History Literature / RetrievalArtist

* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Having become independently wealthy at the end of ''The Disappeared'', Miles doesn't ''have'' to work, and indeed can and does turn down many cases if he thinks the client wants to hire him for the wrong reasons. He eschews most of the "idiot" traits through, making him more of a "Rich Loaner With No Day Job".

A ScienceFiction series by Creator/KristineKathrynRusch that can be somewhat neatly summed up by the description "DetectiveDrama InSpace".

In TheFuture, humankind has settled the solar system and the stars, met other alien species and formed [[TheFederation the Earth Sphere Alliance]] with many of them. As part of the treaties that the alliance is based on, humans living on alien worlds (and aliens on human worlds) are subject to alien law, with sentinces handed down by the Multicultural Tribunal. The problems arise when alien law doesn't line up with human ideas of justice, forcing humans to suffer punishments for what wouldn't otherwise be considred crimes: a human could unknowingly earn themselves the death penalty ([[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]]) for [[DisproportionateRetribution picking a pretty alien flower]], for example. This disparity has created an underground industry: the Disappearance service. For a price, they will help those wanted for alien crimes become {{Unperson}}s, giving them a new name, identity and home, usually forever separating them from anyone they ever knew. The system works because the Alliance can't afford to hire [[BountyHunter trackers]] for every Disappeared case, and so most disappearances are successful. Sometimes, however, a Disappeared needs to be found for other reasons, without arousing the attention of the law: to collect an inheritance, to be given important news, to be told that the charges against them have been dropped. This is the realm of the Retrieval Artist.

* ''Concequences'' - A woman pardoned of her crimes whom Miles retrieved ends up dead along with her family. [=DeRicci=] is forced to consider Miles as a suspect and Miles digs deep into an old, brutal human conflict, both to clear his name and his conscience of the death.

* ''Paloma'' - Miles' old mentor is murdered and he mounts his own investigation dig into her shadowy past to get to the bottom of it. DeRicci has been promoted out of the department in the meantime, and a new detective, Bartholomey Nyquist, heads up the investigation on the legal side.

* AssholeVictim: FriedaTay in ''Extremes'', the woman that became the skeleton in ''Burried Deep''

* DefectiveDetective: Flint's weak spot is the loss of his daughter and it takes considerable effort for him to not let others exploit it. DeRicci gets in trouble all the time because she's too honest and unable to keep her mouth shut, running afoul of her supporters.

* OnlyElectricSheepAreCheap: The Moon has hydroponic agriculture but real food, especially imported from Earth (expecially meat) is a luxury.
* PrivateDetective: Retrieval Artists are essentially this, and inherit many of the common tropes: the cynacisim, the code of honor, the slightly dingy office, the DamselInDistress knocking at the door...
* RememberThatYouTrustMe: [=DeRicci=] attempts this with Miles in ''Concequences'' when she knows that Miles is withholding information from her in an investigation. It doesn't work: Miles has to protect his integrity, and he tells [=DeRicci=] off rather coldly in the process. (By the next book they've patched things up enough that they're going out to dinner together).

* WorkingTheSameCase: After Flint leaves the force, his work still crosses paths with it several times, although working with Retrieval Artists is officialy frowned on by the law, and the Retrieval Aritst's ethics mean Miles can't directly share information about his cases or clients with the police or his friends on it.

A ScienceFiction series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch that can be somewhat neatly summed up by the description "DetectiveDrama InSpace".

* CoolShip: ''The Emiline'', Flint's private space yacht named after his dead daughter. It's the one thing he lets himself indulge in spending his fortune on, so it's richly furnished inside and out, including state of the art defense and security, plus police ship features such as a brig and handcuff attachment points.

* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Having become independently wealthy at the end of ''The Disappeared'', Miles doesn't ''have'' to work, and indeed can and does turn down many cases if he thinks the client wants to hire him for the wrong reasons. So he may come off as this to those that don't know him.

A ScienceFiction series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch that can be somewhat neatly summed up by the description "PoliceProcedural[=/=]MysteryFiction InSpace".

Miles Flint was a detective in the Armstrong Police force, in Armstrong Base on the moon; before that, a traffic cop, and before that a husband, father and computer security engineer, until his infant daughter died at the hands of negligent daycare workers and his wife eventually left him in the fallout. As a newly promoted detective, Flint was partnered with the sour and cynical but very competent Noelle [=DeRicci=]. The case they work together brings him into contact with the world of the Disappeared and with Paloma, a veteran Retrieval Artist. Facing the decision ToBeLawfulOrGood, he chooses good, resigning from the force and applying to Paloma to mentor him in the Retrieval Artist profession, then sets up shop. Over the course of the following books, Flint and [=DeRicci=], working separately but often on [[WorkingTheSameCase related cases]], find themselves at odds with threats including the livelihood of individuals, the safety of the lunar colony, and interstellar politics.

