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SHELLI: MurderMind
The highly anticipated sequel to
SHELLI
: The Android Detective--ranked among the top ten sci-fi novels of 2024 by Reading Freely book reviews and hailed by popular YouTube channels like Good Bad Flicks and Professor Geek. Step inside and return to the world of tomorrow!
Shelli has a pulse, a heartbeat, and emotions—but she’s not human.
Once a government hunter of rogue synthetics, she now hides in plain sight, helping the very machines she used to pursue. However, when a building’s security system is implicated in the deaths of hundreds of people, Shelli is forced back into service.
Reunited with Special Agent Jake August, they follow a bloody trail across the country, uncovering a conspiracy with global consequences. As the attacks escalate, Shelli and Jake find themselves caught in the crosshairs of the Department of Defense and a deadly adversary unlike any they’ve faced before.
Lines are drawn. Sides are chosen. War is coming—unless Shelli can stop it.
In this science fiction crime thriller, rising panic over artificial intelligence has pushed humanity to the edge. Across a nation ruled by fear and misinformation, the second book in the Synthetic Crimes series follows the only android who appears human as she navigates a world where the balance between man and machine is collapsing.
Merging the investigation of a traditional crime procedural with the urgency of a sci-fi mystery, MurderMind explores how far governments will go to maintain control—and what happens when their creations refuse to obey.
Fans of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries will be drawn to this cyberpunk noir of dangerous robots, buried conspiracies, and moral decay. As a synthetic detective racing against the machinery of power itself, Shelli must uncover the truth before the tides of war erase the last line between humanity and its creations.
“A mix of mystery, action, and moral quandaries,” (Reading Freely Reviews) — praised by YouTubers and digital-media critics alike, MurderMind is the sequel fans have been waiting for.
When every government agency has something to hide, Shelli is the secret no one can control.
Shelli has a pulse, a heartbeat, and emotions—but she’s not human.
Once a government hunter of rogue synthetics, she now hides in plain sight, helping the very machines she used to pursue. However, when a building’s security system is implicated in the deaths of hundreds of people, Shelli is forced back into service.
Reunited with Special Agent Jake August, they follow a bloody trail across the country, uncovering a conspiracy with global consequences. As the attacks escalate, Shelli and Jake find themselves caught in the crosshairs of the Department of Defense and a deadly adversary unlike any they’ve faced before.
Lines are drawn. Sides are chosen. War is coming—unless Shelli can stop it.
In this science fiction crime thriller, rising panic over artificial intelligence has pushed humanity to the edge. Across a nation ruled by fear and misinformation, the second book in the Synthetic Crimes series follows the only android who appears human as she navigates a world where the balance between man and machine is collapsing.
Merging the investigation of a traditional crime procedural with the urgency of a sci-fi mystery, MurderMind explores how far governments will go to maintain control—and what happens when their creations refuse to obey.
Fans of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries will be drawn to this cyberpunk noir of dangerous robots, buried conspiracies, and moral decay. As a synthetic detective racing against the machinery of power itself, Shelli must uncover the truth before the tides of war erase the last line between humanity and its creations.
“A mix of mystery, action, and moral quandaries,” (Reading Freely Reviews) — praised by YouTubers and digital-media critics alike, MurderMind is the sequel fans have been waiting for.
When every government agency has something to hide, Shelli is the secret no one can control.
374 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 19, 2025
25 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Doug Brode
5 books14 followersDoug Brode is the author of five novels, including the SHELLI mysteries and the Ship Saga. He was the creator of Cinemax’s sexy sci-fi series Forbidden Science, as well as a storyboard/concept artist on such popular films as Star Trek, Iron Man, Thor, Looper, Van Helsing, Planet of the Apes, MIB: International, among many others. He lives in California with his wife, Pamela, and their two children, Hayden and Leia.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 13, 2025
One of my favorite reads of 2024 was SHELLI, a SF mystery featuring a pair of detectives — one human, one synthetic — who investigated crimes relating to sythentic lifeforms, i.e. androids. Jake and Shelli are back in Murder Mind, but their old department has been shuttered. Shelli, now in an illegal organic-hybrid body, has withdrawn from human society in favor of sheltering and rehabilitating synthetics marked for destruction. There’s conspiracy afoot, though — synthetics are increasingly malfunctioning with lethal consequences, and higher ups think only Shelli can get to the bottom of it. So, following a little blackmail, she and Jake are back at the job, investigating a mystery that blooms much larger an more dangerous than they could have imagined. Murder Mind is a mix of mystery, action, and moral quandries as Jake and Shelli both wrestle with the meaning of synthetic life and their responsibility towards it — and humanity.
The drama here begins with the personal: Shelli and Jake have a connection that neither of them acknowledge, and perhaps aren’t even aware of consciously, and that connection makes Jake’s unwitting participation in Shelli’s blackmail especially hurtful. After they realize there’s a connection to their last case, though, Shelli’s discomfort at being used and Jake’s on unease about his complicity give way to the mission. The stakes, as we find out, are high. In this nearish-future SF, synthetics are incorporated into human society at every level: synths serve as nannies, guards, tech. This string of ‘malfunctions’ is the harbinger of something far, far more serious, and the pursuit of answers takes the pair on a cross-country trip, into secret synth sanctuaries and the operations centers of beings who blur the line between human and machine. The action really rises towards the end: I could see this being dramatized. Beyond that action, though, the story keeps bringing up moral questions: what makes something alive? What makes a person and person? Fittingly, the story swings back to the personal again, as the Shelli-Jake dynamic and choices made because of it complicate the plot. The goodreads entry for this title indicates it’s part of a longer series, and I’m looking forward to more.
