CBR16 Bingo: Earth Day
A man vanishes off the platform on the edge of the planet. No one saw him leave but his sudden disappearance is noticed by the small community of people who call this sparsely populated platform home. Mossa, an official investigator, is sent to find out what happened to him. After her initial search turns up nothing but a small lead, she travels to Valdegeld and seeks out Pleiti, a classical Earth researcher and her ex-girlfriend.
The story is told from Pleiti’s perspective. She is the Watson to Mossa’s enigmatic Holmes. After five years apart, Mossa’s unexpected return and constant presence leads Pleiti to attribute underlying meaning to Mossa’s actions. However, Pleiti is a professional and is constantly reminding herself that Mossa is here on official business only. Even though she believes that Mossa trusts her and needs her help with the case, she can’t help but wonder if Mossa is intentionally finding new ways in which to engage her. Their shared history is the third character, always lingering in the background.
This is a cozy mystery set in space. Exes reuniting to solve a problem is one of my favorite storytelling tropes when it is done well. Most of the time, the exes hate one another or are suspicious of the other’s true intentions. While Pleiti is wary, she does not seem to resent Mossa. Mossa is constantly checking in with her to confirm that her presence is still welcome, and does not manipulate Pleiti to do more than she is willing.
The worldbuilding is lovely. Much of the dialogues take place during long journeys by cross-planetary railcar, as well as in Pleiti’s well-appointed university apartment. The most highly-anticipated event is their shared dinner at a very high-end restaurant in Valdegeld. While this could be played for romantic tension, it is written as two friends enjoying incredible food together.
The mystery is just okay. While I could not predict the ending, I was not invested enough in the potentially world-ending plot Pleiti and Mossa sought to thwart.
For this year’s CBR16 Book Bingo Reading Challenge I’m choosing albums from the 1970s that helped raise me. When I think of Earth Day, I think of the melancholy hopefulness of Cat Stevens’s hit Wild World from his album Tea for the Tillerman (1970).
