Book Review: Cold Dark Matter

Reviewed By: Catherine Thompson - RAM

Cold Dark Matter     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Alex Brett
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character
Series: Morgan O'Brien Mysteries # 2
Dundurn; $11.99 mass market; 348 pages

Morgan O’Brien, fraud investigator for the National Council for Science and Technology, is called upon by her old friend and former colleague Duncan Carmichael to investigate the death of an astronomer in Hawaii. Yves Grenier was working at the FrancoCanadian Telescope observatory on Mauna Kea when he committed suicide. However, his research data is missing. Duncan tells Morgan that the missing data is important to the government, and he sends her off with the blessing of the minister he works for. When Morgan reaches Hawaii, she discovers that Grenier was likely murdered. She teams up with local cop, Detective Donald Benson, to investigate, but things quickly become more complicated than she ever imagined. When another astronomer ends up dead, Morgan knows she can’t let anything stand in her way, not even a retired RCMP officer with something to hide and a lot of friends in low places.

Cold Dark Matter is Brett’s second Morgan O’Brien mystery, the follow-up to Dead Water Creek. I have to say that even though I enjoyed the first, the second is even better. I’d hazard a guess that it won’t be long before Brett wins an Ellis Award. Her mix of science and investigative thrills is unique in the genre.

Morgan is a hard-nosed investigator of research fraud. At the same time, she’s subject to all those little human foibles that bring a character to life.

Catherine Thompson - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Catherine Thompson - RAM