Books like Company Town by Madeline Ashby

New Arcadia—a sprawling city‑sized offshore oil rig off the Canadian Maritimes—has fallen under the iron rule of the Lynch family, owners of Lynch Ltd. Among the few who have eschewed bio‑engineering, Hwa is a skilled self‑defender and fighter. When the youngest Lynch seeks protection and training, the family enlists Hwa, but she quickly finds herself confronting mounting death threats that seem to originate from another timeline. At the same time, a series of connected murders destabilizes the rig, pointing to an invisible killer who appears to erase itself in the chaos. Hwa’s front door becomes the center of the investigation as each homicide leads back to her doorstep. With the town’s safety already compromised, the danger turns personal, forcing Hwa to confront the sinister forces both within and outside New Arcadia. Set against a backdrop of technological innovation, genetic engineering, and the offshore oil industry, the novel explores themes of corporate power, bioethics, and the fragile security of isolated communities.

First publish date: 2016