Okay, this is the second instalment in this sf detective noir series. In the first Jack Meter encountered a race of beings called the Thrittene who altered him so that he knows has an implanted device in his arm called a Telecarb that allows him to teleport anywhere he desires – or anywhere he desires where another Telecarb user isn't already. The downside is that each use is converting his his matter into that of the Thrittene and one day he will not be able to live on Earth.

Having completed his mission for the Thrittene, Meter is once again his own man, and is returning to working his detective agency. His latest client Lambert Garner is an exceptionally scruffy man, who comes to him with a most unusual problem. One of his buildings has disappeared – literally! The two buildings previously either side of the missing one now butt together and no one can remember there being a building between them. No one except Garner, but this building had a special significance to him.

So begins another Jack Meter investigation. And in keeping with the first Jack Meter investigation this one is going to take him all over the galaxy, and the dimensions. Also like the first in the series, this is very much a Crime Noir novel – right down to the Philip Marlowe style first person narrative.

This is a faced paced book, full of action, full of intrigue, and full of deception. Apart from our hero, Meter, it is not all that apparent exactly which side any of the other characters of the novel are on. And this is perfectly in keeping with the noir genre.

Reading books like this is, I find, immensely refreshing - especially after you have spent any time reading some intense books. Not to say this is lightweight by any means, just that it is not a science heavy book – you will not have to concentrate to understand the sf content and you can get on with the story itself.

Jack Meter is brilliantly constructed from all our preconceptions of the hard-bitten private eye. And he is not the prefect hero, he often needs rescuing, both from tricky situations and from the edge of death when he's not been rescued in time. But he is intuitive, and he has a knack for uncovering the causes of the strange events that are unfolding.

These books are fun, and I look forward eagerly to the next in the series.

Synopsis
Jack Meter's new client has a serious problem--one of his buildings has disappeared into thin air and he wants Jack to bring it back. What Jack discovers is that when he saved the world by destroying his beloved Annie's clone he damaged the universe, and someone is taking advantage of it. The trouble is, they're making things worse--and one of them is his exact double. Before he's done, Jack is going to have the fate of all creation in his hands...again.