An enigma wrapped in a murder mystery and shoved into the best kind of scifi...on the verge of dystopianism, bleak, rationing everything, ennui, and AI.

I love the idea of inanimate objects seemingly anthromorphisized because of it's AI configuration. Rose House is haunted. Maybe in the spiritual sense seeing as the Architect who designed and built it died on the property...but I get the sense that in this case, haunt is not ghostly but rather a very sentient AI in complete control of who can and cannot enter the house - nothing like the average in this world. Realer voice, closer to human cadences...just north of uncanny valley.

Speaking of "The Architect" I find it fascinating that his death resulted in a compression into the diamond. Narcissis would be proud if he wasn't stuck in a perpetual loop staring into reflection and falling in love over and over for eternity.

Basit Deniau is also .... something else. What if the person you hated or more specifically, the person who wronged you left everything in their will to you but what was willed to you was...say, something you radioactive but precious and you weren't allowed to give it away AND it was something everyone wanted. Yeah, Basit Deniau is a piece of work. Malicious? Possibly. Psychotic? Doubtful. It's on the tip of the tongue though.

What I love about this book is even after finishing it, I'm still sitting here pondering more of what drove these characters. From Deniau (his echoes and his haunted house) Dr Gisil but to a lesser extent or Detective Maritza Smith however, the other Detective, Oliver Torres - well his motivations were cut and dry easy.

Arkady Martine is a revelation and I am glad I bothered to look at the recommended books because I read "The Dispatcher". So, thanks Goodreads I guess.

Book 1: Readathon