The Pericles Conspiracy

I was somewhat disappointed by [b:The Pericles Conspiracy 18427543 The Pericles Conspiracy Michael Kingswood https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1378138838s/18427543.jpg 26065458]. After reading Kingswood's short story [b:Passing In The Night 18285302 Passing In The Night Michael Kingswood https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1378274610s/18285302.jpg 17454535] I was expecting a good first contact story. What I got instead is a complex caper story. Also, I think the story could have been improved by another pass through by a good content editor (substantive editing). I became irritated by the overuse of the word smirk. It started dropping me out of the story every time I read it..