Places in the Darkness is a sci-fi detective story set on a futuristic space station called Ciudad de Cielo (CdC), which has been created to develop the first interstellar starship, the Arca Estrella. It begins with a brutal murder, which is highly unusual for CdC, as this is the first homicide ever to have taken place on the space station. However, CdC is not completely crime-free, having a thriving black economy in illicit goods. This is important as the victim is found to be associated with one of the bootlegging gangs dealing in contraband alcohol.

The incongruous duo investigating the crime are Alice Blake, the newly arrived Federation of National Governments (FNG) law and order overseer, and Nicola “Nikki Fixx” Freeman, a local cop of the Seguridad, CdC's private police force. Nikki is painfully aware that this case represents a chance for the local police to demonstrate fitness for purpose, but if the investigation isn’t conducted to the FNG’s satisfaction, it could spell the end for the Seguridad. Suffice to say, there is plenty of tension and disagreement from the start between the prim & proper FNG overseer and the streetwise (and bent) Seguridad copper.

The CdC station provides an intriguing setting for a sci-fi crime story, and the book has some good worldbuilding. The station has a very distinctive form consisting of two circular habitat rings connected by radial spokes to a central cylindrical axle, giving an overall dumbbell shape. This is beautifully depicted by the seductive cover of the Orbit edition by artist Steve Stone. Workers and ordinary citizens live in Wheel One, whereas the rich and connected live in Wheel Two, which also accommodates the headquarters of the owning consortium. The murder takes place in the axle.

There is always activity on the station, as there is no universal night and day cycle. Workers on CdC live in their chosen phase with its own time zone: Atlantic, Meridian or Pacific. With the whole population focused on the Arca Estrella project, there is close to zero unemployment, and the lack of violent crime means that nobody has a reason to be suspicious of anybody else, regardless of where they are or what they are doing. Everyone assumes that if you are inside someplace, then you are supposed to be there!

Another element of life on this futuristic station is that everyone is equipped with high-tech devices in their brains capable of producing private DNA-encrypted recordings of what they see. These recordings are called “Grabacións” (based on the Spanish term). They can be unlocked by specialists and should present a vital clue for the murder investigation: Can the victim's Grabación be retrieved? What was the last thing that the victim saw? What happens if the investigators can't believe what is shown on the recording?

The story progresses at a swift pace with plenty of interesting events and happenings along the way. Like all good crime dramas, unexpected new revelations slowly come to light, and in this story, both main protagonists experience periods of incrimination and self-doubt. Throughout their trials and tribulations, and despite their contrasting characters, I found both to be eminently relatable. The initial theory is that the murder is simply the product of the turf war between bootleggers. However, that is too obvious an answer, and the real cause proves to be more complex. Eventually, the story leads to a final plot twist that ties in more satisfyingly with the station's primary purpose.

Although Places in the Darkness is a standalone novel, I would suggest that both the characters and setting have more than sufficient potential for a sequel or even a TV series.