Takeaway: A dozen or so books into the series and it is still enjoyable and fresh.
Purchase Links: Hardback, Audible.com Audiobook, Free ebook (most ereader formats available)
I am a science fiction fan. One of the features of science fiction that I like are the detailed settings (worlds, universes, dimensions, etc). Because these settings are so detailed and malleable, science fiction has a tendency to have lots of series (to build on the work that has already gone into designing the setting). Unfortunately, most science fiction series have at least two problems, not enough new ideas to make the books fresh and not enough storyline to make you want to keep reading (sometimes at the same times).
Most of the series that I have read have at least a few duds. Several of them just seem to have lost their way and should have been wrapped up long ago. But so far, I have not read a Miles Vorkosigan book that I have not enjoyed. Miles is the son of a noble in an imperial world. He has many weaknesses (both physical and other) but his wits (and some luck) always seem to keep him going. The series has passed through a number of stages, first Miles was a soldier, then a spy, then a mercenary, then a spy again and now he is an imperial auditor (an investigator). New characters have helped move the story along. He is married with four kids now (although they are almost completely absent in this book.)
This book starts when Miles is in the middle of a case. It takes a while to get enough back story to figure out what is going on. Eventually we learn that Miles is investigating a world that is completely devoted to cheating death through cryogenics (basically preserving the body until later.) When the timeline of a crime can be centuries, it can be pretty detailed. Miles has to figure out what is going on and keep those around him safe. (Pretty much the story line of most of the Vorkosigan novels.)
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I am a big fan of Baen Publishers. They offer many of their books for free in the Baen Free Library and many others are free with the Baen CDs. The 24 (so far) CDs are in hardback copies of their books and each CD include a number of books (sometime just a handful, some times dozens). The CDs often include essays on writing, book art, and sometimes audiobooks or comics. Baen encourages the CDs to be shared and has authorized them to be posted on the internet. The Fifth Imperium site hosts all of the CDs. If you are a fan of Science Fiction or Fantasy there are hundreds of free books between the Free Library and the CDs.
All the previous books in the Miles Vorkosigan series, as well as this book, are free from Baen here.
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I listened to this book on audiobook, did not even think of the fact that I could get the ebook free when I bought the audiobook. Grover Gardner again was the narrator. He has narrated all of the Vorkosigan books that I have listened to. As always he is a great narrator.