A_TiffyFit's Reading Corner: {Blog Tour} DIVISION ZERO by Matthew S Cox -- with review and giveaway

Division Zero by Matthew S. Cox
(Division Zero #1)
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication date: March 7th 2014
Genres: cyberpunk, New Adult, Paranormal

Synopsis:
Most cops get to deal with living criminals, but Agent Kirsten Wren is not most cops.

A gifted psionic with a troubled past, Kirsten possesses a rare combination of abilities that give her a powerful weapon against spirits. In 2418, rampant violence and corporate warfare have left no shortage of angry wraiths in West City. Most exist as little more than fleeting shadows and eerie whispers in the darkness.

Kirsten is shunned by a society that does not understand psionics, feared by those who know what she can do, and alone in a city of millions. Every so often, when a wraith gathers enough strength to become a threat to the living, these same people rely on her to stop it.

Unexplained killings by human-like androids known as dolls leave the Division One police baffled, causing them to punt the case to Division Zero. Kirsten, along with her partner Dorian, wind up in the crosshairs of corporate assassins as they attempt to find out who – or what – is behind the random murders before more people die.

She tries to hold on to the belief that no one is beyond redemption as she pursues a killer desperate to claim at least one more innocent soul – that might just be hers.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N |Kobo

Born in a little town known as South Amboy NJ in 1973, Matthew has been creating science fiction and fantasy worlds for most of his reasoning life. Somewhere between fifteen to eighteen of them spent developing the world in which Division Zero, Virtual Immortality, and The Awakened Series take place. He has several other projects in the works as well as a collaborative science fiction endeavor with author Tony Healey.

Hobbies and Interests:
Matthew is an avid gamer, a recovered WoW addict, Gamemaster for two custom systems Chronicles of Eldrinaath [Fantasy] and Divergent Fates [Sci Fi], and a fan of anime, British humour He is also fond of cats.

Awards: Prophet of the Badlands (excerpt) – Honorable Mention – Writers of the Future
Author Links:
http://www.matthewcoxbooks.com/wordpress/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7712730.Matthew_S_Cox
https://www.facebook.com/MatthewSCoxAuthor
https://twitter.com/mscox_fiction

Curiosity Quills Press is fast becoming a favorite publisher of mine. They seem to have that special knack that finds authors like Matthew Cox, who can weave a story that whisks you away, submerging you in the plot and characters, and make your reality melt away for a few precious hours.

Kirsten Wren is a psionic cop from Division Zero in 2148. First off...let's talk about how much I love the fact that the author gave us an exact year. So often, futuristic books are just left as post-apocalyptic without a definite time frame. I like books like this one where you're given a time frame; I think it makes it easier to suppose everything.

I don't quite know what to compare this book to that will encompass what you're getting. It's futuristic, gritty, detective/cop action, thriller. And yet all those adjectives don't quite grasp the story in its entirety. Cox has created characters with bite and personality, with histories that are visceral, quirks that make you smile, and action that keeps you moving while our heroine unravels the mystery of the murderous AIs. There were some hints regarding her partner early on in the book that made me question him. When we finally are shown, my doubts reared up again and it was this wonderful AHA! moment. I love those moments as you read! I certainly hope this isn't the last book set in Division Zero. I would happily read more and look forward to watching characters and relationships develop from case to case.