Shattermoon

A shattered moon. A secret plan. Last girl standing. Perfect for fans of Peter Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds and Charles Stross. Orry's father is the best conman in the quadrant, running elaborate heists with Orry and her brother Ethan to target the ruling families of the Ascendancy. This time should be no different: straight in and out with a fortune in spice paragon in hand . . . . . . until Orry goes off-script and everything falls apart. Less than an hour later the Count of Delf's only grandson is dead and she's on the run, accused of a murder she didn't commit. Turns out, the pendant Orry stole was crafted by the mysterious civilisation who once lived on the Shattermoon - and a lot of powerful people want it. It doesn't take ruthless space pirate Morven Dyas long to track her down, and he's not the only one on her tail. When she's unexpectedly rescued by loner Jurgen Mender and his spaceship, Dainty Jane, Orry knows there's only one thing to do. It requires all of her powers of persuasion to get Mender to agree to her plan, especially when even she can see the madness of pitting an inexperienced young grifter, a space-dog long past his best and an obsolete spaceship against the Imperial Fleet, the worst of the space pirates - and the alien Kadiran, who are getting bored with their uneasy truce with humankind . . . But what other choice does she have?