Danger Lies Within

Krenik’s promising debut nimbly melds fantasy and mystery for a satisfying whodunit set in 2226. Courtney Drake has spent two years distraught over the disappearance of her husband, Keith, who vanished while coordinating assistance to hurricane victims in the Tropics. She’s stunned when a letter arrives informing her that Keith was arrested for spreading lies about PAX, a group of anti-democratic elites who masked their desire for power as an earnest attempt to improve living conditions for working people worldwide. Strapped for money, Courtney agrees to tutor the five-year-old twins of Lord Robert Ranfurly, a widower who has been secretly working with anti-PAX group CAPE, to which Courtney’s son, Nick, also belongs. The job becomes more complicated when Lord Ranfurly’s gardener is killed, possibly by PAX members or sympathizers, and Courtney teams up with Lord Ranfurly to solve the murder, hoping the investigation might lead her to Keith. Krenik toggles between Courtney’s and Ranfurly’s perspectives, which helps flesh out a future filled with dragons and nefarious government conspiracies. With satisfying reveals and tantalizing sparks between the protagonists, this will leave readers eager for the sequel. (Self-published)