Martian Knightlife, two related novellas by James P. Hogan (2001)

Martian Knightlife, two related novellas starring Kieran "the Knight" Thane ("His Own Worst Enemy" and "The Khal of Tadzhikstan"), by James P. Hogan.

Pictured: Hardcover (Riverdale, NY: Baen Books, 2001), 278 p., $22.00 Cover art by Clyde Caldwell. Here’s the promotional piece from the inside flap of the dust jacket:

The Knight is a saint (with a twist).

At least you might think so if you read his curriculum vitae. You would swear, in fact, that this private eye of the future is honest, paying for what he gets, getting what he's paid for, wth somehow a little extra for everybody to go around. Take this case for example.

Well, perhaps not, because that would be telling, something this knightly saint would never do. But it did involve a matter transmitter which the inventor tested on himself -- then found his bank accounts empty and his credit cards overflowing, all done by someone whose DNA looks just like that of the rightful owner...

But that wasn't all. There was also an archaeological expedition which had uncovered ruins that might solve the mystery of the Martian race that had vanished from the planet eons ago -- except that a greedy interplanetary corporation was all set to bulldoze them over in pursuit of the bottom line unless a gallant knight -- or Knight -- could come galloping up on his charger...

Then there were some people who were not amused at how the Knight had foiled a sure-fire scheme worth billions, and were looking for him with heavy muscle and heavier artillery...

People in trouble and people who are trouble just seem to populate his life -- and thank goodness, because they are the very thing the Knight needs to keep his life from getting boring. And the bad guys never seem to know what hits them...

Amazon has reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, while Barnes & Noble has reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews.

Cool cover art. The dog reminds me of the canine on the cover of another Mars-related book, a 1970s paperback reprint of Kurt Vonnegut's novel The Sirens of Titan (1959).