If you could pay money to experience life as another person, alive or dead, would you? You could accept an award as a famous actor, or score a winning touchdown at the super bowl as a professional football player. You can even enjoy a short affair as anyone who might be selling their intimate experiences. As expected, the possibilities are endless but can get dark very quickly with this technology. But in the Detective Barnes series, plenty of people are excited to sell their experiences, while others are willing to pay for them. For Detective John Barnes, however, it’s part of the job, and there is a serial killer on the loose who is using the technology to taunt him. 

The Detective Barnes series by Scott J. Holliday begins with Punishment. Our protagonist has the unfortunate yet necessary task of using a machine to live the final moments of murder victims in order to catch their killers. He feels each victim’s physical pain and horror as if they were his own – each stab wound, each broken bone, the feeling of terror in their final moments, etc. If that weren’t horrible enough, use of the machine has a neuropsychological effect on anyone who hooks up to it. Consequently, Barnes feels the presence of the victims. He involuntarily hears their thoughts in his mind and feels their emotions, long after he is finished accessing the memory. 

Holliday deserves recognition for taking a common genre and throwing in a futuristic technology, with fascinating implications on society. He successfully explores how society would respond if such technology were available. For example, people get addicted to the machine and are easily identifiable via injection marks, shaved temples, and seemingly acting out multiple personalities.

Furthermore, the machine is even used as part of a criminal’s sentencing. They are forced to live the final and terrifying moments of their own victims as part of their punishment. These details, along with Holliday’s compelling writing style, make up for the fact that John Barnes falls into the stereotype of burnt-out homicide detective troubled by tragic events from his past. Interestingly enough, however, he develops feelings for a woman named Jessica who was actually a romantic fantasy of one of the victims – likely a side effect of using the machine. 

In any case, the killer, nicknamed Calavera, has a gripping backstory and leaves poems with clues after each murder. He also knows that law enforcement will access the memories of his victims, so he begins to taunt Barnes by name during their final moments; Of course, the victims are left confused after hearing things like, “have you figured it out yet, Detective Barnes?” right before getting a pickax to the chest. Readers will get hooked as Barnes follows the clues left behind by Calavera, only to encounter a smart twist near the end. This twist also sets up the premise of the second book, Machine City. 

The next book in the Detective Barnes series is Machine City, and picks up nearly where Punishment left off. John is no longer on the force and enjoying married life with Jessica and father to their young son. Authorities have outlawed the machine after realizing the detrimental effects on those who continuously use it. But of course, just because something is illegal doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find. And now a little girl is missing, along with Detective Flaherty who was working on the case. So Barnes has to once again hook up in order to help find them both before it’s too late; unfortunately, it comes at great cost to his marriage and family. 

Holliday takes this world a step further, exploring how far the personalities within a “host” can develop and take over. Barnes follows the clues found by Detective Flaherty, who became very close to finding the missing girl before he himself went missing. Readers might even sympathize with the lead suspect after learning more about his backstory – that is, until we realize all of the horrible things he’s done.

Nevertheless, the clues Holliday leaves for us in Machine City, right up to another smart twist (or two). From there, the action and suspense keeps readers glued until the very end. While both books are easy to finish, readers will be left wanting more from Detective Barnes and this alternative reality.