23. Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold (#12 in the Vorkosigan saga)

Still in catch-up mode, I went to the queen of fun and fulfilling (and quick to read), the Vorkosigan series.  Diplomatic Immunity thoroughly delivered.  It was as enjoyable and rich as the previous books with the added bonus that all the previous background to Miles and his various associates, and especially the galaxy-building all come into play here.  My old man memory has held up enough or perhaps after 11 books, I have internalized much of it, that I was able to stay entirely on top of the big-picture space strategy plot points that came up.  This was what I was looking for when I started researching a sci-fi series so long ago.  So very satisfying.

Here Miles is now newly-married, settling into his role as Imperial Auditor and seemingly a slight more staid life than before.  He and Ekaterina are returning from their honeymoom to prepare to settle down and welcome the birth of their son and daughter, in uterine containers back on Barrayar.  Of course, everything goes to shit when he gets a call to deal with a conflict between a Barrayar military escort with the local authorities of the remote Graf station, in Quaddiespace.  The Quaddies were genetically developed with four arms instead of two arms and two legs, specifically for construction and living in zero-gravity and due to persecution and exploitation set off centuries before to make their own colony. 

It's a complicated situation involving initially a disappeared, either deserted or kidnapped or murdered, security officer, plus an "overzealous" (or brutal) attack by Barrayan officers when they went to return to the ship a late-returning pilot.  Things get more and more complicated and risky as the situation continues to escalate to a galactic level.  I'm not going to say more than that.  This was another fun one, involving a great look at the Quaddie world and how they live, lots of gross bio-weapons and some cool, exciting last-minute space action.  I can't wait to see where they go next.