Two genres that I don’t read much of are: cozy mysteries and romance. I have an inherent bias in me that’s unfair to the writers working in those areas. I’d like to say that I requested The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older to push my boundaries, but that wouldn’t be true. When I saw that Older had a new book coming out, I requested it solely based on the author. I didn’t know it was a romance or a cozy until I sat down to actually read it. To be clear, even if I had known this, I would have still requested because Older is an author I have on my list of new-to-me writers. Her other books have been recommended to me in that past but never found their way to my TBR pile. So, I requested this to check out Older as an author, and I’m glad that I did. The Mimicking of Known Successes is a lovely mystery/romance with one of the best settings that I’ve read all year.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.
© PrimmLife.com 2023
TL;DR
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older is fun and shows that Older is an author to watch. Highly recommended.
From the Publisher
The Mimicking of Known Successes presents a cozy Holmesian murder mystery and sapphic romance, set on Jupiter, by Malka Older, author of the critically-acclaimed Centenal Cycle.
“Every once in a while, a book comes along that is both a comfort read and a rousing, fist-pumping adventure, and The Mimicking of Known Successes absolutely is both of those things. An utter triumph.”—Charlie Jane Anders
A Most Anticipated in 2023 Pick for Today.com | Buzzfeed | Polygon | Book Riot | Ms. Magazine
On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colony’s erudite university—and Mossa’s former girlfriend, a scholar of Earth’s pre-collapse ecosystems.
Pleiti has dedicated her research and her career to aiding the larger effort towards a possible return to Earth. When Mossa unexpectedly arrives and requests Pleiti’s assistance in her latest investigation, the two of them embark on a twisting path in which the future of life on Earth is at stake—and, perhaps, their futures, together.
Review: The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
Pleiti is returning to her home and job at the university from a trip to see her parents. Waiting for her is her ex-girlfriend, Mossa, who is an Investigator confirming a potential suicide that may actually be a murder. Mossa seeks Pleiti out because the victim was a researcher at the same university as Pleiti. Naturally, the researcher agrees to help her ex, and as they begin to investigate what looks more and more like a murder, they spend time together and old feelings begin to reawaken. Their investigation takes them to various parts of the colony, including the Preservation Institute. As they dig into the academic’s disappearance and potential murder, Mossa and Pleiti are attacked. Another murder takes place, but this time near the university. Something sinister is taking place, and the two women attempt to unravel secrets and their complex feelings for each.
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older is a first person point of view cozy mystery and sapphic romance mixed together. Pleiti is the narrator for most of the book; though, the prologue is from Mossa’s point of view, but it’s in third person. This is short for a science fiction story. The publisher lists it as 176 pages. It reads fast with plenty to enjoy.
Setting
The Mimicking of Known Successes is set in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter, though the colony calls it Giant. Older uses this setting so well. In places, it reminded me of frontier towns in westerns, and the adaptions that her characters have made to life on Jupiter is fantastic. The weather was enough to never let me forget this was a different planet, but neither was it intrusive. Parts of the colony are built from scrap metal, others – richer areas, of course – are nicer. Due to limited space, area allotments are highly prized. Yet, the colonist make room for the Preservation Institute as a zoo. It’s a beautifully thought out setting that adds just the right amount of extra spice to a fantastic story.
The reason that humans are in a colony on Jupiter is because we ruined Earth. Researchers at the university, including Pleiti, are studying how to terraform Earth so that humans can return someday. But they are also researching how to create a balanced ecosystem. This is another bit of setting that flavors the story so well. I like the idea that we seek to return to the planet we devastated. Clearly, humanity is capable of colonizing space; so, it says something that significant effort is spent looking back.
Pushing My Boundaries
As I said earlier, I don’t read much cozy mysteries or romance – sapphic or otherwise. So, I might not be the person to review how The Mimicking of Known Successes works within those genres. But what I can say is that those aspects made for a very entertaining story. The mystery had importance and danger yet lacked constant tension. When Mossa and Pleiti were off duty, they were off duty. This was refreshing for me. Rarely in mysteries do we see down time for the investigators, and it can lead to a sense of burn out because everything is tense all the time. Older ramps up and eases down the tension as needed in a way that rang true. After all, cops and detectives all have shifts and off duty time. They’re not on the case 24/7/365. This downtime allowed Mossa and Pleiti to uncover some of the old feelings that brought them together. Pleiti’s attraction is plain as day (thanks first person narration), but Mossa’s isn’t. Yet Older allows her moments of tenderness that surprise Pleiti, and these were very touching to read. Their courtship was always tentative and subdued with the past hanging over it and causing doubt. This also felt true to me. It felt like something I’ve experienced before. I enjoyed the cozy and romance aspects much more than I expected.
Does this mean I’ll give more cozies and romances a shot? I don’t know. Hopefully, this book undoes some of my bias. Older has created a lovely story that pushed the boundaries of my reading habits. I’m grateful for that.
Mossa
Mossa is the Sherlock Holmes-esque character of the investigative duo. She’s smart, observant, and makes connections that others wouldn’t. But I think comparing her to Holmes is a bit unfair because she’s much more human than Holmes. While I did find her mysterious and maybe a little odd, she wasn’t far fetched. Her deductions and connections were what I’d expect of a investigator who’d been at their job for a long time.
She surprised me in some spots, and I had to wonder what she was like before becoming an investigator. Pleiti says that she’s changed. It’d be interesting to know how; yet, Mossa doesn’t believe she has changed. But it’s in the way she surprises Pleiti that we do get a sense that she’s not the same person. Because Pleiti is remembering the younger Mossa, how she surprises Pleiti shows how Mossa has matured.
Conclusion
The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older is available from Tor.com now.
© PrimmLife.com 2023