Title: Addict (The Cassie Tam Files #1)
Author: Matt Doyle
Publisher: NineStar Press
Publication Date: May 8, 2017
Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery
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.
Why This Book
Addict will always have a special place in my book blogging heart and history. While I’d been posting reviews since 2018, it took me over a year to decide to shift into accepting books for review. I did it by just adding a review policy page and patiently waiting, because I wasn’t completely sure this was what I wanted to do. Matt Doyle was the first author to contact me, asking for a review of Addict. Science fiction and mystery? I’d never read anything like that, so I was definitely interested. So, why this book? It was the first review request I ever accepted, and things have just snowballed since. I couldn’t be more thankful, even if I now have 2 inboxes begging for attention.
Reviews
My review: “It followed a rather logical flow with one thing clearly leading to the next without many red herrings. Though I was impressed by how quickly Cassie was able to work. Addict isn’t a terribly long book, so the mystery is, likewise, not too complex and over relatively quickly.”
On Top Down Under gave this 3.5 stars, saying “Addict is a pretty decent first book in a series. It has an interesting storyline and an interesting female lead”
Jennlyreads said “Addict drew me in with a strong lead, a great plot and a killer twist”
Review Tales said “I found the plot to be suspenseful and the content to be action packed with a hint of a thrilling aspect of intrigue, embedded within the work. The pace was steady for a futuristic sci-fi saga and the character development, being a lead woman was refreshing to read.”
Celestial Books gave this 4.5 stars, saying “Setting and atmosphere are amongst the strongest elements of ADDICT. By the end of the novel, I felt connected to the city of New Hopeland. I understood its history, its evolution, and its almost fetishist underbelly, where even crime is driven by zealotry.”
Purchase Links
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Check out all the other books featured this month on The Curated Bookshelf.
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