Series Order
The Retrieval Artist Series, chronologically
The Disappeared is Flint’s very first adventure, the story that turns him from a police detective in the Armstrong Dome on the Moon into a Retrieval Artist.
In a universe where humans and aliens have formed a loose government called the Earth Alliance, treaties guarantee that humans are subject to alien laws when on alien soil. But alien laws often make no sense, and the punishments vary from loss of life to loss of a first-born child.
Now three cases have collided: a stolen spaceyacht filled with dead bodies, two kidnapped human children, and a human woman on the run, trying to Disappear to avoid alien prosecution. Flint must enforce the law—giving the children to aliens, solving the murders, and arresting the woman for trying to save her own life. But how is a man supposed to enforce laws that are unjust? How can he sacrifice innocents to a system he’s not sure he believes in? How can Miles Flint do the right thing in a universe where the right thing is very, very wrong?
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A Retrieval Artist dies of a virus, yet his colleague, Miles Flint, believes the death is not an accident. Police detective Noelle DeRicci knows that the death of a young woman in the Moon’s prestigious Extreme Marathon is not an accident. It soon becomes clear that both deaths are connected. Flint and DeRicci find themselves in their own race, one against time and a certain kind of madness that could threaten everything they know and love.
Booklist calls Extremes “an exemplary futuristic detective thriller.” RT Book Reviews says, “This futuristic tale breaks new ground as a space police procedural and should appeal to science fiction and mystery fans.” But Locus Magazine covers it all: “Extremes is simultaneously thriller, deftly plotted detective story, and SF complete with a form of Mad Scientist. Like the best of those genres, it also features well-drawn characters whose various viewpoints, areas of expertise, moral choices, and personal dilemmas all add to the rich mix.”
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A woman dies in the domed city of Armstrong on the Moon. Detective Noelle DeRicci discovers that the victim is a Disappeared—an outlaw in hiding wanted for crimes against an alien civilization. Only DeRicci’s old partner, Retrieval Artist Miles Flint brought the Disappeared home, something he would have only done if he believed the alien government would exonerate her for her crimes.
But Flint and DeRicci are no longer partners; in fact, they’re on opposite sides of the law. Flint can’t tell DeRicci about his client’s role in a war between humans and a mysterious alien race. The Disappeared’s death is only the first volley in an escalation of that war, a war that threatens to engulf the entire solar system.
“Miles Flint is back in this third volume of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Retrieval Artist series, and the stakes have never been higher, the bad guys never so bad, and the risk of personal catastrophe never more imminent. In short, Rusch has outdone herself.”
—Wigglefish.com
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A cold case starts it all—human bones discovered beneath the Martian soil in the alien Disty’s main city. The Disty evacuate, believing the area contaminated. Forensic anthropologist Aisha Costard investigates and discovers that the bones belong to a woman last seen thirty years before.
But the woman didn’t vanish, nor did anyone believe her dead. She Disappeared, along with her children, after being charged with crimes against an alien civilization. Costard believes the children hold the key to this mystery, but she can’t find them on her own. So she returns to the Moon to hire Miles Flint.
As Flint investigates, events move swiftly around him, and suddenly what began as a simple murder case turns into an incident that might destroy the entire solar system….
A high-velocity rush through cultures in full clash, as fear and panic overwhelm the day, and Rusch’s writing makes the far-out scenario feel as present and credible as today’s breaking news….Rusch has outdone herself yet again.
—The Edge Boston
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Retrieval Artist Miles Flint gets an urgent message from his mentor, Paloma. But by the time he arrives at her apartment, she’s dead, the victim of a terrible murder. The police, already on the scene, think Flint’s connected to the death.
Effectively frozen out of the investigation, he starts one of his own, and discovers secrets that Paloma kept, secrets that make Flint question everything he knew about her, everything she taught him about honor, ethics, and being a Retrieval Artist.
“A science fiction murder mystery by one of the genre’s best….A book with complex characters, an interesting and unpredictable plot, and timeless and universal things to say about the human condition.”
