A TASTE FOR CERULEAN BLUE (Nakon Trilogy 1) by Dale Sale-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 1, 2023

First Sergeant Jill Tower is back from war and her problems are just beginning. Someone has killed powerful Admiral Falkirk McGowan’s son-in-law and Jill is on a deadline to discover who. Everyone from his smuggling rivals to his mistresses had a motive. Soon Jill and her sassy AI assistant, PENY, are pulled along a twisting trail of clues into the seedy underbelly of Nakon City following a bloody revenge plot decades in the making. Along the way, Jill ignites a sizzling affair with a young soldier. But killers lurk in every shadow, determined to bury the truth.

Jill must fight for her life in this electrifying page-turner. In a neo-noir world where betrayal runs deep, who can Jill trust?

The stakes are sky-high. In A Taste For Cerulean Blue , a dark future sci-fi thriller awaits. A page turner that will leave you breathless and hooked on this electric series starter.

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REVIEW: A TASTE FOR CERULEAN BLUE is the first instalment in Dale Sale’s adult NAKON dark, sci-fi, futuristic thriller focusing on former police detective / reservist first Sergeant turned Chief Warrant Officer Jill Tower. The NAKON trilogy is a spin off from the author’s MARTIAN TRILOGY but you do not have to have read the previous series to understand or follow along. Some of the characters including Admiral McGowan, Captain Grey and Gus Johansson cross over for cohesion and back story.

Told from several third person perspectives including Jill Tower A TASTE FOR CERULEAN BLUE follows in the wake of the murder of Admiral McGowan’s son in law, Captain Harrison ‘Hazy’ Grey, and a missing shipment of Cerulean Blue. First Sergeant Jill Tower has just returned from a one year starship mission, and upon her return will discover everything she left behind has changed including her job, her apartment and her current status in both the police department and the space military. When NCIS is ruled out as cooperative, and the local police refused to investigate the murder of Grey, Jill Tower is offered a temporary position as the Chief Warrant Officer, where she will have access across the board including off world and AI entry into information not usually granted to civilians. With the help of PENY, Jillian’s new AI bot assistant, our heroine will begin to uncover a multi-layered conspiracy, taking revenge for sins of the past.

The world building follows the search for the truth; the revelation of underworld crime in the import/export business, and the high price for investigating anyone who gets in the way. As Jillian Tower begins to unravel the truth, her life and those around her, will become targets of the those who want their business and intent to remain in the shadows.

We are introduced to several interesting secondary and supporting characters including Admiral McGowan, Captain Grey and Gus Johansson; AI bot PENY; Captain Grey’s widow Mitzi, Head of police operations Brit Bashara; head of Port Security Charlie Burns, singer Dell Laster; loader in charge Midge Han; house cleaner Geris Platman; Freddy Sneakers; and security guard Cal MacGillivray aka MG aka Jill’s love interest. The requisite evil has many faces.

A TASTE FOR CERULEAN BLUE is a character driven, sci-fi thriller of murder and mystery; a noir-type story with less in your face violence and $ex; a dark and spirted tale of secrets and lies. The premise is dramatic; the characters are determined and dangerous. There is a slight romance developing for our story line heroine, but everything is implied.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy