The Times Tax Saver's Guide 2001/2002 Book

When I started reading this I thought I was reading a thriller. Well, it is a thriller, but thrillers overlap with a lot of other genres. So, what kind of thriller is this one? It starts out with a murder and the police are called in to investigate, so it seemed that I had a murder mystery. Then it is suggested that a ghoul commited the murder. It is not clear, though, whether the ghoul is a literal ghoul or if this is only part of the background of the story that includes uneducated and superstitious people. If it is the former then this story is either a horror story or an urban fantasy. If it is the latter then I am back to a murder mystery with an exotic setting. It turns out that it is neither. I got about three quarters through the book before I figured out what genre of literature it really is. It turns out to be solidly science fiction. How did I figure out that it was science fiction? If I told you that I would be giving you a spoiler. So I will decline and let you find out for yourself. I assure you, though, that the story taken as a whole is a quite delightful science fiction thriller with plenty of action, murder and intrigue.