In a Suspect Universe by Albert Wendland

In this prequel to The Man Who Loved Alien Landscapes we learn the story that Mykol Ranglen has kept buried in his past--a mystery of ancient galactic secrets, an adventure on colonized alien worlds, a romance in distant star systems, and a dark and sinister planetary noir that disturbs all he's known about his universe. He must decide just how far he'll go to keep the planet of his dreams and the future he desires, but what he learns about his world, and what he has to do to save it--and to save himself--will haunt him forever.