★ 11/14/2022
Set in 2034, Kaufman’s stellar sequel to 2021’s The Last Exit presents Washington, D.C., police detective Jen Lu and Chandler, the biocomputer implanted in her neocortex, with a complex murder case. Patty Garcia, “Time Magazine Person of the Year for leading the landmark civil suit against the oil, gas, and coal giants” and a rumored presidential candidate, was golfing in Rock Creek Park, repurposed for commercial purposes after Disney bought the National Park Service, when she was apparently accidentally struck in the head by a golf ball. The blow knocked her unconscious, and she died soon afterward. The fatal golf shot came from an apparent stranger, hedge fund CEO Peter Trebook, who was in the group playing after Garcia and who denied any ill intent. Despite Trebook’s credible testimony, which convinces even Chandler, Lu believes Garcia was murdered. Acting on her suspicions, she follows her squad’s mandate to “take creative initiatives to investigate crime,” despite the danger to herself. The near-future worldbuilding, the pacing, the plot twists, and the characters are all top-notch. Kaufman remains a rising talent. Agent: Ginger Curwen, Julia Lord Literary. (Jan.)
Praise for The Last Resort:
“Top-notch. Kaufman remains a rising talent.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Kaufman has a gift for snappy dialogue . . . A quirky, fast-paced whodunit with a provocative take on the near future.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Well-crafted . . . with a couple of future-society quirks that add satisfaction to this unusual mystery.”
—New York Journal of Books
“Imaginative . . . [With] the most beguiling twist.”
—The Globe and Mail
“True crime junkies, political aficionados, and dystopian fiction fans alike can all enjoy.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Kaufman's near-future Washington DC is at once unimaginable, terrifying, and thoroughly recognizable.”
—Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Executive Director of Washington DC’s Public Library
Praise for The Last Exit:
"[An] outstanding series launch...Exceptional worldbuilding is complemented by sympathetic characters and suspenseful plot twists. Kaufman is a writer to watch."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Kaufman keeps the pot boiling...A strong, richly imagined brew.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A solid read, both as a police procedural and near-future science fiction.”
—Amazing Stories
“Aptly timed and unsettlingly plausible.”
—Fresh Fiction
"This is a compelling science fiction-detective story, just the thing for readers who want something different."
—Mystery and Suspense Magazine
"Engagingly narrated."
—Stop, You’re Killing Me
“An engrossing thriller set in a fascinatingly plausible near future, The Last Exit centres on a human-AI partnership that’s as believable as it's moving.”
—Emma Donoghue, New York Times bestselling author of Room
“[A] fast-paced and, somehow, even funny mystery.”
—Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director, DC Public Library
"Detective Lu has troubles aplenty coming at her in this fast-paced thriller: a baffling mystery to solve when too many people start dying too fast, personal moral quandaries to wrestle with, and a cruel and inequitable society on the brink of chaos to navigate.”
—Con Lehane, author of the 42nd Street Library mysteries
“I love a book that makes me think, shows me a different world, and makes me savor the world I have, and be more grateful for it.”
—Anne Perry, international bestselling author of the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mysteries
“Cobalt Blue is a highly accomplished debut that does not miss a beat. Characters, plot and style: it’s got it all. Fully recommended for all crime fiction aficionados.”
—Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, bestselling author of Last Rituals
“I LOVED it! Michael Kaufman's compelling thriller The Last Exit is engagingly narrated by his Washington, DC, detective Jen B. Lu and her experimental synthetic implant Chandler, an odd couple partnership for the ages.”
—Lucinda Surber, Stop, You're Killing Me! and Left Coast Crime
"Clever, unconventional, compelling—and one hell of a good read.”
—Ian Hamilton, author of the Ava Lee series
"The Last Exit hits hard. Fast action—a melding of the mental and physical—keeps this smart futuristic thriller racing, and its contemporary implications keep the reader thinking.”
—Thomas Perry, bestselling author of A Small Town
In 2034 Washington, Detective Jen Lu returns with her bio-implanted assistant, Chandler, to solve a murder involving a political smoking gun, a 1968 research paper on climate change that has the energy industry up in arms. Joe Sanfelippo portrays Chandler and his humorous robotic interpretation of Jen's every thought and emotion. He also provides an emotionless interpretation of other characters' motives and frailties. Natalie Naudus provides additional context from Jen's perspective as she is stymied by shady actors who are intent on shutting down her investigation. While both performers help build the mounting tension, Sanfelippo steals the show. This is a sophisticated futuristic mystery woven with today's politics. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
In 2034 Washington, Detective Jen Lu returns with her bio-implanted assistant, Chandler, to solve a murder involving a political smoking gun, a 1968 research paper on climate change that has the energy industry up in arms. Joe Sanfelippo portrays Chandler and his humorous robotic interpretation of Jen's every thought and emotion. He also provides an emotionless interpretation of other characters' motives and frailties. Natalie Naudus provides additional context from Jen's perspective as she is stymied by shady actors who are intent on shutting down her investigation. While both performers help build the mounting tension, Sanfelippo steals the show. This is a sophisticated futuristic mystery woven with today's politics. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
2022-10-26
An offbeat police team probes a series of high-profile murders.
In the 2030s, Washington, D.C., police detective Jen B. Lu catches the weird case of celebrity lawyer Patty Garcia, killed on the Viridian Green golf course, presumably by a flying ball. Jen’s sidekick and amanuensis is in her head, a synth implant named Chandler who calls Jen “boss.” Chandler crisply tracks specific dates and times and often presents data in detail-heavy paragraphs. Providing welcome contrast is Jen’s banter with her significant other, Zach, whose new job as a climate activist has put a strain on their relationship. Jen’s gut instinct that Garcia's death was no accident meets so much resistance from her superiors that she begins to doubt herself. But a second victim tips the doubters in her direction, and an investigation begins in earnest. Given Chandler’s expertise, forensics plays a big role in the probe. Garcia’s high-profile career made her a compelling target. Her championing of climate activists attracted enemies among big oil companies and angered right-wing militias as well. Could one of these groups include the culprit(s)? A continuing subplot concerns squad-room tension between Jen and her colleagues Les and Christopher, husbands as well as co-workers, that dates back to obliquely recalled incidents from The Last Exit (2021). Kaufman has a gift for snappy dialogue and relies on it heavily in Jen’s interviews with persons of interest and squabbles with Zach. A third murder accelerates the inquiry to a solution.
A quirky, fast-paced whodunit with a provocative take on the near future.
