The Cold Between

A Central Corps Novel, Book 1

By: Elizabeth Bonesteel

Narrated by: Katharine Mangold

Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

Deep in the stars, a young officer and her lover are plunged into a murder mystery and a deadly conspiracy in this first entry in a stellar military science-fiction series in the tradition of Lois McMaster Bujold.

When her crewmate, Danny, is murdered on the colony of Volhynia, Central Corps chief engineer Commander Elena Shaw is shocked to learn the main suspect is her lover, Treiko Zajec. She knows Trey is innocent - he was with her when Danny was killed. So who is the real killer, and why are the cops framing an innocent man?

Retracing Danny's last hours, they discover that his death may be tied to a mystery from the past: the explosion of a Central Corps starship at a wormhole near Volhynia. For 25 years the Central Gov has been lying about the tragedy, even willing to go to war with the outlaw PSI to protect their secrets.

With the authorities closing in, Elena and Trey head to the wormhole, certain they'll find answers on the other side. But the truth that awaits them is far more terrifying than they ever imagined...a conspiracy deep within Central Gov that threatens all of human civilization throughout the inhabited reaches of the galaxy - and beyond.

©2016 Elizabeth Bonesteel (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Never again

The book was less of a sci-fi novel and more an emotional jumble of random events, topics, characters, and stories.

Never again

Above Average

My recommendation to the author is to study JD Robb’s “In Death” series to get some tips on how a heroine outwits criminals to solve mysteries while juggling a romance. And, to reduce boredom during the slow parts, please include a humorous sidekick.

That said, this is an above average Military Sci-Fi book with a great narrator.

Personal Drama IN SPACCCCE

Some fun world building which is never really payed off. We get a little bit of a look at Central Corp but they dont pay off anything with regards to the other man faction (PSI) despite one of the main characters being a senior PSI commander. The 'he hurt my feelings so we must fight' plotline goes on way to long, literally entire book only to end without advancing the plot in any way. The actions at the end of the book are kind of silly and don't make a tremendous amount of sense. The villains motives are only tangentially explained and are a little unsatisfying. While the relationships between the characters (except the aforementioned forgivness arc) are interesting and compelling it just wasn't enough to salvage it for me.

The performance is very well done and the narrator does a good job of giving different voices to the characters without seeming to put on outrageous accents.

Ok story. Ok narrator.

Wasn't expecting all the love interest story lines, perhaps the book isn't aimed at me! Well written and interesting in parts. The narration was very average. Not bad but disappointingly limited range of voice acting for the characters and even some mistakes (e.g. "pitch and yawn"? It's pitch and yaw. Not sure if that's a mistake in the book or narrator to be fair).

A New Series by a Narrator that Rocks

I listen to a LOT of audio books and I have never listened to a narrator that threw so much emotion (appropriate emotion) into the performance. It is like the main character comes alive from the narration. The book is an action filled ride that lasts less than a week in its entirety. Hope Book 2 is not far behind.