Review: STANDARD HOLLYWOOD DEPRAVITY by Adam Christopher

Publisher Tor
Length 144 pages
Format paperback
Published 2017
Series Ray Electromatic Mysteries #1.5 
My Copy borrowed from the library

My Review

Earlier this year I reviewed Killing Is My Business, the second book in the Ray Electromatic series, and while Standard Hollywood Depravity doesn't quite reach the same heights as that book, it's still a fun quick read that serves as an appetizer  to the full length novels in the series. 

Read my review of Killing Is My Business here.

Standard Hollywood Depravity reads well as both a standalone and introduction to the last robot detective (or hired killer as is the case here) while also linking in nicely with the other books. For readers familiar with Ray and Ada, there's a fair amount of repetition as author Adam Christopher fills in the blanks of Ray and Ada's back-story and some of the unique elements that make Ray the robot that he is - i.e. his limited memory, former occupation, and working arrangements with Ada (the supercomputer who assigns his cases). 

The story is pretty straightforward, Ray is hired to take down Honey, a go-go dancer at a club full of mobsters. Why? He doesn't know, but that's nothing new for Ray. As the story unfolds Ray learns that there's more to this job than meets the eye and the simple hit on Honey is anything but. It's a nice side-bar to the series' full lengths and adds another notch to Ray's belt. 

My rating: 3/5 stars.