Station Eternity (The Midsolar Murders, #1)

by Mur Lafferty

Amateur detective Mallory Viridian’s talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her in this witty, self-aware novel that puts a speculative spin on murder mysteries, from the Hugo-nominated author of Six Wakes.

From idyllic small towns to claustrophobic urban landscapes, Mallory Viridian is constantly embroiled in murder cases that only she has the insight to solve. But outside of a classic mystery novel, being surrounded by death doesn’t make you a charming amateur detective, it makes you a suspect and a social pariah. So when Mallory gets the opportunity to take refuge on a sentient space station, she thinks she has the solution. Surely the murders will stop if her only company is alien beings. At first her new existence is peacefully quiet…and markedly devoid of homicide.
 
But when the station agrees to allow additional human guests, Mallory knows the break from her peculiar reality is over. After the first Earth shuttle arrives, and aliens and humans alike begin to die, the station is thrown into peril. Stuck smack-dab in the middle of an extraterrestrial whodunit, and wondering how in the world this keeps happening to her anyway, Mallory has to solve the crime—and fast—or the list of victims could grow to include everyone on board….

• ISBN10: 0593098110
• ISBN13: 9780593098110
• Publish Date: 4 October 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Imprint: Ace
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593098110

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Station Eternity is the first Midsolar Murder SF mystery by Mur Lafferty. Released 4th Oct 2022 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 464 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

Over the years of reviewing and discussing crime fiction with other fans, it's been a perennial joke about how being an amateur sleuth from the reader's side is unproblematic, but from the actual sleuth's point-of-view, it would have to be tiresome (and absolutely *full* of run-ins with the official constabulary). Jessica Fletcher's and Ellery Queen's hundreds of solved mysteries would have to have their families and acquaintances begging for a card or letter instead of actual appearance at any function where people would be gathered, since statistically one (or more) of them would have to come a cropper in some violently unlikely fashion. 

This book is self aware enough to take that idea (people are dying everytime protagonist Mallory shows up) and run with it. Mallory seeks refuge/protection from the peripheral incidental death by hiding on a sentient space station where she's the only human around, and all is blissfully quiet... until the first shuttle from Earth shows up.

This is a very very well written and cleverly plotted and engineered book. The author is rightfully hailed by the public and her peers alike, and deserves every bit of hype. Some of the early bits of the book are more stately in the pacing department, but patient readers who allow the author room to develop the characters and setup are richly rewarded in the last 2/3rds of the book.

Four stars. Engaging, funny, and so well constructed. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

[Quirky Cat]

Wait, what? Is this seriously a book that combines classic mystery tropes with science-fiction elements? Sign me up! Station Eternity, written by Mur Lafferty, is a book that I never knew I needed in my life. And now I want more.

Mallory Viridian has always been surrounded by death and murders. That's no exaggeration. Everywhere she goes, somebody dies – leaving poor Mallory to solve the crime before fingers get pointed her way.

To escape this unending cycle, Mallory found a way off the planet. She's so far away from humanity that there should theoretically be no more risk of murder, right? Wrong. Something big is about to happen, and Mallory will quickly find herself surrounded by the deaths of aliens and humans. She will have to solve the case before all hope is lost.

Huh. So Station Eternity is basically Murder, She Wrote in space – with a few twists. In other words, this book is EXACTLY what I've always been looking for. I just didn't know it. We have one character, Mallory, who always finds herself in the heart of every local murder case (sound familiar) – even when those murders happen off-world.

I love the idea of merging this trope with science-fiction elements. It's so much fun. That probably made me slightly biased in favor of Station Eternity because I love that concept. But I still enjoy the read!

Station Eternity is a complex read with two primary perspectives (Mallory and another human). As we near the story's climax, other perspectives begin to take over, making things a bit more complicated. It just shows how complex murder on a space station would be! But seriously, while these perspectives were interesting, I'm not 100% certain that they were all needed.

All things said and done; I found Station Eternity to be a fun and compelling read. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm hoping this novel will turn into a series (hey, there's hope!). I would absolutely read another adventure centered around Mallory.

Thanks to Ace and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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[Terri M. LeBlanc]

I thoroughly enjoyed this laugh-out-loud space-based mystery. It was complete far-fetched, and a little hard to believe at time, but I felt that was in the spirit of the book and how the story was told. I would read additional titles if a series is planned. 

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