Review: I ONLY KILLED HIM ONCE

I ONLY KILLED HIM ONCE by Adam Christopher (Tor Books, 2018)

Reviewed by Karen Chisholm

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 twenty-four-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 for Ray and if they want to survive, they need to do exactly what the man in the black hat says. A man that Raymond Electromatic has already killed.

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.

Karen Chisholm is one of Australia's leading crime reviewers. She created Aust Crime Fiction in 2006, a terrific resource - please check it out. Karen also reviews for Newtown Review of Books, and is a Judge of the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel. She kindly shares her reviews of crime and thriller novels written by New Zealanders on Crime Watch as well as on Aust Crime Fiction.