I Only Killed Him Once

Ray Electromatic Mysteries #3

by Adam Christopher

A blend of science fiction and stylish mystery noir featuring a robot detective, I Only Killed Him Once is the newest stand-alone installment in Adam Christopher's Ray Electromatic mystery series.

Another Hollywood night, another job for electric-detective-turned-robotic-hitman Raymond Electromatic. The target is a tall man in a black hat, and while Ray completes his mission successfully, he makes a startling discovery—one he soon forgets when his 24-hour memory tape loops to the end and is replaced with a fresh reel…

When a tall man in a black hat arrives in the offices of the Electromatic Detective Agency the next day, Ray has a suspicion he has met this stranger before, although Ray’s computerized boss, Ada, is not saying a thing. But their visitor isn’t here to hire Ray for a job—he’s here to deliver a stark warning.

Because time is running out and if Ray and Ada want to survive, they need to do exactly what the man in the black hat says.

A man that Raymond Electromatic has already killed.

"Robot noir in 60s Los Angeles? You had me at 'Hello.'"—John Scalzi, New York Times bestselling novelist

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery, Fiction, Noir, Crime, Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2018

About the author

Adam Christopher is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith and Master of Evil,  Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town. He has also written official tie-in novels for the hit CBS television show Elementary and the award-winning Dishonored video game franchise.

Co-creator of the twenty-first-century incarnation of Archie Comics superhero The Shield, Adam has also written for the universes of Doctor Who and World of Warcraft, and is a contributor to the internationally bestselling Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View anniversary anthology series and the all-ages Star Wars Adventures comic.

Adam’s original novels include Made to Kill and The Burning Dark, among many others, and his debut novel Empire State was both a SciFi Now and Financial Times book of the year.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

So very, very enjoyable. Ray Electromatic is the Robot's Robot of the dirty streets of LA Noir. Sometimes he's a PI and sometimes he's a hit-robot-for-hire, but what makes him really stand out for me is his memory issues.

He runs on RAM. Poor Ray! Every day, he comes back with the same template as before. Useful when he needs plausible deniability, it's a real pain when the damn mysteries keep coming back. And back. And back. :)

This one has a lot of fantastic reveals and snappy dialogue. Ada, the master computer who gives Ray his jobs, is out of the picture for a lot of the tale and Ray has to figure out who the next Job is on his own! Who does he have to kill?

Oh, the nightmare!

Of course, I was just happy that it could have been anyone because this is classic Noir, but the final reveal was very satisfying. And very SF. :)

I'm LOVING this kind of genre-mashup. Big time. The best of both worlds.

And I'm probably going to have to scream for more of this. It can't end here. We have to have MORE. :)

Sladek, Wells, Martinez... we need more like this!!! :)

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was a lot of fun! Ray Electromatic is a robot detective-turned-gun-for-hire. Unfortunately for Ray, he lives in an alternate 1960s universe which means that some of his technology is not terribly advanced. With the exception of some hardwired memories, Ray relies on a 24-hour reel of memory tape, so each day he starts with a relatively clean slate.

Imagine an old-fashioned, not-nearly-so-misanthropic Murderbot thrown into the movie Memento. Knowing that he can only trust Ada, his computerized boss, Ray "lives" a life carrying out the jobs she hands him. When a tall man in a dark hat gives Ray a mysterious warning, Ray must try to solve the most important mystery of his career and figure out who wants to take him out before he gets got.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read and I'm planning on getting to the other books in the series as soon as I can. I hadn't realized this was the third (and final) instalment in the series until after I'd started reading, but I definitely didn't feel like I was missing anything. This definitely did get a bit repetitive at certain points -- there's only so many times you need to be told that the guy doesn't remember stuff from the day before, but for the most part that did not prevent me from enjoying the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with a DRC of this book.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robot noir circa 1960's, what's not to get excited about? As a fan of this series (three novels, one novella), I had high hopes for the curtain call and I wasn't disappointing. Not only did the story come full circle but the door was left slightly ajar for Ray to make another appearance (though unlikely, I'm crossing my fingers).

