The Last Iota
A Novel
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The year is 2039, and Los Angeles is poised between order and chaos. After the Collapse of 2028, a vast section of LA, now known as the Disincorporated Zone, was disowned by the civil authorities and became a de facto third world country within the borders of the city.
Navigating the boundaries between DZ and LA proper is a tricky task, and there’s no one better suited than eccentric private investigator Erasmus Keane. So when movie mogul Selah Fiore decides she needs to get her hands on a rare coin lost somewhere in the city, she knows Keane is the man for the job.
But while the erratic Keane and his more sensible partner Blake Fowler struggle to unravel the mystery of the elusive coins, Blake’s girlfriend Gwen goes missing and Selah Fiore turns up murdered. Both of these crimes seem to be linked to the coins—and to an untraceable virtual currency called iotas, used by drug dealers and terrorist networks.
Framed for Selah’s murder and desperate to find Gwen, Keane and Fowler must outwit DZ warlords, outmaneuver a reclusive billionaire, and stay a step ahead of the police while they gradually uncover the truth about iotas. Soon the clues begin to point to a conspiracy at the highest levels of government—and to a mysterious trickster who has orchestrated it all. As the DZ devolves into chaos and another Collapse seems to loom, Blake Fowler realizes that the brilliant Erasmus Keane may have finally met his match.
Set in the world of The Big Sheep, Robert Kroese delivers another dystopian adventure novel full of wit and intrigue.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kroese gifts readers with his gripping second mystery set in 2039 Los Angeles (after 2016's The Big Sheep), another sophisticated blend of science fiction and crime. A decade after a national economic trauma known simply as the Collapse, a large segment of the city, the Disincorporated Zone, remains beyond the reach of law and order. PI Blake Fowler's ex-girlfriend Gwen Thorson went into hiding there after her colleagues on a planning task force disappeared or were murdered. Gwen has now returned to L.A. proper, a development that coincides with a new case for Blake and his eccentric partner, Erasmus Keane. Selah Fiore, an actress who attempted to kill the pair in the prior book, offers them a huge sum of money to track down an iota coin, a tangible representation of the virtual currency that gained wide acceptance after the Collapse. The plot twists are both logical and surprising, with developments and motivations straight out of classic L.A. noir. Every part of the book simply works. The compelling story, memorable leads, and imaginative worldbuilding suggest the series has a long and promising future.