Murder in the Fabric (George Kostas, #1)

As the legend of George grew, he knew that it was his use of the wall, the technology, that drove his success rate in murder clearances. Melbourne 2020. Prosperous, but tense. The skyline at any time of the day or night littered with drones. Almost of all of them linked back to police headquarters in Docklands. Everyone called it the "fun palace" as a testament to it's architecture.
He had a bad feeling about this one. It was so sophisticated. So elaborate. More worthy of an international terror ring than a domestic murder. A middle level employee in a Chinese security company, making inroads. If it was about competition from another company, then surely this was overkill?
The wall pointed to the real estate business. More expensive than New York, but more dynamic. No real space left in New York to build something new. You had to knock something down. Here there were the suburbs. Home to the famed "lifestyle". They had it, and they were going to hold on to it.
A city has to work, though. New people. New money. New developers. Mostly Chinese money. The wall seemed very interested in the tactics of the developers. They seemed to have ways of clearing large areas just in time for their apartment building to commence.
The wall also pointed to the hackers. To the group CtrlX, and to Mia. Having spent most of the last decade drifting from one Asian metropolis to another, with a range of shady activities in her resume, all of a sudden she was back. She seemed to have the ability to move around the city without leaving a trace.
George decided to start with the victim, his family and associates.

I am interested in the future, and how we get there. Much of the writing that involves technology is either alarmist (variations on the Frankenstein theme) or fantastical (most of science fiction, with a few notable exceptions). To me the interesting bit is the near future where we can at least understand what is happening. What are the forces at work? Is the yawning gap between the 1% and the rest of us inevitable? As a young person I read almost all of Isaac Asimov's books and they set me on the path I have followed. I was a communications research engineer in Australia and Japan. Later I became a University professor. I am a touring cyclist and like nothing better than spending my days pedalling, and my nights stretched out in a tent.
Mastadon: @andyjennings@aus.social