THE SPARE MAN - Mary Robinette Kowal


 Tesla Crane is a social media icon. An inventor and heiress, it is nearly impossible for her to go anywhere without people recognizing her and posting photos of her. This makes for an awkward honeymoon, which is what Tesla is currently trying to enjoy on a cruise liner between the moon and Mars (along with her husband, Shalmaneser "Shal" Steward, and their dog Gimlet).

Tesla is trying to keep a low profile, and staying in the suite for the honeymoon helps, but when someone on the ship is found murdered and Shal is the prime suspect, it will be hard to stay in the shadows.  It's especially difficult when the ship's security team won't look beyond their prime suspect. Fortunately Tesla and Shal can afford a high-profile, high-priced, highly-efficient attorney who gets them some freedom while aboard ship so that they can do their own investigation - which is clearly necessary given the ineptness of the cruise-liner security!

I haven't read a lot of Mary Robinette Kowal's work, but the previous two books of hers that I've reviewed I've rated quite highly so I was really looking forward to this. Unfortunately this one rather let me down.

The Spare Man is primarily a mystery (nothing wrong with that) and a cozy mystery at that, loosely based on The Thin Man. The setting, is the only part of this that makes it 'science fiction.' This story could have been set in the 1930's on a luxury liner, in the present day at a resort, or, well, just about anywhere that would keep the protagonist in a confined space.

Quite a bit seemed to be made of Tesla's status and I expected this to play a bigger part in the mystery, but I can't say that it really did, other than to show how nice it is to have white privilege ... if it weren't for Tes's money they wouldn't be able to afford the good lawyer, and without a really good lawyer, Shal would certainly have been behind bars. In fact, while the lawyer was a bit of a fun character, it did annoy me that this was the luxury of wealth.

The mystery was fine - nothing out of the ordinary and nothing too get too excited about.

The best part of the book was the drinking.  Ms. Kowal starts each chapter with the name, ingredients, and method of preparing a mixed drink. I was a little surprised that I hadn't heard of some of them - especially those that sounded really good.  I've highlighted my favorites and will be trying them out soon.  I was not surprised to read in the Afterword (About the Cocktails) that a handful of the drinks were Kowal's own creations.

I wish I could recommend this book, but even as a cozy mystery it just isn't very exciting.  This is certainly not up to what I've seen Kowal is capable of.

Looking for a good book? The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal is a cozy mystery in space. Although inspired by The Thin Man, it seems more likely that you'll find Jessica Fletcher popping in than Nick Charles.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

* * * * * *

The Spare Man

author: Mary Robinette Kowal

publisher: Tor Books

ISBN: 9781250829153

hardcover, 357 pages

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