The Truth of Valor by Tanya Huff

When former Marine Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr finds out why space pirates needed salvage operator Craig Ryder, she calls in the Marines to get him back--and to stop the pirates from changing the balance of power in known space.

A lot of authors have trouble following up a book that redefines what a series should be about, but Huff does a great job here. She humanizes Torin, showing her adjustment to post-military life, without “softening” her or taking away the core of what made the character an interesting protagonist.

This is the fifth book in Huff's Confederation series. Torin Kerr has left the marines and taken up the life of a salvage operator with her lover Craig. Of course bad shit happens. Their ship is attacked and Craig is kidnapped by some very nasty pirates. Torin to the rescue! (Once a Marine, always a Marine.) No sign of the plastic aliens in this one – or is there?

(I've shelved this as LGBT+ because, while the focus couple is F/M, there are a few mentions of same sex couples or poly relationships.) Honestly, I'm not surprised this is my least favorite Huff book to date. Torin is, my opinion, at her best when she is riding heard on a bunch of subordinates and superiors. In this book...she really doesn't get the chance to do that. Much of it is taken up on a ‘rescue Craig' mission. (And, Craig, you bore me. I have next to no feelings for him and am just disappointed because I actually prefer Torin when she's single.) And Torin's team is comprised of ‘old-hands' - AKA: the few surviving Marines of her company. (Of which there weren't many. At all. But, hey, we get one of my favorites back!) I do have a general idea of where the series will head, now, and I will admit, even if we seem to have strayed from the beginnings of the series, I am rather excited for it.