Book Beginnings + Friday 56: Spiders From Mars (Sylvia Stryker Space Case #4) by Diane Vallere

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and share a non-spoilery sentence or two.

This week I'm featuring Spiders From Mars (Sylvia Stryker Space Case #4) by Diane Vallere. 

About the Book

She wants to free her mentor from jail. A frame-up keeps him trapped in the system. Can she discover a killer before he disappears forever?

Uniform Lieutenant Sylvia Stryker is about to take off on her fourth Moon Unit Cruise. Her family is gone, her planet was blown up, and her mentor, Neptune, is behind bars indefinitely. But when a space pirate is murdered inside the space prison and Neptune is assumed guilty, Sylvia might lose him for more than the duration of his sentence.

Forget the stability of her job for Moon Unit Corporation. Losing one more person might leave Sylvia isolated forever. Faced with possibly-corrupt galactic government, a team of questionable freelancers, and the limits of her physical capabilities, she goes all-in to get him out. If she fails, she’ll lose the only connection that gives her hope for the future.

Can Sylvia design a successful mission on her own to save the person who taught her everything?

Spiders from Mars is the fourth quirky adventure in the Sylvia Stryker Space Case Cozy Mystery series. If you like resourceful characters, unique settings, and outer space fun, then you’ll love Diane Vallere’s whimsical Space Case Cozy Mystery series.

Book Beginning

The first thing I did was have Neptune declared legally dead. It was an unlikely start to a rescue mission, but it was my first one, and Neptune's incarceration made it difficult to ask him for advice.

Friday 56

"Money can't buy happiness."

"Maybe not, but it can buy planets."

I hadn't expected that. "You're buying a planet?"

"I'm in a bidding war for Pluto as we speak."

"I don't think Pluto is a planet anymore. Planetoid, maybe."

"My first act of Congress after taking possession is to reinstate planet status. I hired a team of graphic artists to design our new flag. Want to see?"

What have you been reading lately?