Please Do Not Ask for Mercy as a Refusal Often Offends

September 7, 2020
A detective investigating a murder unwittingly pulls back the curtain on his dystopian world in this thrilling sci-fi mystery from Davies (Dead Writers in Rehab). The residents of Landmass are the last inhabitants of Earth following a devastating flood hundreds of years earlier. Their religious teachings hold that they were saved by the gods Upstairs Mum and Dad and their son, the prophet Shadbold. After a man is publicly executed for blasphemy against these teachings, his widow,Wanda
, turns up murdered and Detective Kilroy
takes the case. Suspicion falls on Wanda’s 13-year-old daughter, Sheba, and Kilroy is tasked with tracking down the missing girl—but soon learns that his employers want Sheba for more than murder. She knows the truth about Landmass’s creation myth; the world was saved not by gods but by power-mad scientists who now monitor its inhabitants from satellites. Though billed as darkly comic, there’s very little humor in evidence to leaven Davies’s grim, noir tone. The ending is disappointingly abrupt, but the intrigue and excitement of getting there makes this well worth the reader’s time. Davies knows how to keep the pages flying.

October 1, 2020

Like everyone else on Landmass, Detective Kilroy regularly prays to Upstairs Mum and Dad and the blessed Shadbold, trusting them in every respect. He doesn't need to study history when he has the Church's Verified Stories to rely on. When he meets the alluring Cynthia in the course of a murder investigation, however, he's not sure what to think. She seems to know things she shouldn't and is quick to question authority, but is Kilroy open to hearing what she has to say? Then again, revolution might be coming whether he's ready or not. Davies (Dead Writers in Rehab) enjoys having his characters give lengthy monologs throughout this novel, which at times bog down the plot. VERDICT Dystopian novels are abundant these days, and this quirky entry feels timely and should appeal to readers who aren't looking for romantic triangles or teen angst.--Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.