Review of The 13th Vote by Brendan gavin

I offered to be a Zeta reviewer to ‘The 13th Vote’ by Brendan Gavin in response to an online request. I knew nothing about the book, but as a wannabee author I figured it was something I should do. I have no connection with the author, and paid for a copy of the book myself -just so ya know this isn’t marketing bollox (not saying the post won’t be a load of shite).

The short of it:

I liked it. It was easy to read. The action builds nicely, and comes to a solid conclusion.

One sentence description:

An intergalactic murder mystery carrying a wheelbarrow full of science fiction tricks.

Rating:

Three milkshakes, a pixelated image of Elton John, and the symbol for Boron.

What happens?

You are transported to a far away planet called Primus which feels very much like Earth. There is a murder. The witness goes on the run but you know he is innocent.
A detective is searching for the killer. You are introduced to a political power struggle and back story -this is where I got the first indication serious Sci-Fi shenanigans were afoot (for any SF fans reading this, there are shades of Asimov there -including a political movement known as ‘foundationalists’). You are given a series of clues -they went over my head, but fans of the murder mystery genre should be well on the case at this stage in the story.
About halfway through the book things get a bit wild. Just a bit. And from then on the story gets all the gears.
It’d ruin the fun of the second part of the book to describe any more about what happens; so instead here’s metaphor:
A well known celebrity (possibly Jack Dorsey) has given up the media limelight and retrained as a vet. He then decides to dedicate the rest of his life to teaching an animal about the universe. To do this he first needs to get the animal to speak, but ends up stuck on a word. The word is ‘perturbation’, and the animal is a grizzly bear.

You can pick up a copy of the book here:
https://www.amazon.com/13th-Vote-Only-Secret-Them/dp/1777482917

The author’s website is here:
https://fabulousnewcatalog.com/