The Distant Echo: Book 1 (Detective Karen Pirie)

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The heavy white flakes began to melt as soon as they landed, allowing Alex to see it was a woman, the wet tendrils of her dark hair spread against the snow in Medusa locks.

Once in private, Anakin puts the helmet and a holoprojector on the floor and contacts his wife, Padmé Amidala. Meanwhile, Minister Wat Tambor is contacted by Admiral Trench, who warns him that an infiltration team of clones has traced the algorithm's signal to Skako Minor and that a Republic attack is imminent. Several tubes have been fitted into him and some of his limbs have been replaced by prosthetic parts.The realization dawned at the same instant that the snow in his ears melted and allowed him to hear the faint but stertorous wheeze of her breath. But Rosie’s two brothers haven’t forgotten or forgiven, and her illegitimate son Graham is skulking about with vengeance in mind.

He also explains that they're here to rescue one of their comrades, Echo, who had fallen into the hands of the Separatists. Alex Gilbey and Tom Mackie become determined to learn the truth about the murder a quarter of a century ago and the two killings of their friends because they fear they are next.

With Tech acting as a translator, Anakin tells the Poletecans that Wat Tambor and his Separatists are responsible for bringing the war to Skako Minor. While Rex is confident that Echo is alive, Anakin advises him that they should be ready for such a situation.

Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. He tells her he is worried that Rex is letting his personal feelings drive him too much on the mission.