The Spare Man

By: Mary Robinette Kowal

Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal

Hugo, Locus, and Nebula Award winner Mary Robinette Kowal blends her no-nonsense approach to life in space with her talent for creating glittering high-society in this stylish SF mystery, The Spare Man.

Tesla Crane, one of the richest women in the world, is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner, cruising between Earth and Mars. She’s traveling incognito and is reveling in her anonymity. Then someone is murdered and her husband is named as the prime suspect. To save him from the frame-up, Tesla will risk exposure and face demons from her past.

Even though doing so might make her the next victim.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Mary Robinette Kowal (P)2022 Audible, Inc.

Nick and Nora Go To Mars

This book combines the genres of Locked Door Mystery and Space Opera(?) Science Fiction Romance(?) And, perhaps, a drop of hard science fiction. Combine, stir 40 times clockwise followed by 10 addional stirs widdershins. Pour over ice, invoke the names Becky Chambers, Nathan Lowell, Douglas Adam's, and John Scalzi and reverently drink to the lives of our Science Fiction overlords and octopedal robots everywhere. You will be giving thanks to the absolutely brilliant Mary Robinette Kowal for perhaps the most inventive book ever written. You helped me survive an iffy stay at the hospital with grace and dignity. I will be back, Mary, to read your next masterpiece.
I digress. To have Mary read her own work to us? We are transcendent!

The retro-future space noir I didn’t know I needed

There are so many layers to The Spare Man and each one is a complete and utter joy to discover. Can noir be hopeful? I didn’t think so until I read this.

Fun locked room mystery in space

I’m a sucker for a locked room mystery, and I loved this book. It’s the first book I’ve read by Mary Robinette Kowal (she also narrates and she is excellent as the narrator) and it won’t be my last.

More Tesla Crane please!

I will read/listen to anything Mary Robinette Kowal writes! This does not disappoint. Wonderful characters, intriguing mystery, and a high-tech space-based environment. Please, please, please, we need to hear more from Tesla. Thank you for a wonderful story.

Different and entertaining

This book was not a typical read. The author combined a few genres in an interesting way. Not quite as smart as some science fiction, which makes me feel like a genius just for being able to follow along. This was more light hearted and entertaining with slightly underdeveloped characters. I liked the use of non-binary language and deliberate sensitivity towards disabilities.

The science spin on some of the clues was a little hard to follow. It’s difficult to gracefully explain things in a future world that everyone there would already understand. Also the cocktail recipes, while interesting, seemed a little out of place. All that being said, those are small points of awkwardness is an otherwise entertaining book.