There's a lot to like in Marc Matz's first novel. The characters are incredibly rich and well-rounded, especially Robie. Robie is a true renaissance man -- a master of art, music, languages, psychology, and the martial arts. He's a man of strict principles who lives a very private lifestyle. He's very careful to separate his friends from his business and to keep innocents out of harm's way. He has an off-again/on-again relationship with a woman who has trouble dealing with what he does for a living. He has an interesting relationship with his cello. (You have to pay close attention at first to avoid confusing Kit, his girlfriend, with Jesse, his cello.)

The story itself is a pleasure to read. Robie is a cool, careful professional, methodically tracking down leads, finding connections, and slowly tightening the noose on the elusive kidnappers. The story is very complex and detailed, perhaps too complex. I had to read it through twice and I'm still sure I missed a few points. There are a lot of characters and a great deal happening. At times I found myself wishing for a cheat sheet of the cast of characters.

But while overly detailed at some points, at others the details are curiously sparse. The sense of the society in general, including the technology and the cultural norms, is surprisingly vague. For instance, it's practically impossible to pinpoint when the story is supposed to be taking place (I guessed around 2050). There are hints about technologies like self-driving cars, artificially enhanced humans, genetic engineering, and virtual reality simulations, but no specifics. Robie uses a few high-tech items but it's difficult to determine whether they are high-priced toys for the rich, or everyday items used by ordinary people. There's also a bit about some sort of catastrophic climatic change called the Transition, but there is no elaboration -- only a hint that it caused a lot of damage. It's almost as if Matz were writing the third or fourth book of a series and had shared all those basic details in the first couple of books.

The story moves along at a modest pace through most of the book and then accelerates dramatically at the end. Before you know it, the book is over. That is sort of disappointing, because the whole book is naturally leading toward the final confrontation. But it works, and that's what counts. Considered as a whole, Nocturne for a Dangerous Man is an excellent action/thriller set in futuristic setting. While the world/society that serves as the backdrop could use a bit more work, it doesn't distract from the story. The story and characters are far more interesting than the science fiction setting, as they should be. I'm looking forward to more novels from Marc Matz.