One of the staples throughout the LA Trilogy has been the subtly complex evolution of plot and that staple again plays a big part in how this story pans out. However, I can't go into specifics otherwise I'd spoil the fun.

Each of the books in the LA Trilogy reads perfectly well as a standalone, however, I Only Killed Him Once is all the better if you've consumed the previous volumes. There's a lot going on and reference to Ray's past cases makes for some nice continuity nods throughout.

My verdict: a solid 4 (out of 5) stars with a high re-read appeal.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A joke, once told, is funny. Twice told, it induces groans. Third attempt, it’s boring or worse. Ray Electromagnetic's anterograde amnesia (albeit mechanical) had lost its charm much before this book happened. Combined with a frankly sinister controlling AI, this robot with restricted memories was nothing more than a hamming tinman. As a result, the supposed mysteries or so-called detection never went anywhere.
I am more or less done with this series. There seems to be only a vignette left. Once that's done and dusted, I can get back to some actual Murderbot adventures. Yes, I'm talking about the sublime series composed by Martha Wells.
This, was a waste of time.

[Maine Colonial · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher, Tor, for providing a free digital ARC via Netgalley.

Say it ain’t so: the last Ray Electromatic novel. I don’t care if he is a robot—and a hit man—he’s a more appealing character than plenty of sci-fi or mystery protagonist.

Ray’s tape-based memory is only good for 24-hours, so he starts every day with no memory of what happened previously. He only has his deep programming to rely on, along with his instructions from his boss, Ada. Ray’s decided this just isn’t good enough, so he’s taken to making notes and stashing them places.

I can’t say much about the plot without spoilers, but let’s just say that when robots are outlawed, outlaws are going to want everything Ray-related. It’s a neat little thriller of a plot that would make an entertaining movie, and the writing is snappy.

Even though the Ray Electromatic books are described as a mashup of sci-fi and mystery, I’d say they’re more on the side of hardboiled mystery. The fact of Ray’s technology is only a big deal in a character way; it’s not like a tech-heavy space opera or anything. There are three Ray Electromatic novels, as well as a prequel short story and a novella. Here they are, in order:

Brisk Money (Ray Electromatic #0.5) [prequel short story]
Made to Kill (Ray Electromatic #1)
Standard Hollywood Depravity (Ray Electromatic #1.5) [novela]
Killing Is My Business (Ray Electromatic #2)
I Only Killed Him Once (Ray Electromatic #3)

[Ethan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a disappointing end to a mostly disappointing series. The plot was extremely confusing, unsatisfying, and full of plot holes. Seriously, near the end he is somehow able to remember everything, despite the second memory tape containing earlier events not even being in his body. That makes no sense. The horrible editing throughout this series also continues in this book after briefly getting better in book two. It's not even misspelled words. I don't think there's a single misspelled word in this book.

It's missing or incorrect words. Here are some actual examples from the book:


One in the same

Nodded as he took in it

she had had the ticking of the fast hand of watch.

although it seem to have focused less

"Someone care to fill me on recent events?"


I can understand a few of these but there are probably dozens of them in this book. Christopher's writing also just fundamentally irritates me, which doesn't help. He inserts all these pointless sentences into his books. For example, at one point he says that a character is walking into a house, and that a second character is following behind her. He then says:

she had her back to me as she walked into the house

Of course she had her back to him; she was in front of him! It adds absolutely no value to say that. Pointless and redundant sentences like that are abundant in Christopher's novels.

This series actually upsets me, because it's such a great idea. It deserved to be implemented by a more capable author than Christopher. Though book two was very good, this series as a whole was mediocre, and you just can't overlook the editing. This is the last Adam Christopher book I will ever read.

[All Things Urban Fantasy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.

