The fifth book of the Retrieval Artist series. Miles Flint investigates the murder of his former mentor. ( )

Surprising twists and lots of character development. Still enjoying the series. ( )

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. Paloma. Retrieval Artist No. 5. Roc, 2006.
The woman calling herself Paloma is for Miles Flint the ideal retrieval artist. She seems to him to navigate the complex morality of human-alien interaction better than anyone. When she is murdered, Miles must investigate what turns out to be a legal and ethical morass that could get him killed by a very efficient bioengineered assassin. More noir stuff on the Moon that offers a very wry twist on Dashiell Hammett. I like it. ( )

Ah the revealing of Paloma. I like Paloma. When I first read this book and the next book, The Recovery Man, I felt very betrayed and disillusioned by Paloma. Yet as I continued on in the series I found myself liking Paloma again. As I reread this as my husband reads this series I find Paloma ' s character more real. Miles at times feels too perfect. He doesn't always feel organic, in the later novels Talia helps. Paloma feels real. Her choices, while not ideal feel organic and real. They feel desperate. Miles actions always feel hollow in a way. Paloma and Noelle always feel more authentic with their flaws and inconsistencies. ( )

The fifth installment of the Retrieval Artist series takes place over the course of about 24 hours. Paloma, retired Retrieval Artist, is found in her posh apartment, the victim of a grisly murder. Miles is her main beneficiary, quickly the prime suspect in her murder and also of an explosion of one of her ships, the Dove. That's a lot on a plate, even for a Retrieval Artist.

I really liked that what I suspected about Paloma and her secret involvement with the Wagners was so. When the law firm WSX was introduced, I had hoped this would come back around for a proper explanation and this really delivered. In good news for further reading in the series, the full reckoning is yet to happen. I can't wait to read the takedown.

I thought this one was well done (like the others) but admit that I did find myself wanting to skim some of Detective Nyquist's investigative parts because as a reader, I knew Miles was in no way guilty so the details felt a bit tedious. I didn't skim read though and when Nyquist reaches his clarity points it was very satisfying. Noelle didn't have much to do in this one but as she's off in a different level of the Moon security structure, it made perfect sense. She was still used to good effect and had good chemistry with Nyquist so she wasn't entirely tertiary. I do look forward to more about her investigation on all those other quarantined ships as it feels like there's a story or three there. I still don't really care about Ki even though I think decent effort went into rehabbing her and trying to make her relevant for future books. I did very much like attorney, Maxine Van Alen. I'd recommend this one if you're reading the series and you want the intel on Paloma. ( )