—The Panama News
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When she arrives home from school on Callisto, Talia Shindo finds two strange men in her house. They terrorize her, and kidnap her mother. The men leave Talia behind. She’s thirteen, brilliant, and determined to find her missing mother.
Retrieval Artist Miles Flint works a seemingly unrelated case, digging into files left him by his mentor. Only he finds a connection to the Shindo kidnapping, a connection that shatters everything he ever knew.
The two cases collide, changing Flint, changing Talia, and changing the universe around them—forever.
“This high-tech detective story, part of the Retrieval Artist series, has hard science fiction, a complex whodunit and a fascinating look at alien bureaucracy. All the elements for an entertaining story are here: well-drawn, believable characters with frailties and flaws, credible scientific theory, and authentic-feeling settings.”
—RT Book Reviews
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Hadad Yu “recovers” things for a living. Things, not people, not animals. Things. Until he gets in trouble and must work for the alien Gyonnese. They want a person to answer for her crimes, and they want to use Yu to get her. He reluctantly agrees, and sets off events that will change his life and the lives around him forever. A companion piece to Recovery Man, The Recovery Man’s Bargain explores the motivations of one of the stranger characters in the Retrieval Artist universe.
“Rusch’s story is a powerful and engaging exploration of the pitfalls of moral compromise.”
—SF Gospel
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Retrieval Artist Miles Flint has a mission: take down the law firm of Wagner, Stuart, and Xendor. He enlists the aides of old friends and old enemies. But as the mission gets underway, one member of his team dies horribly.
Flint can no longer take on the entire universe. He violated the rules of his Retrieval Artist mentor and now has a lot to lose. But he can’t reverse the events he set in motion—and the crisis he caused might destroy everything—and everyone—he loves.
“If you’ve met this series before, you won’t want to miss an installment. If you haven’t, you have a treat in store….”—Analog
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All of his short life, Paavo Deshin has seen ghosts. The same two ghosts who have now approached him on the school playground, ghosts who look older and actually smell bad. Paavo’s cry for help brings the authorities, a few lawyers, and Retrieval Artist Miles Flint, who learns some secrets about the ghosts—and about Paavo’s parents. This short stand-alone science fiction novel in the Retrieval Artist series received a Special Mention from the prestigious international UPC contest.
“The Possession of Paavo Deshin” is a masterfully crafted story. Definitely don’t miss this one.
—Tangent Online
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Four years ago, a bomb destroyed part of the dome protecting Armstrong, the largest city on the Moon. Now, as the city celebrates its survival with an event it calls Anniversary Day, a larger threat looms—one that begins with the murder of the mayor, and spreads across the Moon itself.
Even with every new technological device at her disposal, Moon Security Chief Noelle DeRicci can’t stay ahead of the unfolding disaster. As the situation gets worse, Retrieval Artist Miles Flint hurries to his daughter’s school to protect her. And Detective Bartholomew Nyquist finds himself in the middle of everything, from that first bombing to the Anniversary Day crisis itself.
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The Moon, shaken by the Anniversary Day tragedies, deals with devastation. The Earth Alliance believes another attack imminent, but no one knows where or when it will strike. Just like no one knows who ordered the attacks in the first place.
The Moon’s chief security office, Noelle DeRicci, does her best to hold the United Domes government together. But Retrieval Artist Miles Flint, dissatisfied with the investigation into the Anniversary Day events, begins an investigation of his own. He builds a coalition of shady operatives, off-the-books detectives, and his own daughter, Talia, in a race against time. A race, he quickly learns, that implicates organizations he trusts—and people he loves.
The latest Retrieval Artist science fiction thriller is an engaging investigative whodunit starring popular Miles Flint on a comeback mission. The suspenseful storyline is fast-paced and filled with twists as the hero comes out of retirement to confront his worst nightmare.
—GenreGoRoundReviews.com
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A deadly conspiracy…
The Anniversary Day bombings on the Moon sent shockwaves throughout the Earth Alliance. No one knows who created the clones responsible and turned them into ruthless killers. No one knows where or when they’ll strike next.
The bombings compel Earth Alliance Frontier Marshall Judita Gomez to launch an unauthorized investigation into a case from her past involving the murder of clones. An investigation that might cost Judita not only her career but the lives of her crew.
