The novel “Murder on Autarch 1” by Andrea De Magistris and Michele Perni was published for the first time in 2021. It’s the first book in the Velera-Exi: mysteries of the paradox planets series.
A murder in Autarch City is a decidedly out-of-the-ordinary event and for the Unified Government of the Velera-exi Belt planets that’s quite a problem. Taking advantage of the jurisdiction of the Investigation Detachment of which he’s an agent, Frank Harden obtains the assignment of the case from his boss Raymond Purdis.
By questioning the victim’s colleagues to try to figure out who might want to kill him and the possible motive, Frank Harden realizes that they are all acting following a sort of script given by someone. The representative of the company who handles public relations, also with law enforcement, doesn’t seem any more willing to reveal anything useful to him. What’s behind the murder? Is organized crime involved?
The Velera-Exi: mysteries of the paradox planets series has a particular story, as it was born from various ideas discussed by two friends and then developed over the course of several years. Andrea De Magistris and Michele Perni explain it in the introduction to this first book, set a bit more than two centuries in the future when what is left of humanity has abandoned a devastated Earth to live on six planets that have appeared out of nowhere.
“Murder on Autarch 1” is labeled by the authors themselves as a science fiction noir so it is not surprising that Frank Harden is a detective who is cynical and a junkie. His personal story is developed slowly offering the reader various information about his past and his problems. The noir atmosphere is stressed even more by a curious retro style concerning in particular the weapons used by the underworld, which are classic revolvers.
Frank Harden’s skills as an investigator left me somewhat perplexed because the way he works seems to be based practically only on his intuition. He doesn’t examine photos, he doesn’t look for skin scales to analyze, and even his interrogations are sporadic, brief, and unconventional. Despite this, his boss considers him the best investigator in the Investigation Detachment.
Sometimes it seems that Frank Harden’s investigation is used by the authors above all to develop the introspective part connected to the protagonist and to explore that future with the mystery of the planets of the Velera-exi Belt, the Unified Government, and organized crime. Frank follows various clues after realizing that there’s something very strange behind the murder and that brings him face to face with various aspects of the planet’s society.
For these reasons, I honestly don’t know how much a mystery expert can appreciate “Murder on Autarch 1”. I had a better impression regarding the science fiction elements, with the progressive introduction of a fictional universe that has at its center the mystery of the Velera-Exi Belt planets, not surprisingly chosen for the title of the entire series. This novel offers no clues about their origin, so we can expect some development connected to this mystery in its sequels.
Frank Harden’s investigation has its conclusion, so as a thriller, “Murder on Autarch 1” is a standalone novel even if in the end, the protagonist is revealed that there’s something much bigger than his case. Also for this reason, the science fiction aspect, with everything connected to the Velera-Exi Belt planets, may require you to read the entire series. Judging by this first book alone, it seems like a series particularly suited to readers who appreciate science fiction mysteries. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
