by Gene Wolfe
First published 2016
E. A. Smithe exists as property on the third tier of a public library. He carries the uploaded personality of a dead mystery writer, trapped in a clone's body in a world a century beyond our own. North American civilization has collapsed and rebuilt itself with advanced technology, robots, and a drastically reduced population. When wealthy Colette Coldbrook checks him out, Smithe discovers she needs more than a borrowed person. Her father has been murdered, and a crucial book has vanished. Murder on Mars, written by Smithe's original self, holds the secret to enormous family wealth. Coldbrook fears the police and turns to the only surviving trace of the author for help. Smithe must navigate his strange existence between human consciousness and legal object as he searches for the missing book and unravels its hidden meaning. The investigation pulls him deeper into dangers that threaten both his borrowed existence and Coldbrook's survival.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, mystery, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, mystery-thriller
Setting: Mars, North America
Period: Century Beyond Our Own
304 pages · Paperback · Tor Books