This third book of the Anniversary Day Saga sheds further light on the Anniversary Day events, and introduces several new key characters.
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Amid the ruin, heroes emerge from the unlikeliest places…
The Anniversary Day bombings devastated the Moon, killing thousands. While survivors search for missing loved ones and the rich and powerful set plans in motion to capitalize on the Moon’s misfortune, one ruthless man vows to uncover those responsible for the attacks on the Moon.
Luc Deshin, the most feared man in Armstrong, knows all too well the bombings could have killed the wife and son he loves more than life itself. To protect his family, Deshin immerses himself in a criminal network he fought long and hard to leave behind.
Deshin doesn’t scare easily, but what he finds in the black market underbelly of the Moon will chill him to the bone.
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The Moon barely survived the devastation of Anniversary Day. The second round of attacks planned to kill millions more. With the life of every human and alien on the Moon hanging in the balance, the Moon’s chief security officer, Noelle DeRicci, races to discover the identity of the masterminds behind the attacks before it’s too late.
Desperate to find answers, DeRicci turns to Retrieval Artist Miles Flint and Detective Bartholomew Nyquist for the kind of help only Flint and Nyquist can provide.
A gripping look at a society on edge.
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The Moon barely survived the devastation of Anniversary Day. The second round of attacks planned to kill millions more. With the life of every human and alien on the Moon hanging in the balance, the Moon’s chief security officer, Noelle DeRicci, races to discover the identity of the masterminds behind the attacks before it’s too late.
Desperate to find answers, DeRicci turns to Retrieval Artist Miles Flint and Detective Bartholomew Nyquist for the kind of help only Flint and Nyquist can provide.
A gripping look at a society on edge.
Available from Audible, or in electronic and trade paperback formats.
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Can the fate of a forgotten starbase hold the key to the Moon’s survival?
Long before the Anniversary Day bombings brought the Moon to its knees, a far-flung starbase became the testing ground for a diabolical plan: the annihilation of every human inhabitant by an army of clones.
Every lead to the masterminds behind the bombings uncovered by criminal kingpin Luc Deshin dead ended in an Earth Alliance connection.
Undercover operative Iniko Zagrando refused to play patsy for the Earth Alliance Military Division Intelligence Service, and now he’s fleeing for his life from his old bosses.
And Frontier Marshall Judita Gomez puts her own life and the lives of her team on the line when her search for the origins of the Anniversary Day assassins leads to an Earth Alliance cloning factory.
From the quiet courage of a Disappeared who struggles to decide whether to come out of hiding to the potent fury of a master criminal who puts a plan in motion to strike back at an overwhelming enemy, Starbase Human brings readers one step closer to the exciting conclusion of the Anniversary Day saga.
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The fate of the Alliance hangs in the balance as the masterminds behind the Anniversary Day bombings trigger the final stages of a plan decades in the making. A plan that will bring about the total destruction of every dome on the Moon.
As Moon Security Chief Noelle DeRicci struggles with the overwhelming scope of the investigation, Retrieval Artist Miles Flint races to save the life of a man from his daughter Talia’s past. A man with vital information regarding the identity of the masterminds who planned the Anniversary Day bombings. And deep beneath the surface of Armstrong, a dome engineer makes a chilling discovery that could crack the investigation wide open.
If only he can get someone to believe him.
The thrilling conclusion to the Anniversary Day Saga.
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The Retrieval Artist
A Short Novel
The short novel that started the entire Retrieval Artist series, The Retrieval Artist introduced Miles Flint to the world. Hugo-nominated, chosen as one of the best stories of the year, The Retrieval Artist created an entire universe, and Flint himself became what IO9 calls “one of the top ten science fiction detectives ever.”
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Also from the Retrieval Artist Universe
To pay off her law school debts, Kerrie works in the public defender’s office at the Interspecies Court. She has more clients than she can defend, most of them from cultures she does not understand. The public defender’s office loses almost all of its cases, but sometimes it gets a win. Kerrie thinks she has a winner. But does she? Or will winning the case mean she loses at everything else?
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