This was soooo good. Very nearly gets 5 stars but is definitely a very strong 4.5.
It doesn't get 5 stars because it takes about a third of the book to find it's feet. This is due to it being a novel of short stories. Now, to be fair, that's not necessarily a negative but it does take a bit for the reader to get used to it (I found). Once it hits its groove, it really hits its groove.
This book, of course, ticks my boxes in the sense of being a closed house mystery built around tales of near future space exploration. However, there are some nicely judged character studies of the kinds of people who would be involved in that and just a hint of how it will help shape the future of sociery.
It also isn't a dystopia which made a pleasant change of pace from a lot of recent (and very good, this is not a criticism) reading.
Highly recommended if the synopsis etc sounds like your cup of chai latte and I will be continuing with the next in the series, even if the continued expansion of my t0-be-read pile is starting to get a little alarming ...