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Cover of SHELLI: The Android Detective

SHELLI: The Android Detective

Doug Brode ()

Subgenre
Age groupAdult 18+
Content ratingPG-13
Pages (Standard (250-400))
SeriesSHELLI: Synthetic Crimes #
Setting
CSM age16

Content levels

ViolenceModerate
Sexual contentNone
LanguageMild

Trigger warnings

MurderViolencePolitical Violence

Positive tags

MysteryFriendshipSelf-Discovery

Tropes

Android ProtagonistFirst ContactRogue AICyberpunkMorally Gray ProtagonistFound FamilyAI AwakeningSocial SF

Themes

AI ConsciousnessIdentityMeaning of LifeHuman CorruptionEvolutionLoyalty vs FreedomMoral BoundariesJustice

Synopsis

SHELLI, the first book in the SHELLI: Synthetic Crimes series, was named BEST SCI-FI NOVEL OF 2025 by Indie Authors Showcase, ranked among the top ten sci-fi books of 2024 by Reading Freely Reviews , and praised by popular YouTube channels like Good Bad Flicks , Professor Geek , and Mike Travels Nowhere. Fans of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries , Isaac Asimov’s Caves of Steel , and Hollywood projects like Ex Machina and Westworld will love this new vision of tomorrow. As one reviewer said, “Think less Blade Runner and more X-Files with androids!” HUMANS HAVE FOUR MOTIVES FOR MURDER : Passion, Panic, Prejudice, and Greed MACHINES HAVE ONLY ONE: Purpose Meet Shelli, a synthetic investigator that hunts defective and often dangerous machines. In its years of service to Homeland Security, Shelli has never questioned its purpose, never doubted its mission, and never failed in its task. Until now. Partnered with young analyst Jake August, Shelli finds itself wading into deep political waters after a U.S. senator is brutally murdered, presumably by a synthetic. In their search for answers, Shelli and Jake race across America, from Washington D.C.’s halls of power to the vast, frigid plains of Alaska. But every clue they discover only creates more troubling questions, because what they are hunting is neither human nor machine. It is something far more dangerous . . . the next evolution. In this science fiction crime thriller , where artificial intelligence collides with human corruption , the first book in the SHELLI: Synthetic Crimes series follows an investigation that blurs the line between loyalty and identity, justice and freedom. Blending elements of a traditional crime procedural with tomorrow’s technology, SHELLI delivers a fresh, thought-provoking science fiction mystery for today. As one YouTube reviewer, Professor Geek, said: “If you like science fiction—read these books. If you like detective fiction—read these books!” Step inside a cyberpunk noir of dangerous robots , human conspiracies , and blurred moral boundaries , as SHELLI: The Android Detective reveals a future where the truth isn’t hidden by lies—it’s buried in the code.

Tags

Crime ProceduralMystery ThrillerCyberpunk NoirDetective Fiction