A superb new noir/science fiction fusion from the ''mastersinger of space opera'' (The Times) and the creator of the beloved Revelation Space universe, strap in for a gripping murder mystery.

Yuri Gagarin is a private investigator, who picks up small cases from his local community, runs into trouble with the local police, and generally ekes out a living as best he can. He''s aboard the Halcyon - a starship, hurtling through space, carrying thousands of passengers with thousands more sleeping the journey away.

Only his usual investigative work - catching cheating spouses, and small time con artists - is about to take a turn. He''s hired by a mysterious woman called Ruby Red to look into a death in one of Halcyon''s most elite families . . . and then warned off the case again by a second mysterious woman called Ruby Blue. Caught between the two, he''s about to be embroiled in a murder mystery in which - at any moment - he could be the latest victim.

Gripping, fast-paced fun this is a classic noir mystery with a science fiction twist, which will keep you guessing, and on the edge of your seat, to the end.

''A hugely entertaining film noir pastiche set on a generational spaceship'' - SFX

''Alastair Reynolds is a genre adventurer . . . Halycon Years is a novel composed of nested mysteries and riddles'' - Locus