"Coming Attractions," by Vinnie Hansen, in Invasive Species: Stories by Northern California Crime Writers, edited by Josh Pachter, Sinc NorCal, 2024.
Something different this week, science fiction, but crime as well.
Bill and Sara bought a maid. Ester is a human-appearing robot with a certain uncanny-valley creepiness, but extremely efficient.
Until she starts reading mystery novels. And, as it turns out, she is reading other kinds of books as well.
"We're not a story, Ester. We're real life."
"I'M not real life."
The story manages to be creepy, funny, and thought-provoking at once.
