New Hopeland was built to be the centre of the technological age, but like everywhere else, it has its dark side. Assassins, drug dealers and crooked businessmen form a vital part of the city’s make-up, and sometimes, the police are in too deep themselves to be effective. But hey, there are always other options …

For P.I. Cassie Tam, business has been slow. So, when she’s hired to investigate the death of a local VR addict named Eddie Redwood, she thinks it’ll be easy money. All she has to do is prove to the deceased’s sister Lori that the local P.D. were right to call it an accidental overdose. The more she digs though, the more things don’t seem to sit right, and soon, Cassie finds herself knee deep in a murder investigation. But that’s just the start of her problems.

When the case forces Cassie to make contact with her drug dealing ex-girlfriend, Charlie Goldman, she’s left with a whole lot of long buried personal issues to deal with. Then there’s her client. Lori Redwood is a Tech Shifter, someone who uses a metal exoskeleton to roleplay as an animal. Cassie isn’t one to judge, but the Tech Shifting community has always left her a bit nervous. That wouldn’t be a problem if Lori wasn’t fast becoming the first person that she’s been genuinely attracted to since splitting with Charlie. Oh, and then there’s the small matter of the police wanting her to back off the case.

Easy money, huh? Yeah, right. – Goodreads.com

If this book doesn’t make you a fan of Cassie Tam, you must be one of the few who can resist her.  Intelligent, snarky, confident – and charmingly awkward when dealing with an attractive woman.

The world-building is wildly imaginative and high-tech, boasting vivid imagery.  Cassie is presented with a murder case almost immediately, and the author serves up several suspects, each with plausible motives.  I honestly didn’t know ‘who dun it’ until the big reveal, and soon after was unexpectedly thrown by a plot twist at the end.

I’m excited Cassie will return in subsequent books, and if you’re a fan of sci-fi/mystery/suspense blends, I recommend checking out this series.