The Last Campaign (The Near-Earth Mysteries #2)

I hope The Last Campaign, isnt the last time we see Martin Shoemakers fascinating characters, especially Nick and Rosie, who were last seen as change agents in The Last Dance. But fear not: I doubt that is going to happen.

Anyhow this time out Rosie, one-time admiral ends up running a nascent police force on the Martian mini metropolis known as Maxwell City. And many of the characters from “The Last Dance” turn up again in new roles.

Shoemaker does a fabulous job imagining the city, and the way Rosie goes about setting up the police force is at least as interesting as the jumble of cases she must solve. Of course they become connected at the end, as a good police procedural should do. There are murder, insurance fraud, and political machinations galore, but not much in the way of violence.

Highly recommended.

I had read the previous book, The Last Dance which I thoroughly enjoyed and was then inspired to purchase this title.
Several of the protagonists from The Last Dance feature prominently in The Last Campaign and the storyline of the former is the backdrop to the latter; so I strongly suggest reading these books in sequence. The Last Dance provides a context for the exploration and subsequent colonization of Mars. The Last Campaign fast-forwards the reader a few decades to an established Martian colony. Although the setting is futuristically Sci-Fi, the actual story line is more related to the age-old problems of human society with elements of greed, power struggles, good vs. evil etc. Well written and entertaining, definitely worth reading if you enjoyed The Last Dance; but, for me, not quite as stirring as the first in the series.

I really enjoyed the first book and could not wait for the second one. My wait was not in vain. This is a fabulously written second act of what is- underneath it all- a timeless love story. It helps if you have read the first book and have an understanding of the background of some characters and situations, but as a stand-alone it is excellent also. Is this the conclusion? Only the author knows!

Overall, an enjoyable read…but the story seemed to get tied down with irrelevant minutia of a Martian city mayoral campaign. I think theres a lot of uninteresting and unnecessary dialogue and descriptions in the middle third of the book that could be cut back considerably. I almost gave up, but stuck with it until the end, and Im glad I did…but I wish the author had more aggressive (or insistent) editors to help get rid of irrelevant filler.

No easy answers here, this is a deeply plotted book with strong-willed characters, full of details about a near future Mars colony on the brink of independence. Politics clash with the main character’s determination to know the truth.

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