Col. Carl Butler thinks he's being dragged out of retirement because he has a reputation for skirting the rules and getting stuff done. A CEO needs someone to cut through the red tape that surrounds his daughter's death on a remote colony. Butler believes he's there for the murder investigation, but he's really there to be the scapegoat for a military incursion that will destroy the ecology of the colony so that humans can expand without having to care about the local flora and fauna. Once he discovers the plot, he wants to make the guilty parties pay, but he soon learns that the filthy rich can buy a different level of justice. Like its predecessors, this book adds a bit of suspense into its military sf setting. VERDICT The third "Planetside" novel (after Spaceside) is a story that lives in the universe-weary voice of its protagonist. It is highly recommended for readers who like their heroes cynical, their mystery twisted, and their sf thought-provoking.--Marlene Harris, Reading Reality, LLC, Duluth, GA