As the final novel in the Ray Electromatic series, I ONLY KILLED HIM ONCE goes out with a bang. Our favourite robot assassin is on the case and wouldn’t you know it, his memory is on the fritz. I ONLY KILLED HIM ONCE tackles the plot threads of Ray’s creation, his friendship with Ada, and his faulty memory. In the other novels, Ray is looking for his mark and searching for missing pieces of his day. In this novel, Ray spends most of the plot trying to orient himself. It keeps Ray reacting and investigating, but never truly puts him on the offensive.

In the previous novels, it was easy to mistrust Ada. When the reader knows more than the protagonist, it’s difficult to root for the person, or robot, in charge of Ray’s memory tapes. I really wished that the author had leaned into this deceit and power imbalance. The repeat customer, with an endless supply of black hats, was an interesting mystery but, when solved, never dealt with the implications. With all the resources and money that Ray’s enemies seem to possess, it’s startling that they hid so long in the shadows.

As always the memory loops are the real charm of the novel, as Ray restarts every day the same way. It’s a great joke that always pays off. I ONLY KILLED HIM ONCE was a fun end to the series but I couldn’t help wishing for more a more interesting end for Ray. Weird clients, bad memory, and half-truths are all part of the robot assassin's normal day, I would have loved to see this taken to the extreme.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ray Electromatic are the opposite side of the coin from PDK stories. He knows he's not human and explores his un-humanity and what defines it/him.
This third novel in the series has Ray et al explore his creation while fighting sinister, secret organizations. It also harkens back to previous adventures of his, bringing in old details I've not read in years. I felt a little like Ray with ghost memories fading in and out from my own memory tapes, remembering past stories.
This novel is well worth your time reading, putting in a memory tape, and re-reading.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I Only Killed Him Once" is the fantastic ending to the Ray Electromatic mystery series. This is the ending/mystery the entire series has been building towards and man oh man, is it satisfying. Throughout the earlier books, there were parts of this puzzle that simply confounded and frustrated me but Adam Christopher answers every question and leaves no stone unturned. After all, Ray's a pretty damn good detective for a guy who has his entire memory erased every 24 hours.

I will definitely check out the rest of Christopher's work now as this series was a masterpiece. High, high recommend.

[Dan Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent conclusion to the series. Proves the author didn’t just get the surface of noir, he got deep into the marrow.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third and final instalment in the Raymond Electromatic, I ONLY KILLED HIM ONCE sees robot detective, turned gun for hire, in the fight of his "life".

"Life" requires a bit of wiggle room here as Raymond Electromatic is a robotic detective / hitman with a 24 hour long memory, and a computer overlady called Ada who sets him off on each job every day with a newly installed memory tape and no idea what he's done, or where he's been before. Except for knowing that he's a robot, that he "talks" to Ada, how to detect and a bunch of other things that may ring some "what the" bells if you're new to these novels.

But, some personal past history. Really enjoyed the first book in this series, MADE TO KILL; developed a slight dose of the bleaghs when it came to the second, KILLING IS MY BUSINESS; so wasn't too sure what would be served up in the third. This whole scenario seemed so unusual and original in the first book, but struggled a little to maintain that freshness and quirkiness in the second. This third novel, however, works as a closing chapter, if indeed this doesn't turn out to be another one of those trilogies that loses count.

As three short, sharp, unusually placed novels, the Raymond Electromatic series is fun. You could probably read any of them, including this one, as a standalone, but you may find yourself with a desire to go back and read the earlier two, and personally, this reader felt like they worked better in sequence. Raymond doesn't have a lot of character development (what with him being a robot and all), but there's something about the build up of the relationship (well sort of) between him and Ada that leads to events in this third novel that help flesh out the circumstances. To say nothing of explain just what / why and where Ada and he fit together. Although you may find that some elements (yes we get his memory tapes are 24 hours long) can get a bit repetitive.

All in all, these are supposed to be fun, a bit on the tongue in cheek side, definitely different and a strong genre-mash up, so the Raymond Electromatic series, and I ONLY KILLED HIM ONCE need to be taken with a hefty sense of humour.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...

[Literary Portals · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review originally published on my blog: https://literaryportals.blogspot.com/...

