The Disappeared

In a strange world in which humans and aliens coexist, the Retrieval Artists, private detectives who help the lost return home, become embroiled in a bizarre case involving a triple murder, the kidnapping of two human children, and a woman on the run, a reluctant outlaw who is out to teach everyone a lesson. Original.

Newly promoted detective Miles Flint and his partner, Noelle DeRicci, a veteran on the force, have three cases of intergalactic justice on their hands. One woman, a successful attorney on the run; two children kidnapped by ruthless aliens; and three dead victims of an apparent alien vengeance killing have all turned up in Armstrong Dome on the moon. As Flint delves into the cases, he discovers that all involved intergalactic justice disputes and use of the services of Disappearance Inc. to avoid other-world authorities years earlier. Flint and DeRicci are on their own to solve the crimes and mediate the intergalactic jurisdictional disputes, for their superiors are afraid of causing an intergalactic incident. If the two cops can't put it all together, this could be just the beginning of something big. Rusch has created an entertaining blend of mystery and sf, a solid police drama that asks hard questions about what justice between cultures, and even species, really is. Terrence Miltner
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