Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells [Review]

Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries #6) by Martha Wells
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: June 4, 2025

The Murderbot Diaries
1. All Systems Red
2. Artificial Condition
2.5. Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy
3. Rogue Protocol
4. Exit Strategy
4.5. Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
5. Network Effect
6. Fugitive Telemetry - Paperback | Kindle
7. System Collapse

Martha Wells
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body in the station mall.

When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)

Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!

Again!

Thoughts on Fugitive Telemetry: We're stepping back to events that happened on Preservation Station before Murderbot and its humans were abducted and had to engage in some thrilling heroics to save ART, ART's crew, and engage in (more) corporate politics with entities who do NOT have the colonists of a failing colony's best interests at heart. This time around, we get to watch Murderbot engage with humans and help with an investigation while dealing with the strict restrictions placed on it. Because, you know, even the good folk of Preservation are wary of a rogue SecUnit.

So, while running some (probably) needed security for Dr. Mensah, Murderbot discovers a dead body. With some gentle nudging by Dr. Mensah (both to Murderbot and the station security team), Murderbot assists in the investigation. And yeah, there's a little tension on the human side of things since security doesn't know Murderbot and doesn't understand that it would much rather consume mass quantities of media than interact with humans.

BUT...Murderbot is good at disseminating information. It thinks outside the box (I honestly don't even know if it HAS a box anymore, TBH) and doesn't have emotional entanglements with any of the individuals who could have committed this crime and so suspects everyone. To be fair, it also systematically strikes people from its suspect list once their alibi has been confirmed. As it follows the clues and works on figuring things out, things get sticky. As in, there are things going on that make even a jaded construct not happy.

The events in this book relate to the situation Muderbot and its humans are dealing with on the failed colony planet (Murderbot uses some of the things it directly experiences here to try to help the colonists on the other planet) and they are MESSED up. But Murderbot is up to the task. Even if it would rather watch its shows instead.