A review by bookdrag0n
Arctic Adagio by D.J. Cockburn
5.0
I was gifted a free copy of this novelette in exchange for an honest review
This whodunit-esque novelette by D.J. Cockburn is set in the dystopian future, where the rich control the world, and the climate has perished under humanity’s negligence. Rex Harme, a former police detective, is now working as security on a cruise ship in the Arctic Ocean, with some of the world’s richest–and shallowest–people partying it up. But when one of the guests is thrown overboard, he must solve the mystery of the murderer’s identity.
Within its quick 85 pages, Arctic Adagio keeps its readers engaged and constantly on the lookout. With the novelette being so short, we know that the murderer will be caught soon, and we don’t want to miss out on one telling detail! It’s shortness, as well as it’s quick pace and easy-flowing writing style urge readers to continue turning pages, until we reach the end in a surprisingly short time. I know that I sat down to start reading this novel, and ended up finishing it in that same position about a half hour later. There was just no good place to stop! I had to continue attempting to solve the mystery before Harme did it for me!
I grew up watching Columbo and reading this “Big Book of Whodunits” that my father got for me for Christmas one year, so I am familiar with these short–and yet intricately designed and frustratingly difficult to solve–murder mysteries. I loved this book. I would definitely allow it to rest within the pages of my “Big Book” as its own short mystery.
However, it was even greater than the traditional Whodunits that I grew up reading. There was actual character development with Harme, a surprising feat given the short nature of the book and its primary mystery. And yet, I found myself craving more. I wanted to learn more about Harme and his son, more about how the world came to be as it was, more about the mystery. In fact, that is the reason I did not give this book the full 5 stars (I rated this 4.5 stars on my blog); I felt almost cheated by Harme’s revealing of the mystery. I had just begun to pool my suspects and put together some of the facts when he spilled it all. It seemed a bit rushed, something that perhaps could have stretched out to 100 pages and still keep its brevity. Perhaps this would have allowed much more of a buildup for the climax, rather than the grand revelation petering out.
I also want to note that I loved the fact that Cockburn brings up a valid–if veiled–problem within our current society: climate change. The class distinctions as well as the blatant mockery and even pleasure with which the super-rich regard the lack of ice in the Arctic is absolutely disgusting. I cannot envision living in a world where that is reality, and I hope that we can take the hint and begin working towards keeping this only fantasy.
This whodunit-esque novelette by D.J. Cockburn is set in the dystopian future, where the rich control the world, and the climate has perished under humanity’s negligence. Rex Harme, a former police detective, is now working as security on a cruise ship in the Arctic Ocean, with some of the world’s richest–and shallowest–people partying it up. But when one of the guests is thrown overboard, he must solve the mystery of the murderer’s identity.
Within its quick 85 pages, Arctic Adagio keeps its readers engaged and constantly on the lookout. With the novelette being so short, we know that the murderer will be caught soon, and we don’t want to miss out on one telling detail! It’s shortness, as well as it’s quick pace and easy-flowing writing style urge readers to continue turning pages, until we reach the end in a surprisingly short time. I know that I sat down to start reading this novel, and ended up finishing it in that same position about a half hour later. There was just no good place to stop! I had to continue attempting to solve the mystery before Harme did it for me!
I grew up watching Columbo and reading this “Big Book of Whodunits” that my father got for me for Christmas one year, so I am familiar with these short–and yet intricately designed and frustratingly difficult to solve–murder mysteries. I loved this book. I would definitely allow it to rest within the pages of my “Big Book” as its own short mystery.
However, it was even greater than the traditional Whodunits that I grew up reading. There was actual character development with Harme, a surprising feat given the short nature of the book and its primary mystery. And yet, I found myself craving more. I wanted to learn more about Harme and his son, more about how the world came to be as it was, more about the mystery. In fact, that is the reason I did not give this book the full 5 stars (I rated this 4.5 stars on my blog); I felt almost cheated by Harme’s revealing of the mystery. I had just begun to pool my suspects and put together some of the facts when he spilled it all. It seemed a bit rushed, something that perhaps could have stretched out to 100 pages and still keep its brevity. Perhaps this would have allowed much more of a buildup for the climax, rather than the grand revelation petering out.
I also want to note that I loved the fact that Cockburn brings up a valid–if veiled–problem within our current society: climate change. The class distinctions as well as the blatant mockery and even pleasure with which the super-rich regard the lack of ice in the Arctic is absolutely disgusting. I cannot envision living in a world where that is reality, and I hope that we can take the hint and begin working towards keeping this only fantasy.