Book Review: The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

The Spare Man

by Mary Robinette Kowal (Kowal)

 

I’ve greatly enjoy the Lady Astronaut series of alternate history SF novels by Mary Robinette Kowal, looking at the early days of space exploration. I’ve also enjoyed her short stories in the various short SF fiction magazines, like Asimov’s Science Fiction.

 

So when I saw that a new stand-alone novel by Kowal, The Spare Man, had been released in the Fall of 2022, and that it was a loving SF take on the old “Thin Man” stories of Dashiell Hammett, I knew I couldn’t pass it up.

 

Tesla Crane is an inventor, and heir to a family fortune, who suffered a crippling accident that left her with a damaged spine (hardware, drugs and psychological tricks help her to cope) and PTSD. She has recently gotten married (on very short notice) and she, her new husband, and her service dog (the unbelievably cute Gimlet) are traveling aboard a luxury cruise spaceship, when a murder occurs and circumstantial evidence seems to show that Tesla’s new husband is the killer.

 

It is then up to Tesla, with Gimlet’s help, and the long-distance threats of her extremely foul-mouthed but loyal attorney, to investigate and try to save her husband. All while there are threats that more murders might occur.

For a murder mystery (set in space), this is a fairly light and frothy little treat. Like the Thin Man novels it emulates, our central characters come from a privileged background but don’t see themselves as “above” the rest of society. There’s LOTS of drinking, both in social settings and in private — in fact, each chapter opens with a cocktail recipe, mostly alcoholic. The relationships between Tesla and her retired detective husband Shal, and between Tesla and Gimlet, are absolutely charming. The circumstances of the sleuthing leave the reader in no doubt that Tesla will solve the mystery, but at the same time, there’s the mystery of how she’ll solve it to keep us intrigued. Though the central characters are heteronormative, there’s also a strong genderqueer flavor to many of the supporting characters, giving this one a thumbs up for fans of positive LGBTQ+ roles in fiction.

 

I got the sensation that this could be the first in a new series, but time will tell. In the meantime, this was a pleasant if somewhat predictable “mystery with a sci-fi setting”. If you like The Thin Man and don’t mind the outer space milieu, or even just like witty banter in your SF novels, give this one a try!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the other works by AUTHOR, or the classic The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett.)

 

( official Mary Robinette Kowal web site )

 

Read Susan S.’s review of The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowall, in the August 2019 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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