The Dispatcher by John Scalzi, 3.5 rounded up

[NancyJ]

I need audiobooks to help me stay awake on long car rides, but most of my books would put my husband to sleep. He does most of the driving, so I pick nonfiction books on topics he likes, and short thrillers. This book was a hit, and we read two of them. I read it already and I knew he would like it. I couldn’t remember how it ended, so I was still in suspense.

This is a sci-fi fantasy novella that gives the illusion of science fiction, but the magic comes from an unknown source. It is set in a future world where no can get murdered. People can die in many other ways, but if they are killed by someone else, they end up at home, unharmed. Dispatchers are paid to kill people in certain circumstances, in order to save them. Fear not, it’s still possible to have a mystery-thriller without an actual murder, and we found this entertaining.