What Made Me Read It
"I Only Killed Him Once" is the final book in the "Ray Electromatic Mysteries" series. Each book is mostly a self-contained story but in all there is a recurring, and as yet unresolved, mystery subplot surrounding Ada, Ray's AI supercomputer handler and manager of the Electromatic Detective Agency. In the previous book ("Killing is My Business") Ray started to question Ada's real motives and goals. His memory is sketchy at best and only good for 24 hours, but his instinct tells him Ada is keeping important secrets from him and probably shouldn't be trusted. There's also a giant plot hole from book #1 that I'm hoping will finally be explained in this final volume.

The Plot
For Raymond Electromatic every morning is a fresh start, "another beautiful day in Hollywood California". With a memory tape wiped clean every 24 hours and no knowledge of what happened on any previous day, Ray is fully dependent on his handler Ada, the AI supercomputer who runs the Electromatic Detective Agency, to update him on the necessary details of each hit job he's assigned to. But a chest plate that looks out of place, a shirt button that refuses to stay buttoned and cryptic messages in his own handwriting, scribbled on a used yellow legal pad with half the pages missing, leads him to suspect Ada may be keeping important information from him.

When a mysterious man in black comes into the office one morning with an ominous warning instead of a job, Ray has the distinct feeling he's a target he's met before. Only Ada isn't talking and urges him to forget the whole thing instead. But after the Electromatic Detective Agency gets raided and Ada disappears, dismantled by the supposedly defunct DORL (Department of Robot Labor), Ray finds himself truly on his own. With his memory tape on the verge of filling up, Ray is quickly running out of time to find his real target and solve the case, before he shuts down permanently.

The Good
"I Only Killed Him Once" is the last book in the "Ray Electromatic Mysteries" series (including a trilogy of novels and 2 extra novelettes). The story comes full circle to both the first novelette and the first novel, picking up characters and events from "Brisk Money" and "Made to Kill". It answers some of the lingering questions left open in the previous installments and wraps up the mystery surrounding both Ray and Ada, their origins and relationship, with fantastic reveals.

But it can still be read as a standalone though, since it includes enough detailed recaps that you don't actually need to read the previous books. The author makes use of Ray's unique characterization to insert those recaps in a way that fits the plot, without sounding like an info dump exposition. Being set in an alternate 1960's Hollywood with the technological limitations of that time, Raymond's internal memory only has room for 24 hours of existence, by which time Ray needs to transfer all the data collected to bigger, more permanent reel tapes, while his own unit gets wiped clean and reset. It does make for a repetitive narrative, but again, it's part of the nature of this particular character so it feels natural even if a little annoying. I still recommend you read the rest of the series, a recap isn't as deeply detailed as a full novel.

The main character, Raymond Electromatic, is fully fledged and 3-dimentional. Despite his robotic nature, the author gives him enough human mannerisms inherited from the mental templates of his creators to act human, helping us relate with the character. His unique voice with witty dialogs, introspective musings and deductive reasoning delivers a lot of snarky humor to the plot.

Similar to the previous books, "I Only Killed Him Once" is meant as an homage to Raymond Chandler's noir mysteries, with a classic sci-fi twist in the form of a robot private-detective-turned-hitman when his AI supercomputer handler decides the assassination business is much more lucrative. While the previous volumes were more oriented towards the noir genre, this third book has more sci-fi elements, but still wrapped up in the pulp detective mystery and moody atmosphere of the 1960's Hollywood. The plot is complex and well thought through with plenty of twists and turns. With a fast pace filled with action and mystery, the author throws us so many curve balls you're kept guessing until the last page.

Final Rating
5 of 5 stars
"I Only Killed Him Once" is an excellent and satisfying conclusion to the "Ray Electromatic Mysteries" series. A thrilling, engaging and humorous mix of noir mystery and classic sci-fi, recommended for those who enjoy hard-boiled novels and robot stories, in atmospheric 1960's Hollywood.

