Let’s get the obvious out-of-the-way first, Red Planet Blues is a fantastic title (and Sawyer has discussed where it came from). The book is in my favorite mashup of genres, science fiction mystery. The book has a very Heinlein feel with the setting and cast of characters, but it is definitely a Sawyer book. I enjoyed it until the ending, which dragged on longer than it should have, but still liked it overall. Let’s check it out.

Alex Lomax is the one and only private detective on the Martian town of New Klondike. The was a mad fossil rush on Mars when Simon Weingarten and Denny O’Reilly landed and found the Alpha Deposit, an area of Mars where the Martian fossils are easily dug up. The fossils are one of the most unusual items in the solar system and can go for large amounts of money. After Simon Weingarten and Denny O’Reilly left (with requisite fights and deaths), no one knew where it was. But many dreamed of finding it. The easiest way to mine is to get transferred, where your consciousness transfers into a nearly indestructible mechanical body. The setting is a frontier town where the police won’t get up off their seats unless there are two shots (one shot just isn’t enough reason).

The story starts in a standard noirish manner (female client comes in looking for her missing husband). Alex solves that mystery much too easily and that, of course, starts the process where the plot explodes into a giant mess with transfers who shouldn’t exist, dead people who aren’t really dead and everyone is rushing to find and exploit the Alpha Deposit. Along the way, we meet various people such as Julia (the sexy waitress), Reiko (possibly the last surviving relative of one of the founder of the Alpha Deposit) and Lakshmi (a writer-in-residence who might not be working on the story she claims).

The setting is wonderful and reminds me of Heinlein at his best. Alex is an interesting character and I enjoyed following him around. The plot, however, dragged on near the end. There were multiple false endings and it reads like Sawyer spent way too much time trying to throw in plot twists. The momentum of the story helps carry the reader through the ending, but it is a bit of a slog. But, since I’m a sucker for science fiction mysteries, I happily went along. Recommended.