A ScienceFiction series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch that can be somewhat neatly summed up by the description "PoliceProdecural[=/=]MysteryFiction InSpace".

Miles Flint was a detective in the Armstrong Police force, in Armstrong Base on the Moon; before that, a traffic cop, and before that a husband, father and computer security engineer, until his infant daughter died at the hands of negligent daycare workers and his wife eventually left him in the fallout. As a newly promoted detective he was partnered with the sour, cynical but very competent Noelle [=DeRicci=]. The case they work together brings him into contact with the world of the Disappeared and with Paloma, a veteran Retrieval Artist. Faced with the decision ToBeLawfulOrGood, he chooses good, resigning from the force and applying to Paloma to mentor him in the Retrieval Artist profession, then sets up shop. Over the course of the following books, he and [=DeRicci=], working separately but often on [[WorkingTheSameCase related cases]], find themselves at odds with threats from the livelihood of individuals to the safety of the Moon colony, to interstellar politics.

* ''The Retrieval Artist'' - the original short story that spawned the series, chronologically set between the first two novels.

* WorkingTheSameCase: After Flint leaves the force, his work still crosses paths with it several times, although working with Retrieval Artists is officialy frowned on by the law, and the Retrieval Aritst's ethics mean Miles can't directly share information about his cases or clients with the police or his friends on it.

In TheFuture, humankind has settled the solar system and the stars, met other alien species and formed [[TheFederation the Earth Sphere Alliance]] with many of them. As part of the treaties that the alliance is based on, humans living on alien worlds (and aliens on human worlds) are subject to alien law, with sentinces handed down by the Multicultural Tribunal. The problems arise when alien law doesn't line up with human ideas of justice, forcing humans to suffer punishments for what wouldn't otherwise be considred crimes: a human could unknowingly earn themselves the death penalty ([[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]]) for [[DisproportionateRetrobution picking a pretty alien flower]], for example. This disparity has created an underground industry: the Disappearance service. For a price, they will help those wanted for alien crimes become {{Unperson}}s, giving them a new name, identity and home, usually forever separating them from anyone they ever knew. The system works because the Alliance can't afford to hire [[BountyHunter trackers]] for every Disappeared case, and so most disappearances are successful. Sometimes, however, a Disappeared needs to be found for other reasons, without arousing the attention of the law: to collect an inheritance, to be given important news, to be told that the charges against them have been dropped. This is the realm of the Retrieval Artist.

Miles Flint was a detective in the Armstrong Police force, in Armstrong Base on the Moon; before that, a traffic cop, and before that a husband, father and computer security engineer, until his infant daughter died at the hands of negligent daycare workers and his wife eventually left him in the fallout. As a newly promoted detective he was partnered with the sour, cynical but very competent Noelle DeRicci. The case they work together brings him into contact with the world of the Disappeared and with Paloma, a veteran Retrieval Artist. Faced with the decision ToBeLawfullOrGood, he chooses good, resigning from the force and applying to Paloma to mentor him in the Retrieval Artist profession, then sets up shop. Over the course of the following books, he and DeRicci, working separately but often on [[WorkingTheSameCase related cases]], find themselves at odds with threats from the livelihood of individuals to the safety of the Moon colony, to interstellar politics.

* ''Extremes'' - A death on the course of the Moon Marathon being investigated by DeRicci turns out to be connected to a Disappeared Miles has been hired to find, and a few things emerge: a bioengineered virus that threatens all of Armstrong Dome, and the fact that not all those who Disappear are truly innocent.
* ''Concequences'' - A woman pardoned of her crimes Miles retrieved ends up dead along with her family. DeRicci is forced to consider Miles as a suspect and Miles digs deep into an old, brutal human conflict, both to clear his name and his conscience of the death.

* ArsonMurderAndLifeSaving: DeRicci finally starts getting this and respect from her superiors at the end of ''Extremes''.

* DisproportionateRetrobution: the crimes and punishments of many of the Alliance's alien members.
* EagleEyeDetection: DeRicci's specialty.

* ToBeLawfullOrGood: Depends on which side you're on. Disappearance services are not expressly illegal but using them is breaking the law. Police, lawyers and judges look down their nose at Retrieval Artists because they don't operate within the law, Retrieval Artists don't trust the law and generally work for good.