[Shaun Dewhirst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, everyone. Today we're taking a look at the third in the "LA Trilogy" series of books by Adam Christopher "I Only Killed Him Once". The last in the series, though it can be read stand-alone, starring everybody's favourite robot private detective cum hitman Raymond Electromatic and his secretary/handler Ada, the supercomputer housed inside their offices who ensures that Ray is always kept charged up and instructs him on the missions he needs to complete.

Ray is the kind of guy you go to when you need someone to disappear. In many ways he's the perfect choice, especially when you consider that the tape that serves as his memory runs out at the end of every day so when he wakes up the next morning with a new tape inside him, he's forgotten everything that happened the day before. You can't ask for better discretion than that. Of course, that does lead to certain existential questions that are briefly lingered on by Ray himself -

"Was I the same person, when I woke up? Sure, I wasn’t a person. As far as I knew, robots—even ones that looked like people—had only ever acquired the same legal rights as the automobile parked in the garage several floors underneath my feet. But I walked and I talked and I thought about things and I thought that made me a person of a kind. But was I the same person when I woke up? Was the Ray Electromatic that was looking out of my optics at this very moment the same one that would be viewing the world in the morning? "

This has worked pretty well for him until now, until the day a man he's supposed to have killed shows up at his offices with a cryptic warning that things are about to get very hot for him. Cue a rather Memento-like treasure hunt as Ray follows clues that he's left for himself to try and puzzle out exactly what he's gotten himself into and along the way perhaps learn more about the man who created him and then disappeared.

What we have here is a blend of multiple genres. Take four parts hard-bitten noir detective, sprinkle in two parts of 1950's era science fiction and another two parts "Red Scare" communist paranoia and you would have something vaguely along the lines of "I Only Killed Him Once". Not much can be said in terms of the plot without spoilers, but there are many parallels to other media of that particular time period where this book is set, especially "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers" with their fears of infiltration and traitors from within.

This is a lovely mashup of genres, the noire mingling with the futuristic to lovely effect -

"I calculated a few options and ran a few of them through my tabulating regression forecaster. The answers came back the same each time, and none of them was of much use to me given that the house seemed empty and the street was quiet and I was a robot sitting in a car with a ray gun that wasn’t much good for anything if there were no robots to shoot with it."

Adam Christopher has done a fine job of presenting us with a world that is believable, filled with interesting and intriguing characters. The descriptions of Ada, for instance, conjure up immediate images of the femme fatale. Touch Daley is the quintessential faceless G-Man while Ray himself is, for all his hitman work, immediately identifiable as the stereotypical beat down gumshoe. If criticism is to be made, it would be that the reader might well be left wanting to know more about what, pardon the pun, makes the robot detective tick.

Perhaps it's simply the nature of the character not to spend too much time wondering about his own existence but of all the characters in the story, Ray is strangely the least interesting of them all.

[Kate (Looking Glass Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today, July 10, 2018, marks the release of I Only Killed Him Once by Adam Christopher, the third and final novel in the Ray Electromatic Mysteries series. This is a great science fiction noir mystery series featuring the very last robot in operation working as a hit man using the cover of a private detective when unwanted eyes begin to pry.

In this novel Ray Electromatic wakes up with a fresh reel of tape for 24 hours of new memory and a man in a black hat in the front room. The man feels familiar, even if Ray can’t remember him. He comes with a warning, not a job. If something’s amiss Ada, the supercomputer who runs things, isn’t talking. Things quickly go for bad to worse as Ray’s memory ticks down to zero.

This was a great conclusion to the Ray Electromatic Mysteries series. Ray is just as fantastic a character as always. His voice is unique, and he a genuinely fun character to follow on adventures. This particular case proves to be a difficult one as things quickly spiral beyond Ray’s control.

Ada is missing for a good portion of the novel. This means that Ray is truly on his own. The well timed phone calls from Ada are gone. Details to the hit Ray’s supposed to be carrying out are largely missing. Ray is forced to figure things out completely on his own, going back to earlier days when he worked as a PI. This is complicated due to limited memory space. If he knew more details yesterday it was all wiped when a new reel was installed during the night.

