Girl from Above, Book 1: Betrayal

DaCosta’s space opera series opener is a gritty science fiction adventure rife with antiheroes and cliffhangers. Space tug captain Caleb and his second-in-command, Francisca, make a shady but profitable living smuggling cargo among Saturn’s moons. Then a stowaway synthetic human, known as #1001, puts them directly in the crosshairs of the law and the powerful Chitec corporation. She looks like the other 500 male and 500 female synths legally created by Chitec for wealthy families. But #1001 shouldn’t exist, and she definitely shouldn’t be able to fight, and kill, with ease. Someone sent her to kill Caleb, but a conscience she shouldn’t have is staying her hand. While Caleb and Fran struggle to escape Chitec, #1001 battles her own altered programming. DaCosta spins her story briskly, revealing Caleb’s checkered past and his connection to #1001 little by little as the authorities close in. Despite some predictable plot twists (and trouble with details such as the names and terraformability of Saturn’s moons), there’s probably enough intrigue to draw most readers back for the next chapter in this series. (BookLife)