The Mimicking of Known Successes (The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti #1)
by Malka Older
narrated by Lindsey Dorcus
My Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Science Fiction Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: f/f
Blurb:
The Mimicking of Known Successes presents a cozy Holmesian murder mystery and sapphic romance, set on Jupiter, by Malka Older, author of the critically-acclaimed Centenal Cycle.On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colony’s erudite university—and Mossa’s former girlfriend, a scholar of Earth’s pre-collapse ecosystems.
Pleiti has dedicated her research and her career to aiding the larger effort towards a possible return to Earth. When Mossa unexpectedly arrives and requests Pleiti’s assistance in her latest investigation, the two of them embark on a twisting path in which the future of life on Earth is at stake—and, perhaps, their futures, together.
My Review
I heard of this book a few times and decided to pick it up on audio as it sounded like one I enjoyed. While I enjoyed listening to this one, it failed to fully capture me. It is an interesting blend of genre, science fiction cozy mystery with a romantic side plot as well as a British historical vibe. I liked the cozy vibes and the setting was interesting with a well done mystery. The rest of the elements fell a bit flat to me, from the characters to the romance and writing style.
The mystery was probably the strongest part of the story for me. For a shorter read it had a really solid mystery with plenty of developments. Most of the focus is on the mystery, which means some other elements definitely felt like they didn’t get as much attention, but the mystery at least was well developed. I liked some of the twists and turns along the way and the ending was well done, although a few questions remain.
The romance I felt was the weakest part of the story for me along with the characters. With such a strong focus on the mystery I felt like I didn’t get to know the characters as well. The first chapter is from Mossa’s point of view, with the rest of the book from Pleiti’s point of view. While both their personalities are quickly established with a solid sense of who they are, I wanted to know more. And especially the second chance romance just didn’t get enough room for me. Along the way there is more about how they broke up the first time, but I found the way that got resolved now unsatisfying and like it didn’t get addressed enough. I also didn’t fully their romance and connection. There are some sweet scenes between them, but most of it is them teaming up to solve the mystery.
The world building was the part I was most curious about, but only piece by piece does the reader learn more about it. I struggled to visualize everything at first, but slowly there is more as the story progressed. Even so I had so many more questions and wanted to know more about why they decided to settle here and how it all worked. I felt like the world building was really sprinkled throughout the story and I happily could’ve done with a bit more explanation and details so the world really could come alive.
While I easily listened to this one, the narrator didn’t fully work for me. I didn’t like the voice she did for main character Pleiti, although the rest of the voices and the main voice she used were good. The narrator did make it sound even more British, but I assume that was intentional.
To summarize: This was an interesting read, it’s a science fiction cozy mystery set on Jupiter and has some UK historical vibes. While this is a shorter length story I thought the mystery was well done with plenty of focus on it and some good twists and turns. I felt the other elements got a bit less chance to shine. The setting and world building was so interesting, but there isn’t nearly enough about it to satisfy my curiosity. The characters their personalities get quickly established, but don’t go much beyond that. The second chance romance doesn’t have enough chance to shine and I didn’t fully feel the romance. The narrator worked well enough for the story, although I didn’t like how she did Pleiti’s voice. The writing style could feel a stilted and wasn’t my favorite. I don’t think I will continue the series, but I am curious what more there is about the world in future books.
Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– Audible
– B&N
– Kobo
Sounds like an interesting mash of genres, but also like it was unbalanced. Still, maybe I’ll give it a go at some point.
It really was an interesting mash of genres and I was sad it didn’t quite work for me as I do like unique genre blends like this. I look forward to hearing your thoughts if you decide it give it a go.
A book set on Jupiter sounds fun.
The Jupiter setting sure was unique and interesting.
I read this recently and I felt the same way about it. It wasn’t satisfying. I didn’t fully understand how the world worked or why these people liked each other.
Glad to hear from someone else who feels the same about this book. I felt like this one had so much potential, but it just didn’t quite work for me.