Donald Hanley

Simulated Conspiracy Donald Hanley

Publisher Marketing: Who Sabotaged the Harlequin? Detective Jennia Bennett is on enforced medical leave as she recovers from the after-effects of the Apollo genetic modification forced on her by Bennick Vanderberg. The Director of the Serious Incidents Division no longer trusts her, and she may never be allowed to return to the SID. Her best friend Elise is preoccupied with her new job, and the man she loves is a wanted fugitive, hunted by every security force in the USNA. It hasn't been a good month for her. At Elise's suggestion, Jen goes to Manchester Spaceport to meet a close friend returning from an extended stay on Mars. There, she watches in horror as his ship, a lander from the freighter Harlequin, suffers a catastrophic malfunction and plummets from the sky. There are no survivors. Jen is devastated, and Elise rushes to her side to comfort her. Preliminary reports blame a faulty field generator, but something isn't right. The Harlequin was under investigation for its possible involvement in Vanderberg's criminal activities, and the sudden destruction of the lander raises questions. Jen's older sister Laini persuades her to help with the investigation, and Jen and Elise quickly discover evidence of a conspiracy that reaches all the way back to Mars. Someone tampered with the ship, hoping to kill everyone on board and destroy whatever evidence it carried. Jen and Elise don't have much time. If they can't identify the conspirators quickly, they'll shift their operations to Mars, where they'll disappear for good. But someone on Earth is shadowing Jen as she follows the clues, ready to prevent her from discovering the truth - or kill her if she does.