The drama here begins with the personal: Shelli and Jake have a connection that neither of them acknowledge, and perhaps aren’t even aware of consciously, and that connection makes Jake’s unwitting participation in Shelli’s blackmail especially hurtful. After they realize there’s a connection to their last case, though, Shelli’s discomfort at being used and Jake’s on unease about his complicity give way to the mission. The stakes, as we find out, are high. In this nearish-future SF, synthetics are incorporated into human society at every level: synths serve as nannies, guards, tech. This string of ‘malfunctions’ is the harbinger of something far, far more serious, and the pursuit of answers takes the pair on a cross-country trip, into secret synth sanctuaries and the operations centers of beings who blur the line between human and machine. The action really rises towards the end: I could see this being dramatized. Beyond that action, though, the story keeps bringing up moral questions: what makes something alive? What makes a person and person? Fittingly, the story swings back to the personal again, as the Shelli-Jake dynamic and choices made because of it complicate the plot. The goodreads entry for this title indicates it’s part of a longer series, and I’m looking forward to more.
June 23, 2025
I throughly enjoyed this book from start to finish! Shelli: Murder Mind is a great mystery that showcases the actions of humanity vs synthetic design. With a suspenseful twists and turns throughout the course of the case, this was an exciting read!
June 23, 2025
Really good read
October 28, 2025
After reading Doug Brode’s “Shelli” about a year ago, I was certainly hoping that he would revisit Agent Shelli and Special Agent Jake August to further their story. The first book ended with a bit of a twist that made a second book an absolute must for me. (I always appreciate it when an author cooperates with my wishes.)
Brode definitely delivered with his second installment, “Shelli: Murder Mind”. Set again in a future where humans and “synthetics” live side by side, with the machines handling most of the mundane tasks of human existence, holding jobs like maids, maintenance workers, and nannies. In the first book, Agent Shelli is a synthetic investigator whose purpose is to hunt defective synthetics that have turned on and harmed humans, which is against their programming. “Murder Mind”, however, finds Shelli in a far different place, with a far different purpose.
While Shelli and Jake’s circumstances have changed, Brode’s writing has not. The book delivers a fast-paced, action-packed thriller that I worked through in just a few days, as it was a story that just compelled me to keep turning pages.
The high-tech future that Brode paints is all too believable, especially as we are currently exploring the first consumer generation of artificial intelligence in “the real world”, and it seems to be advancing quickly. Several companies are working on developing AI driven humanoid robots. What could possibly go wrong there?
Brode explores all sorts of themes in this book, including the relationship that humans have with the synthetics and the questions behind integrating machine technology and humans. This question goes well beyond the “Six Million Dollar Man” scenario of just replacing a broken limb. Lots of great biotech ethical dilemmas for you to ponder. Who doesn’t love a great ethical dilemma?
Both Shelli and Jake have changed since the first installment. as characters, they have both grown. Interestingly, Jake has his own ethical dilemma involving machines in his family. While he is of an opinion that is not unexpected from what we know of Jake. Shelli, on the other hand, helps him work through his problem as she takes a more unexpected approach to the problem. The layers of nuance in this book add to the enjoyment.
As I said in the the first review… I hope there is more to come.
Brode definitely delivered with his second installment, “Shelli: Murder Mind”. Set again in a future where humans and “synthetics” live side by side, with the machines handling most of the mundane tasks of human existence, holding jobs like maids, maintenance workers, and nannies. In the first book, Agent Shelli is a synthetic investigator whose purpose is to hunt defective synthetics that have turned on and harmed humans, which is against their programming. “Murder Mind”, however, finds Shelli in a far different place, with a far different purpose.
While Shelli and Jake’s circumstances have changed, Brode’s writing has not. The book delivers a fast-paced, action-packed thriller that I worked through in just a few days, as it was a story that just compelled me to keep turning pages.
The high-tech future that Brode paints is all too believable, especially as we are currently exploring the first consumer generation of artificial intelligence in “the real world”, and it seems to be advancing quickly. Several companies are working on developing AI driven humanoid robots. What could possibly go wrong there?
Brode explores all sorts of themes in this book, including the relationship that humans have with the synthetics and the questions behind integrating machine technology and humans. This question goes well beyond the “Six Million Dollar Man” scenario of just replacing a broken limb. Lots of great biotech ethical dilemmas for you to ponder. Who doesn’t love a great ethical dilemma?
Both Shelli and Jake have changed since the first installment. as characters, they have both grown. Interestingly, Jake has his own ethical dilemma involving machines in his family. While he is of an opinion that is not unexpected from what we know of Jake. Shelli, on the other hand, helps him work through his problem as she takes a more unexpected approach to the problem. The layers of nuance in this book add to the enjoyment.
As I said in the the first review… I hope there is more to come.
June 28, 2025
I'm enjoying this series and hope there are many more stories to come.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews