said this, while it does provide some literal grounding and makes some use of Nathan’s backstory from the TV show, at times, it’s surprisingly far-fetched, with a couple of scenes that stretch credulity.
In a second plot thread, Devis and Paul investigate the appearance of a new narcotic at the Moonbase. There’s some humour here, but mostly it’s a procedural, contrasting with the more action-oriented main plotline. Of course, the two turn out to be connected, something that’s apparent from early on. It all makes for a good, if not entirely perfect, story and something of a change of pace before we head into the second half.
Dead Air
The first episode takes the form of a straightforward murder mystery with the apparently motiveless killing of a technician at the moonbase. The regulars are the same as in the previous audio releases, minus Priya, who is apparently not returning in the series. The whodunnit elements are minimal at best, since there’s only really ever one suspect, with the bigger questions being why and how he did it, and how long it will take the protagonists to prove it.
The extreme isolation of elements of the setting plays a role here, forcing some of the characters to rely on their own resources to survive and leading to some tense segments on a failing space station. There’s also a nice touch with the victim having kept an audio diary about her life on the Moon. This obviously provides clues for the investigation but, perhaps more importantly, also contrasts the darker elements of the story with snapshots of the wonder of space travel and giving the victim a human voice. It’s a good, if relatively low-key, kick-off to the series, with the larger plot arc only making a clear appearance at the end.
Hostile Takeover
The main arc really kicks off with the second episode, in which a shuttle crashes on the Moon and the accident investigation turns deadly. The story includes both action and intrigue as Kenzy is called to a space station to investigate a kidnapping and Paul looks into why a suspected gangster is visiting the Moon. As with the previous episode, the adult nature of the stories is perhaps less apparent than in the earlier audio releases; there are quite a few deaths, but nothing more gruesome than you’d get in any other action story, and there isn’t any noticeably bad language or sexual content. Instead, the ‘adults only’ rating may be more down to the themes, which retain a sense of realism that may make the violence seem more real.
There’s also quite a lot going on, as the plot arc builds and things become more tangled. Some of the science may, however, not be quite as strong as intended. For one, space stations supposedly orbiting the Earth seem a lot closer to the Moon than you’d expect, but there’s also a laser that forms a key part of the plot and which seems to defy the laws of physics – something that wouldn’t matter were the genre not ostensibly hard SF. But it’s unlikely that this will detract too much from the story for most listeners, leaving it to rely on the standard thriller elements, which remain universal despite the unusual setting.
Death in the Desert
The series takes a detour to the Earth (as the original TV show occasionally did) as Nathan heads to Africa on the trail of a kidnapped woman he has a personal connection with. It’s the sort of thing that makes the series feel more like a regular crime thriller, but it’s nonetheless fits with the plot arc, with it being obvious that the still-mysterious enemy has its roots on Earth and fitting things into a larger perspective – difficult, perhaps, when you’re as far away as Mars, but sensible when much of the season takes place in orbit. Having said this, while it does provide some literal grounding and makes some use of Nathan’s backstory from the TV show, at times, it’s surprisingly far-fetched, with a couple of scenes that stretch credulity.
In a second plot thread, Devis and Paul investigate the appearance of a new narcotic at the Moonbase. There’s some humour here, but mostly it’s a procedural, contrasting with the more action-oriented main plotline. Of course, the two turn out to be connected, something that’s apparent from early on. It all makes for a good, if not entirely perfect, story and something of a change of pace before we head into the second half.
Displaying 1 of 1 review