(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

The gaslight and shadows of the underground city of Recoletta hide secrets and lies. When Inspector Liesl Malone investigates the murder of a renowned historian, she finds herself stonewalled by the all-powerful Directorate of Preservation – Recoletta’s top-secret historical research facility.
When a second high-profile murder threatens the very fabric of city society, Malone and her rookie partner Rafe Sundar must tread carefully, lest they fall victim to not only the criminals they seek, but the government which purports to protect them. Knowledge is power, and power must be preserved at all costs…

I really did want to love this book - from the cover to the blurb on the back, it promised so much...

....and to some degree, it did deliver. The mystery aspect of the novel was clever and I found myself second-guessing the ending - and that is always a plus, in my opinion. Jane was a splendid character who I found myself liking from the very start - her worry over a button told me everything I needed to know about her at the start. The portrayal of the rich and powerful hits home very well, and the class system is pretty well explained. I got the notion of who belonged where and why.

However, the world-building itself was a bit of a letdown. There was no clear explanation of the history, the destruction of the world and who/how it was rebuilt. I really don't think that hit the mark as well as it could have. There is a hint of romance between Jane and Roman but it was all a bit quick and felt forced into the narrative - this could have been a far greater story if we had just focused on Jane and the mystery. Finally, Malone as a detective was just flat. She exhibited no real personality meaning I found it very hard to connect with her on any level. Sundar kind of brought her out of the dark a little but he wasn't enough to make the investigative part of this book shine.

Having said that, I will wait for the next book in the series and give it a try - this could just be suffering from first-in-a-series issues. It wasn't terrible, that's for sure.


Paul
ARH

If you've read many of my reviews you've probably seen me mention one of my favorite sci-fi publishers, Angry Robot Books. No...I get no kickbacks or preferential treatment for mentioning them. I like them because they take risks. They remind me of what DAW books was like in the 1970's ... edgy sci-fi that didn't fit into the big publisher models. And Angry Robot does that today... sci-fi that doesn't conveniently fit under the labels. And so I never know quite what to expect when I start a new series from Angry Robot.

What surprised me most about Carrie Patel's The Buried Life is how little sci-fi/fantasy there appears to be in the book. More than once I scrolled back to the front of the book to see the publisher's imprint because this struck me as a mystery and not a sci-fi story. But there's Angry Robot surprising me once again.

<em>The Buried Life</em> is a mystery in a post-apocalyptic world. The city of Recoletta is an underground city, as is much of the United States, following a great war a hundred years prior. But it hasn't taken long for a division of elite and labor classes to develop, and though this is set in a post-apocalyptic future, the feel is very Victorian, making this a bit of a steampunk-like read.

One of the elite is murdered and inspector Liesl Malone is tasked with solving the case. This world of the upper class is new to Malone and it isn't easy to get information from a crowd unwilling to welcome someone from a different class.

In addition to Malone, we get an insider look at the upper class from a servant. Laundress Jane Lin is also looking for a truth in the case of this murder and because of her position as someone who generally has access to the elite areas but remains invisible to those around her she has a unique perspective.

While the sci-fi/fantasy aspect is important to the story, it tends to hang like a backdrop rather than a front and center curtain for the reader. Really, it's the mystery that is in play here and the development of the major characters (Malone and Lin) that drives the story.

I found the mystery interesting. Though a little tame by some standards, the characters of Malone and Lin helped this. I definitely want to get to know these people better and hopefully there will be a little more depth to them and to some of the surrounding characters in future books.

Looking for a good book? <em>The Buried Life</em> is the first book in a new series by Carrie Patel. Mostly a mystery in a sci-fi setting, this promises to be an interesting series.

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

Enjoyed the heck out of this read. I remember devouring it on the train and barely looking up to breathe.

This book was reviewed on my blog a very long time ago. Since then I have migrated to a new blogging home and this review is either hiding in my archives or somewhere in the ether. (Sad times)