An impossible murder in a city where no one can lie—not even the murderer. A man lies dead inside a locked workshop. Cameras show no one entered or left. The only suspect: a blood-spattered robot. Max is the only cop on Mars ever to solve a murder. But because the victim was his friend—and because Max brought the robot back from the asteroid belt—his boss wants him off the case. Max keeps digging. Every suspect must answer Max’s questions truthfully. But if a question forces them to incriminate themselves, the law sets them free. To catch a killer who can’t lie, Max must uncover the truth without asking a single question that could expose them. Olympus City is buried inside a Martian volcano, where every life depends on tightly controlled systems for air, water, and power. Then someone tries to silence the robot. More people die. And Max discovers that the murder is part of a conspiracy threatening the entire city. To save the city, Max must work with SCIFI, a robot that learned about humans from old-Earth TV shows. Unfortunately, it has a talent for asking the wrong questions—and breaking down at the worst possible time. Blending a locked-room mystery with grounded science, fast action, and dry humor, SCIFI BOOK ONE is for readers who love clever puzzles, believable technology, and a robot with secrets and a wicked sense of mischief.
This Book’s Title Isn’t 100% Accurate, But Close Enuf for The Author’s Reach
This book took longer-to-read than I planned, because it just didn’t hold my interest very well.
Was it about SciFi? Yes. Was it a Murder Mystery? Yes. But, it was a VERY INVOLVED plot, and frankly it was difficult remembering most of the names of people and how they were introduced into the story. … and, OMG … this book had more killings in it than the combined total of deaths in all the other books I’ve read this year… AND there is a mysterious robot, that seemed to be accepted remarkably well by a society that was born and raised to fear robots. This is another angle that was never well explained by The Author.
Should you read this book? — Certainly! Jump in and perhaps you’ll enjoy it more than I did!