WHAT'S BRED IN THE BONE

Cybernetically enhanced and genetically modified dogs investigate crimes aboard a space station in Gephardt’s debut novel and SF series launch.

Wolf-sized dog Rex Dieter-Nel and the members of his now-split Pack are each paired with a human/detective partner as part of the XK9 Project. All the XK9s live and work in Orangeboro on the Rana Station in deep space. Rex can communicate with humans thanks to his collar-mounted vocalizer, and the brain link between him and his warmhearted partner, Charlie Morgan, gives them a telepathic connection. When a suspicious death leads these partners to a docking bay, an exploding spaceship leaves Charlie seriously injured. A veritable alphabet soup of agencies scrutinizes the explosion and debris, including XK9 team Shady Jacob-Belle (Rex’s mate) and Detective Pam Gómez (Charlie’s ex). Rex noses around as well all on his own and sniffs out a crucial clue. But when he tries to get this evidence to the Orangeboro Police Department chief, he stumbles onto another mystery altogether—one related to the extensive training he and his Packmates underwent for years. Gephardt excels at developing the canine characters, particularly Rex and Shady: The two worry about what their respective partners think of them, lament their forced separation, and selflessly consider others (“I want to smell him all over from head to foot, as thoroughly as possible. I need to know that he will be all right”). The XK9s form a delightfully skilled bunch; Rex has an impeccable sniffer, Shady is multilingual, and other Packmates are explosives experts. The lengthy narrative also occasionally spotlights a cyberbeing and another human-like species; they support the prominent theme of sapience, as XK9s wish to be deemed sapient beings on par with humans. In fact, the full-bodied cast, virtually overshadows the main plot; characters talk more than they act as the investigation slowly progresses. Still, the XK9s prove irresistible as they display more familiar canine traits, from expressing heartache with howls to endlessly wagging tails and always being ready for food.

A sprightly, personable cast breathes life into this somewhat static futuristic mystery.