Overload Flux (A Central Galactic Concordance Novel) by Carol Van Natta

Science Fiction/ Science Fiction Romance

From Goodreads:

The Central Galactic Concordance has been stable for two centuries, but trouble is brewing. A pandemic is affecting hundreds of civilized planets, and someone is stealing the vaccine...

Brilliant investigator Luka Foxe's hidden mental talent is out of control, making him barely able to function in the aftermath of violence, and the body count is rising. The convoluted trail leads to a corrupt pharma industry and the possibility of an illegal, planet-sized laboratory. In the face of increasing threats, he must rely on an enigmatic, lethal woman he just met, but she has deep secrets of her own.

Mairwen Morganthur hides extraordinary skills under the guise of a dull night-shift guard. The last thing she wants is to provide personal security for a hot-shot investigator, or to be plunged into a murky case involving sabotage, treachery, and the military covert operations division that would love to discover she’s still alive.

Two more lives in a rising death count won’t bother their enemies one bit. Their only hope for survival lies in revealing their dark secrets and learning to trust one another.

My expectations were low when I started Overload Flux.  It did not take me long to realize how wrong those expectations were.  Overload Flux is a riveting adventure that brings two very interesting characters together with unexpected results.

Luka Foxe reached too low on a case and now cannot turn his talent off.  Mairwen Morganthur is living as low key a life as she can after escaping from the Citizen Protection Service.  When Mairwen is assigned as security to Luka things begin to happen.

I loved both Luka and Mairwen.  Mairwen is still struggling to learn how to live in the outside world.  Luka is struggling with his talent.  It is a surprise to both when Mairwen serves as a calming agent to Lukas. That fact makes Luka want to keep Mairwen near.  It does take some persuasion on Luka’s part to make that happen.

The story is a mystery set in a Science Fiction environment.  As the book progresses romance develops between Luka and Mairwen.  It is skillfully woven into the plot and just becomes one more element in this very well-written book. Luka and Mairwen solve the mystery but the last chapter let’s we the readers know that there is a much bigger problem than could destroy everything.  The Ayorinn Forecast played a part in Overload Flux even though we did not learn of it until the very last chapter.

I am hoping for future books set in the Central Galactic Concordance Universe. 

Chavanch Press published Overload Flux by Carol Van Natta in 2014.