All loose ends are wrapped up in this third novel. Questions that have lingered from book one are finally addressed. We get more information as to Ray’s creation and the various robotics divisions encountered in the previous two novels.

Now, I don’t want to say too much about this novel. The books in this series are on the shorter side of the page count, and being the last of three novels room for accidental spoilers abounds. Needless to say, I very much enjoyed this series. Ray is a very welcome voice, a fun, hardboiled detective with a great personality. He’s very reminiscent of old noir film detectives, a feeling that permeates each book. the novels themselves are very atmospheric.

I must acknowledge the author’s sheer skill in making Ray and Ada so very likeable and relatable. They’re nothing more than a robot and a supercomputer, after all, even if they were patterned after humans. The way in which the virtual clink of a spoon in a ceramic cup can fill a silence and relay the feelings of a character is absolutely wonderful.

Though the Ray Electromatic Mysteries may be over, I am surely going to be seeking out more of Adam Christopher’s books. If you have not read any of the Ray Electromatic Mysteries, I would highly suggest picking up the first book of the series. Unlike some of the other mystery novels I’ve read, I do suggest reading these books in publication order. I Only Killed Him Once by Adam Christopher was a great conclusion to the series, and a book I highly recommend.

This book was sent by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review originally found on Looking Glass Reads.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.5 of 5

Raymond Electromatic is an assassin. An assassin posing as a private gumshoe. Raymond Electromatic is also a robot. And not just any robot ... he is the last robot since the Department of Robot Labor (DORL) saw to the end of robot production. Ray Electromatic is very good at his job but he has one serious flaw. His internal memory tape only provides enough memory for twenty-four hours. For anything beyond that he relies on his provider/boss, Ada to keep him in the know and on track with his assignments. Ada is a computer. A desktop computer that sits in the office of the Electromatic Detective Agency.

In I Only Killed Him Once, the detective office is visited by a mysterious man dressed in black who comes to issue a warning that Ray and Ada are in danger. Ray has the distinct impression that he has seen this man before but he can't remember why or when (24 hour memory, remember). When he asks about it, Ada tells him to forget about it, which is unlike her. Not long after, when Ray comes to the office again because Ada isn't responding to him, he discovers that the agency office has been raided and Ada is gone. It appears as though she may have been dismantled by DORL.
Raymond now has only twenty-four hours of memory tape to find Ada, uncover the identity of the man in black, and determine how the dark stranger fit in to Ada's disappearance.

I've really come to enjoy the Raymond Electromatic mysteries. They are ripping good yarns! This book made me smile with the very first sentence: "They say you should never start with the weather, but look, it was a dark and stormy night and I don't care who knows it." And I smiled the rest of the way through.

Author Adam Christopher puts together a very nice mystery, with a few surprises along the way and does it with this very unique world he has created - a 1960's alternate era with a very futuristic AI computer and robot acting like 1950's noir detectives. Does that sound like fun? It is! But it's more than just fun because the mystery itself is worth exploring.

It makes me sad, however, to read that this is likely the last book in the series. I could read a new Raymond Electromatic Mystery once a year for a very long time if they were made available. But since they likely won't be, you should be sure to pick up your copy now.

Looking for a good book? I Only Killed Him Once by Adam Christopher is the last (?) book in the Raymond Electromatic Mystery series and it is a fun science fiction mystery that you can easily enjoy.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Tim Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What an amazing end to the trilogy! It’s hard to comment a lot on the specifics of the story without spoilers, but I will say the title is quite apt, as Ray is sent to kill someone, does so, then finds him alive later on, so kudos on a great title. The story really wraps up plot threads and themes from the earlier installments in the series (I have read the previous two novels and not read the novelette and the novella), clearly showing that while the previous two books can almost be enjoyed as stand-alone novels, they really do tie in very tightly to the final novel in the trilogy, that all roads led there. Ray develops as a character, a remarkable feat given the nature of his memory, the reader learns a great deal more about the origins of everything in the setting (really getting all the answers), and this is a fantastic mashup, as it both brilliantly succeeds as noir fiction, complete with hidden agendas, red herrings, femme fatales, double crosses, corrupt cops, getting knocked out, surveillance from a car, someone suddenly pulling a gun, great use of the southern California setting, and most of all a central character with a fatal, noirish flaw, but it doesn’t forget it is science fiction either, with the robot elements not just “let’s plug in robots to a noir novel” but it is in fact science fiction over and beyond just because there are robots in the story. Also, great use of the 1960s setting too, complete with Cold War references. This is how you do it.

