The mystery is well-crafted, and the characters are well-developed and engaging. The book takes us on a thrilling journey from opulent, affluent locations to the seediest bars and life-and-death cage matches. The world-building is excellent, and the story keeps readers guessing until the very end. Cal discovers that the murder investigation is more complicated than it appears. It soon becomes obvious that he's pursuing a crime that could unravel the dark mysteries of his society. Murder, betrayal, and revenge await him. Oh, and let's not forget about Stefan Tonfamecasca - the creator of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to near-godlike status. Cal's love interest and the story's femme fatale, Athena, is Stefan's daughter. Yup. Things get complicated. The story opens with a crime scene that appears ordinary at first glance. A nerdy tech guy named Roddy Tebbit is found dead with a gunshot to the head, lying on his apartment floor. However, many things are unusual about the victim. He looks like a basketball player around 30 years old, but he is actually a Titan who has been dosed with T7 therapy, a treatment that only the ultra-rich can afford to maintain their youthfulness as genetically-altered elites of society. What's more, he is ninety years old, a fact that raises questions about the therapy's effectiveness. Titanium Noir is deft and hectic and so damn fun. It’s story-telling amphetamine laced with social commentary and it’s terrific.” This SF thriller hits all the beats of a gritty noir mystery, wrapped in a near-future setting where immortality can be had for a price, and those able to pay it are willing to compromise everything, including their humanity. Harkaway combines a satisfying mystery with a thought-provoking science-fictional setting and just the right touch of heartbreak to make for a compelling read. Recommended for those who enjoy reading SF/mystery blends.”

Cal, or Harkaway, also ably anticipates the likely impact of such unevenly-distributed rejuvenations:Cal's speciality, and the reason why the cops in Othrys call him in even if they don't always like him very much, is working on cases involving Titans—a new kind of humanity, rejuvenated and vigorous and very long-lived, but also literally bigger than life. There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, all thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca's discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to near godlike status. A dead Titan is big news . . . a murdered Titan is unimaginable. But Titans are Cal's specialty. In fact, his ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. And not just any Titan - she's Stefan's daughter, heir to the Tonfamecasca empire. Harkaway ( Gnomon) pulls off an artful blend of science fiction and hard-boiled detective story in this excellent outing. . . .Harkaway’s superior worldbuilding makes it easy for readers to buy in to the conceit, which burnishes detective story clichés with sci-fi flair. It’s a wild ride.” Cal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he’s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he is surprised at first to see that the victim appears to be a rather typical techie. But on closer inspection, he finds the victim is over seven feet tall. And even though he doesn’t look a day over thirty, he is actually ninety years old. Clearly, he is a Titan – one of this dystopian, near-future society’s genetically-altered elites.

Cal Sounder is occasionally hired by the police as a specialist detective when certain sensitive cases need a special touch. Thanks to a controversial new gene therapy drug, T7, there are a few thousand elite Titans. Taller, stronger and bigger in every way, Titans are men and women rich enough to buy themselves out of death. So when one does turn up dead, Cal has the right insider knowledge and connections to investigate it without becoming public knowledge, especially because his ex-girlfriend, Athena, is not only a Titan herself but also the daughter of the man who invested T7, Stefan Tonfamecasca. But when a Titan turns up murdered, then even Cal must think differently to find a killer before they strike again. Harkaway’s depiction of the world is visceral and believable, the inequalities of today’s society extrapolated brilliantly to include a separate race of apparently superior humans. And his plotting is impeccable too. The reader is constantly one step behind Sounder, who is, in turn, one step behind the bad guys. It’s a morally grey world where no one really comes out smelling of roses, but Sounder’s moral compass just about leads him in the right direction by the end.T7 injections turn ordinary humans into super beings. It’s incredibly expensive, highly desirable. It can save one from all sorts of physical challenges but your intellect doesn’t improve. Maybe that’s offset by living a few hundred years. Maybe?! A detective tries to investigate a killing in a dystopian city where the haves and have-nots are divided by more than just money. . . . Surprising and gratifying.” Cal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he’s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he is surprised at first to see that the victim appears to be a rather typical, milquetoast techie. But on closer inspection, he finds the victim is over seven feet tall. And even though he doesn’t look a day over thirty, he is actually ninety years old. Clearly, he is a Titan—one of this dystopian, near-future society’s genetically-altered elites. There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, all thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca’s discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to near godlike status. A dead Titan is big news... a murdered Titan is unimaginable.

