About the BookA blend of science fiction and stylish mystery noir featuring a robot detective: the stand alone sequel to Made to Kill
Another golden morning in a seedy town, and a new memory tape for intrepid PI-turned-hitman--and last robot left in working order-- Raymond Electromatic. When his comrade-in-electronic-arms, Ada, assigns a new morning roster of clientele, Ray heads out into the LA sun, only to find that his skills might be a bit rustier than he expected....
Killing is My Business is the latest in Christopher's noir oeuvre, hot on the heels of the acclaimed Made to Kill.
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AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY
Haven't Read Book 1?
That's ok, you can read this book as a stand-alone, but if you want to hear about the first book - scroll down for a Review for Made to Kill ...
Rating:
Review:
Before hopping into Killing is my Business, I wanted to read the first book in the series, even though you really can read these as stand-alone books, I wanted to be sure. The end of book one had a bit of an ending and I was assuming that this book would enlighten us a bit more about that ending - in a way that new readers would not be too spoiled for book 1 - that did not happen, so I still have some questions about that and I may have shot myself in the foot, so-to-speak, because I was waiting for something in this book that never really came.
All that being said though, this book was just as good as book one. They both take a little bit of time to warm up and again like most mysteries, everything comes together in the last few chapters and you are left in awe about how it all worked out.
In this story, Ray has taken a few jobs - one of the men killed himself, so Ray got a pass on that one, then he is looking for another man he cannot seem to find, when a third one comes in and it is actually not to kill someone. Ray becomes immersed into a mob-boss home and essentially becomes a hit-man for the mob for a little while, all while being a spy more than a killer.
Ray again is an interesting character, the 24 hour memory still messes with me as a reader - I keep trying to think of how I would function without yesterdays information - maybe things would be easier, not sure. The author does a great job with it though and it is believable. The plot of this one was not as action packed as in the other book, but it was still very interesting and caused a bit of anxiety.
This book also ends on a bit of a question so I am not sure how that will be included into the next stand alone... but I am interested in finding out. These are great for lovers of mysteries, murders, robots and science fiction.
Praise for KILLING IS MY BUSINESS
"Hits hard, spins your head around, and leaves you stunned. The Ray Electromatic mysteries are so freakin’ perfect you’d think robot hitmen and retro supercomputers had always been part of noir fiction.”—Peter Clines, author of Paradox Bound and The Fold
"Humor, action, and heart: everything I've come to expect from an Adam Christopher book, and then some. A marvelous read!"—New York Timesbestseller Jason M. Hough, author of Zero World
“Delivers like a punch from a two-ton robot in a zoot suit.”—Delilah Dawson
"Atmospheric and charming as hell. Adam Christopher has an extraordinary talent for scooping you up and dropping you into an alternative LA that feels just as real as the street outside your house."—Emma Newman
About the BookIt was just another Tuesday morning when she walked into the office--young, as I suspected they all might be, another dark brunette with some assistance and enough eye black to match up to Cleopatra. And who am I? I'm Ray, the world's last robot, famed and feared in equal measure, which suits me just fine--after all, the last place you'd expect to find Hollywood's best hit man is in the plain light of day.
Raymond Electromatic is good at his job, as good as he ever was at being a true Private Investigator, the lone employee of the Electromatic Detective Agency--except for Ada, office gal and super-computer, the constant voice in Ray's inner ear. Ray might have taken up a new line of work, but money is money, after all, and he was programmed to make a profit. Besides, with his twenty-four-hour memory-tape limits, he sure can keep a secret.
When a familiar-looking woman arrives at the agency wanting to hire Ray to find a missing movie star, he's inclined to tell her to take a hike. But she had the cold hard cash, a demand for total anonymity, and tendency to vanish on her own.
Plunged into a glittering world of fame, fortune, and secrecy, Ray uncovers a sinister plot that goes much deeper than the silver screen--and this robot is at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
Made to Kill is the thrilling new speculative noir from novelist and comic writer Adam Christopher.
Rating:
Review:
In Made to Kill we are introduced to Ray Electromatic, the last robot. His job is now to be a private detective/ killer for hire and make money for himself with the help of his computer Ada. Together she is the brains and he is the muscle. In the story Ray is confronted by a beautiful woman, she asks him to find and kill a man, and to make things more interesting she has paid with a bag of gold bars. Finding this man leads Ray into some very weird things happening in Hollywood - there might be a cult, there is radiation coming from somewhere, and there is a bigger scheme he must flush out.
This mystery was very fun to read, Ray while a little stiff as a character (pun intended, he is a metal robot), has a very interesting perspective - he can only remember what has happened today, everything else is wiped nightly and he is briefed by the computer in the morning. I found it interesting for him to do a job like this only knowing what he had been told about his previous day and the computer Ada - she is a strange one.
The story itself seemed like a jumbled mess when you are reading through it but somehow, like most mysteries, everything ties together in the end. Overall it was a fun and different mystery. If you are into Sci Fi and Mysteries, this is one for you.
Praise for the RAY ELECTROMATIC MYSTERIES
"Robot noir in 60s Los Angeles? You had me at 'Hello.'"—John Scalzi, New York Times bestselling novelist
"Gripping, funny, deadly and suspenseful."—Boing Boing
“Delivers like a punch from a two-ton robot in a zoot suit.”—Lila Bowen (aka Delilah Dawson)
"The dialogue is effortlessly swift and clever, and even the B-movie climax is a spectacle to behold. Above that, though, Ray sparks to live, and his antiheroic slant only makes him that much more compelling and and sympathetic. Knowing that there are only two more Raymond Electromatic mysteries to come is the book's only disappointment."—NPR
"Genre mash-ups don't always succeed, but this one will please fans of both gumshoes and laser beams."—Publishers Weekly
"A fun, fast read for anyone willing to take the speculative leap--a must-add for most fiction collections."—Booklist (starred review)
"Made to Kill is yet more proof that we should all be thankful for Adam Christopher and his imagination. This tale of robot noir is unlike anything I’ve ever read—Adam’s is a weird and wonderful voice and we are lucky to have it."—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of Aftermath
"Adam Christopher has brilliantly deduced what should have been obvious all along: Classic noir and robots are a perfect match. Part Chandler, part Asimov, and part Philip K. Dick, Made to Kill is a rip-roaring cocktail of smart, sharp, twisty, cyber-pulp awesomeness."—Adam Sternbaugh, author of Shovel Ready
"Made to Kill is just the sort of exciting genre collision that marks out Adam Christopher as one of the hottest new young SF writers."—Paul Cornell, author of The Severed Streets
"A smart, rollicking noir/SF mashup. One of the best books I've read all year."—Kelly Braffet, author of Save Yourself
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| Photo Credit: Lou Abercrombie |
About the Author
Adam Christopher’s debut novel EMPIRE STATE was SciFiNow’s Book of the Year and a Financial Times Book of the Year. The author of MADE TO KILL, STANDARD HOLLYWOOD DEPRAVITY, and KILLING IS MY BUSINESS, Adam’s other novels include SEVEN WONDERS, THE AGE ATOMIC, and THE BURNING DARK.
Adam has also written the official tie-in novels for the hit CBS television show ELEMENTARY, and the award-winning DISHONORED video game franchise, and with Chuck Wendig, wrote THE SHIELD for Dark Circle/Archie Comics. Adam is also a contributor to the STAR WARS: FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW 40th anniversary anthology.
Born in New Zealand, Adam has lived in Great Britain since 2006.
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