Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene

I am always hesitant to read books by youtubers or other public figures I like as alas they tend to disappoint (and then I kind of guilty for not liking their stuff). Luckily, Daniel Green’s debut is promising indeed.

Set over the course of one day, Breach of Peace begins with one of our main characters walking in on a brutal crime scene. When an imperial family is butchered Inspector Khlid, an Officer of God, is assigned the case. Greene keeps his cards close to his chest so that we learn slowly of Inspector Khlid’s world (which vaguely reminded me of BioShock for some reason).
Alongside Inspector Khlid we meet two of her colleagues, Samuel, who happens to be her husband, and Chapman, who is a bit of a wild card. They all approach the case differently and the tension between them, particularly between Samuel and Chapman, adds an edge to their interactions.
Within these pages, there is violence, monsters, corruption, and betrayals.
Breach of Peace presents its readers with flawed characters, an atmospheric setting, and a gripping storyline. While we do get the occasional moment of humor, this novella is dark with strong roots in the noir genre.
This novella is quite clearly setting up the story for the future The Lawful Times novellas so readers who prefer self-contained stories may be better off skipping this one (or you could always wait for the rest to be published).
There was the occasional turn of phrase that was a wee bit conventional and there were aspects of the world that I wish had been explored some more but overall this is a solid novella that ultimately managed to subvert my expectations (I mean….that ending was something). I will definitely be reading the next one!

my rating: ★★★½

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