Cold Welcome, by Elizabeth Moon

War hero Admiral Ky Vatta is returning to her home planet to take care of some family business. Sabotage sets her adrift in an icy sea, off an inhospitable continent, with a mismatched troop of Space Force officers that she must try to lead to survival. The first part of the book gets a bit bogged down in technical detail of space shuttles, survival suits and life rafts. It gets more interesting as the complex political and social machinations kick in and we get the other side of the picture from Ky’s worried family and friends. There is a lot going on, with a centuries old conspiracy fuelling a deadly plot, linked to Ky’s tragic family history. Ky herself is a little too good to be true – 29-year-old military genius – but she is an appealing character, not hard to barrack for and her family is fascinating. This is the first book of a new series, Vatta’s Peace, which follows on from a five-book series, Vatta’s War. Moon is a skilled enough writer to fill in enough of the back story, but it probably would be useful to read the first series before tackling this one.