2024/054: The Mimicking of Known Successes — Malka Older: read by Lindsey Dorcus

...many of the species in the mauzooleum had more space to wander around in than most human residential platforms offered. If they were in captivity on this inhospitable planet, then so were we. [21%]

Humanity, having wrecked both Earth and Mars by untrammelled greed, now inhabits a series of floating platforms in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter, here called Giant. The idiosyncrasies of this setting produce a cosy steampunk vibe, laced with an 'epigenetic ache' of longing for lost Earth. Giant's social structure is post-capitalist, and I was extremely pleased that 'the C word' here means 'conservative'.

That's background. The Mimicking of Known Successes presents Mossa, an Investigator (currently attempting to discover the fate of a man who disappeared from a remote platform, presumed to have plummetted into the roiling clouds below), and Pleiti, a Classicist at Valdegeld. 'Classicist' in this setting refers to the texts of Old Earth, and Pleiti is reading Watership Down for information about British ecosystems in the 20th century. She is also Mossa's ex-girlfriend, and when Mossa enlists her help in solving the mystery -- since the dead man was a colleague of Pleiti's -- there's an emotional element (at least in Pleiti's first-person narrative) to their investigations. 

The obvious comparison, to Holmes and Watson, isn't wholly accurate: Mossa is more aware of her emotional shortcomings than Holmes, Pleiti is more of an equal partner in the sleuthing than Watson. But there's definitely a Baker Street ambience to Pleiti's cosy apartment, and to the weather outside (Jupiter's storms standing in for London smog). 

I enjoyed this a great deal, even in audiobook format, which I've lately discovered suits me well for rereads, but not for 'first contact' with a work. (It took me several tries to follow the story: it helps if I am doing something else at the same time.) Lindsey Dorcus' English accent is pretty good, and her occasional lapses into American pronunciation ('route' is here rhymed with 'sprout', not 'hoot') weren't frequent enough to irritate. A good solid mystery with an intriguing, unfussy setting (I look forward to further exploration of 'Giant' in this series), intelligent and likeable characters, and vivid prose.