Harkaway again delivers a satisfying, slightly out of the ordinary story. Think a mash up of The Maltese Falcon meets Superman. Cal Sounder is an independent police consultant called into investigate unusual cases. In this moment, it is the possible murder of a Titan. What is a Titan you ask? Titans are ordinary humans injected with T7 that reverses the aging process and in so doing makes the recipient bigger, stronger, and almost immortal. Only the wealthy few and well protected can afford the treatment. So how did one of them end up dead of a gunshot? Sounder follows in the steps of other famous gumshoes think Sam Spade or Mike Hammer, in hunting down the killer. Clues that lead him to ex-lovers, bad cops, bad guys, good bad guys, both ordinary and Titan, and finally to the most dangerous and powerful Titan of all. This Titanium fueled who-done-it will not disappoint. If you like noir mysteries, characters like Sam Spade, Mike Hammer with a touch of Harrison Ford in Blade Runner, then get in line for a shot of Titanium Noir. It's worth remembering that angry and ridiculous people can do bad and effective things just like anyone else. Cal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he’s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he’s surprised by the routineness of it all. But when he arrives on scene, Cal soon learns that the victim—Roddy Tebbit, an otherwise milquetoast techie—is well over seven feet tall. And although he doesn’t look a day over thirty, he is ninety-one years old. Tebbit is a Titan—one of this dystopian, near-future society’s genetically altered elites. And this case is definitely Cal’s thing. Cal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he’s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he is surprised at first to see that the victim appears to be a rather typical techie. But on closer inspection, he finds the victim is over seven feet tall. Clearly, he is a Titan – one of this dystopian, near-future society’s genetically-altered elites. If you're a fan of both noir and science fiction, you're bound to love this book. But even if you're not, you will still likely enjoy it. Give it a read.Cal Sounder, a detective known for working on sensitive cases, is called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment. The victim, a Titan - one of the genetically-altered elites, is over seven feet tall and appeared to be a typical techie at first glance. On closer inspection, he is found to be ninety years old despite looking no older than thirty, clearly a result of the T7 genetic therapy. The victim's murder is not only big news but also an unimaginable crime. There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca’s discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to godlike status. T7 turns average humans into near-immortal distortions of themselves—with immense physical proportions to match their ostentatious, unreachable lifestyles. A dead Titan is big news . . . amurderedTitan is unimaginable. But these modified magnates are Cal’s specialty. In fact, his own ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. And not justany—she is Stefan’s daughter, heir to the massive Tonfamecasca empire. What if each dose resulted in the recipient becoming larger and heavier until they were several times the size and weight of an undosed human?

I had a lot of fun with this book. I highly recommend it to mystery fans, Noir fans, Speculative Fiction fans and anyone who is looking for a well-told tale that entertains you while making you think about how the world works. Harkaway skillfully employs the classic crime genre tropes, but with a fresh and captivating twist. His writing style exudes noir, bringing to life the shadows and grit of the story's setting. It is a unique and fascinating blend of tech and noir that the author flawlessly executes. As Cal digs deeper into the murder investigation, he begins to unravel the complicated threads of what should have been a straightforward case, and it soon becomes clear he’s on the trail of a crime whose roots run deep into the dark heart of the world. Titanium Noir is a tightly woven, intricate tale of murder, betrayal, and vengeance.Titanium Noir is a lot more noir than titanium, at least to start with. That balance tilts later on, but the book remains a mystery, a detective story, a procedural, much more than an allegory or modern myth (however much it is those things too). A highly entertaining, satisfying blend of classic detective noir and inventive speculative fiction' the Guardian This book is the greatest combination of Raymond Chandler's crime fiction meets film noir detective movies, with a plotline reminiscent of Del Toro's Strain series and the entertaining, dry-witted, sarcastic tone of Guy Ritchie's movies. What if there was a drug, available only, from one source, that could extend human lifespans by centuries?