Alibi by Sharon Shinn

I have been a fan of Sharon Shinn’s fantasy novels, especially the Twelve Houses, Elemental blessings and Samara series, and I was happy to pick up her latest novel, Alibi, set in a future where teleportation is a common form of transport. This enables Taylor Kendall, a professor of English, to teach in Houston while living in Chicago, and take a part time job tutoring Quentin who has a fatal degenerative disease. He is the son of billionaire Duncan Phillips, who refuses to allow him to have the latest medical treatment. Taylor quickly becomes embroiled in the household, enjoying her tutoring and becoming increasingly attracted to Bram Cortez, head of security. When Phillips is murdered, everyone who could have teleported to the mansion is a suspect, including Taylor.

The idea of teleportation has always fascinated me as it was often featured works by early science fiction authors like Phillip K. Dick. Anne McCaffrey too had the dragons of Pern teleporting back and forth as their riders visualised a place. And Shinn’s use of it as a device to question alibis is intriguing.

Alibi is light on the murder aspect of the plot, with the story focusing on it in the last 20% of the novel. It is Shinn’s skill with creating likeable characters and her light touch with romance that kept me reading. Taylor is an engaging woman, dedicated to her students and to bringing joy into Quentin’s life. Her relationship with her brother Jason and her gang of friends sparkles and I found it easy to imagine life in the billionaire’s household.

Fans of Shinn will enjoy this easy-to-read story and people who read the futuristic mysteries featuring Eve Dallas by J. D. Robb are also likely to enjoy it.

Themes: Science fiction, Teleportation, Murder.

Pat Pledger