Pines

Again, the story jumps right in with mystery/intrigue using an opening that brings the reader on the same journey as the protagonist to figure out what has already happened that leads to where we pick up the beginning of the story. The flow and pace of the prose is as good as any thriller and the author takes the exact right amount of time to take us through each piece of each scene. Good pace throughout, with some well written action scenes. Book takes a fun, engaging, and unexpected sci-fi turn in the last third, which might've been to be expected based on the author's later (and better?) works - and you might even be seeing where those stories all began. The ending also leaves you curious to where the next two novels will go with the story.