THE LAST RESORT

An offbeat police team probes a series of high-profile murders.

In the 2030s, Washington, D.C., police detective Jen B. Lu catches the weird case of celebrity lawyer Patty Garcia, killed on the Viridian Green golf course, presumably by a flying ball. Jen’s sidekick and amanuensis is in her head, a synth implant named Chandler who calls Jen “boss.” Chandler crisply tracks specific dates and times and often presents data in detail-heavy paragraphs. Providing welcome contrast is Jen’s banter with her significant other, Zach, whose new job as a climate activist has put a strain on their relationship. Jen’s gut instinct that Garcia's death was no accident meets so much resistance from her superiors that she begins to doubt herself. But a second victim tips the doubters in her direction, and an investigation begins in earnest. Given Chandler’s expertise, forensics plays a big role in the probe. Garcia’s high-profile career made her a compelling target. Her championing of climate activists attracted enemies among big oil companies and angered right-wing militias as well. Could one of these groups include the culprit(s)? A continuing subplot concerns squad-room tension between Jen and her colleagues Les and Christopher, husbands as well as co-workers, that dates back to obliquely recalled incidents from The Last Exit (2021). Kaufman has a gift for snappy dialogue and relies on it heavily in Jen’s interviews with persons of interest and squabbles with Zach. A third murder accelerates the inquiry to a solution.

A quirky, fast-paced whodunit with a provocative take on the near future.