Ahoy there me mateys! This novel is a murder mystery about the first murder on the moon in 2072. It was a Library Journal Spring/Summer Best Debut Novel and also an Amazon Best Book of the Year Selection. So why didn’t I love it?

To be honest, I am not really sure. I did think that the realities of life on the moon were the best part. I loved that it felt gritty with moondust and that, despite decent technology, everything was worn and in danger of failing due to monetary constraints and politics. I loved that the geography and operations on the moon felt so real. I enjoyed the main character, Dechert’s, perspective. He was smart, diligent, and caring. I also enjoyed the Safety Engineer and the Tech Engineer who were the other parts of the main trio. I loved the moon culture. But I think the main problem of this book was the plot itself.

I just overwhelmingly found the events of the book to be rather boring. I almost gave up a couple of times. But the crew kept telling me that this was a good one so I kept going. I did find that the action picked up nicely in the second half. But overall I found the politics and explanations for the murder to be rather sub-par. I mean it has the trope where the murderer stands still and pontificates on how he did it. Sad. I also thought how the crew was saved from the baddies to be so silly. That said I did like Dechert’s negotiations at the very end and was glad the main crew was saved.

So good characters and world building. Not so good plot points. While this novel turned out to be just an okay read, I have no regrets about reading it. Maybe the audio book would have been different?

Side note: Still adore the title of this one and why it is called that. Arrrr!

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