Eric James Fullilove is a newcomer to the science fiction field, but if his first book, Circle of One is any indication, we are in for a real treat with this writer. As mentioned earlier in these reviews, notably the one about Denise Vitola's Quantum Moon, I am a sucker for good sf detective mysteries, and this is certainly one of them.
Jenny Sixa is a telepathic consultant for the LAPD who has a surprisingly sordid past. In the rather cyberpunkish, wired world that she lives in, Jenny is called in to investigate some murders, and finds that there is a link to her past buried amongst them, a link that she dares not reveal to others. From the point of view of plot, Jenny's life is full of all sorts of trouble, ranging all the way from the problems in her personal life to the corporate dealings that she has, and there are the friends and enemies that she has in the LAPD. Jenny is a character with a past life, something that Fullilove explores to a limited extent, but I found myself wanting to know more about her background. The world in which Jenny Sixa lives is one that I can't say that I found appealing. The cyberpunk genre doesn't appeal to me all that much, to be honest, and yet I found myself being fascinated by the sub-cultures that Fullilove has created for the world in which Jenny Sixa lives.
If the novel has any real strength, it is the fact that Fullilove's writing style is gritty, solid, and the story is told strictly from Jenny's point of view, with the exception of intervening, short chapters told from the point of view of the killer. This approach isn't novel for the detective story, of course, but Fullilove gives it an extra twist and brings the story to a conclusion that is as shocking as it is violent. Overall, I would say that Eric James Fullilove is a writer who deserves watching in the future. This book was highly enjoyable, had a good mystery plot, and told the story of an interesting, well-developed character.