It is very fast reading. I practically breezed through it one sitting. Just fantastic. It definitely completes the story that thread its ways through the three novels, though I would definitely be down for the further adventures of Ray and Ada.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

c2018 (21) FWFTB: mission, memory tape, stranger, warning. Strangely, after the first 2 books, this came as somewhat of a disappointment. The quote in the front of the book kind of gives a clue. I felt that, whilst the writing style was as interesting as ever, the plot somehow got away from the author. Perhaps the premise could be maintained for two books but the third was a bit of a push and probably had more to do with contractual requirements than a desire to close out the character/plot. To the members of the crew that have read the first two - you don't have to read this one. " And then I woke up and it was another beautiful day in Esmerelda."

[Mark Isaak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ray, a 1960s robot detective-turned-hit man finds himself embroiled in conflicts involving his creator and rival robotics organizations. The plot runs entertainingly if not always plausibly. The characters add little beyond what is necessary for the plot. Adam Christopher is certainly the foremost in the genre of robot noir, but he is still two steps down from Raymond Chandler and at least one down from Isaac Asimov. In particular, a lot of the noir in this book sounded cliched.

[Kurt Rocourt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again I find myself enjoying this series. I actually raced through book 1.5 and book 2 to get to this one. It blurs together for me at the moment. I'm glad it did because all three feel like three episodes of my favorite show. I don't see any reason to not keep reading more stories in this series.

I read this book via NetGalley. I thank them for this book.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fitting close to this very fun series of science fiction detective mysteries. Chandler may have had second thoughts about his distaste for science fiction if he'd read these books. I'm sorry to see this series end, but I hope that one day Adam Christopher brings Ray Electromatic back for another adventure - even if it's only in a novella. These books also have the best covers, by the way.

[Lari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not normally a big fan of noir, but memory shenanigans intrigue me, and the twists were fantastic.

I did suspect that Ada might be the bad guy, and that Ada was based on someone real who may still be out there, but not that the original Ada was the Professor! And I spent the whole book wondering who’s trustworthy, who’s not, and what makes a person who they are.

[Sam Dolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a level of detail that is really impressive and immersive but if this isn't quite you're genre, it's also a little thick. Well plotted though and I didn't feel like I was missing very much having not read the first two.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A robot assassin meets a man his has killed and so starts an odd mystery.

There were some really good elements in this book, but a couple of times I thought "what?" (but not in a good way).

It took around 3 hours to read, so expect the word count is around 55,000.

[Soulfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good and while I was never lost in the story and it works as a standalone I regret not reading the books before it. This will teach me to just grab a random book with awesome cover from the library shelves.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final book in the series and, although it ended well with a number of both surprises and loose ends cleared up, it was for the first two thirds of the book quite pedestrian.
Fortunately, the last third made up for it and it was a satisfying conclusion.

[cat ⭒ · Rating 3 out of 5]

took me 190 pages to realise that this was not, in fact, a ‘momento’ style psychological thriller, but in fact the final book of a trilogy. so for it to have been enjoyable is actually pretty impressive.

[Doreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/30/18 3.5 stars. Full review tk.

[Benny Sperling · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end for Raymondo, really clever weaving everything back and forth

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent conclusion to the Ray Electromatic Detective series where Ray faces his biggest challenges to date, and wraps up the various loose ends nicely.

[Charlotte Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed series. I can just see the books being made into several films. Love the time period, the characters and that how by the last novel everything comes together.