The Deep Sky

The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei.

Birds solve crimes in space

I enjoyed this while reading it, but struggle to think of anything that stood out looking back. Our protagonist (Asuka) is one of 80 crew members on a an all-female colony ship which just had its course forcibly adjusted by the same explosion which killed its captain. As the 'alternate', the only person on the ship without a clearly defined role, Asuka gets roped into becoming humanity's first space detective. Her investigations are interspaced with flashbacks to their training on Earth, providing context for her constant self-doubt and the absolute mess of a world they left behind.

The mystery takes a few twists and turns, throwing out some hints and red herrings before coming to a somewhat satisfying conclusion, but equal focus is given to Asuka's relationships with her crewmates and those she left behind. Unfortunately these characters are a bit too... uneven to be really compelling, occasionally descending into Marvel-tier quippiness or just existing as a stereotype/Mary Sue. There are enough good characters and good moments that you might be able to stay interested throught the bumpiness as I did though. Overall a solid read, not sure I'd recommend it compared to the millions of other things you could read but I wouldn't say I regret it myself.