Book Review: Midnight, Water City

This year I'm keeping track of what I read. Whether I enjoy the book or not, I'll post a blurb and brief review. Most will be speculative fiction in some form—genres I gravitate toward in my own writing. Today, it's the future-noir mystery/thriller Midnight, Water City by Chris McKinney:

 

Year 2142: Earth is forty years past a near-collision with the asteroid Sessho-seki. Akira Kimura, the scientist responsible for eliminating the threat, has reached heights of celebrity approaching deification. But now, Akira feels her safety is under threat, so after years without contact, she reaches out to her former head of security, who has since become a police detective. When he arrives at her deep-sea home and finds Akira methodically dismembered, this detective will risk everything—his career, his family, even his own life—and delve back into his shared past with Akira to find her killer. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the futuristic world-building in this one. Underwater seascrapers and vehicles that can fly as well as plunge into the ocean depths? How cool is that? An eighty-year-old protagonist who feels like he's fifty thanks to advances in medicine and technology? Maybe a stretch. But what really sets him apart is his color-blindness and synesthesia (talk about being cruel to your character). In his case, it's a superpower, making him an intriguing investigator who can see certain colors when a murder has been committed. Too bad he doesn't have a name (not once in the entire novel), and that he spends way too much time on grumpy navel-gazing. (After a while, I just skimmed over those parts and didn't miss a thing.) If you like Blade Runner or the Charlie Madison, P.I. series, you might enjoy this one. 4 out of 5 stars.