Jove Deadly's Lunar Detective Agency, by Garrett Marco and Mary E. Lowd

Review by Mamma Bear

In a lonely corner of the lunar landscape, a classic, seat-of-the-pants detective sticks out his shingle and does what he does best, solving the hard crimes no one else wants to bother with. Jove Deadly is a bloodhound, literally born and bred for this work, and he’s an instantly lovable character with a nose for trouble, a constant craving for peanut butter, and a substantial addiction to rawhide chews. Together with his otter sidekick, Jove uses his skills and contacts to unravel a pair of mysteries with all the action you could want and a few familial ties that he would happily do without.

In Jove Deadly’s Lunar Detective Agency, two authors each contribute a tale of intrigue, mystery and betrayal. In part one, Jove is enlisted to find a missing person, who also happens to be his estranged brother. The high-class poodle who hired him is keeping her own secrets, and the case takes more twists and turns than a snake’s tail. Part two introduces us to Jove’s sister, and follows the loose ends left dangling in part one as Jove and his crew race to find a missing professor with information about a legendary human artifact.

Both stories were strong and engaging, and they tied in well together, giving the book a strong sense of continuity even though the individual authors’ styles are quite different. Where part one has the classic noir detective feel, with slightly heavier prose and a darker tone, part two embodies the light-hearted, whimsical tone of Mary E. Lowd’s style and echoes the rest of her stories set in this universe.

I thoroughly enjoyed both halves of Jove Deadly’s Lunar Detective Agency, and it is a high recommend for me to any fan of detective stories, of furry scifi, or anyone already enamored with the Otters in Space stories. My only word of warning is this: make certain you have peanut butter in the house before reading part two. You will definitely want it.