Eyes of Diamond, Hair of Gold

Having finally returned from her first case, Detective Allison Newberry is immediately sent on to her next: the murder of a famed inventor. But she won't be solving this one alone. Another detective, the opinionated and unlikable Alistair Mooney, has been sent along as her assistant.

The murdered inventor, Gregory Williams, had surrounded himself with a technological world filled with his creations, including an unsettlingly phony town whose sole purpose was to service his personal obsessions. The few who live in the town full-time were utterly devoted to him, even as they despise one another. Further complicating the case, no solid evidence can be found to cut through the emotions and accusations.

However, the most bizarre aspect of this case isn't the people or the town. Living within the walls of the house are dozens of automatons, mechanical servants who will never grow tired and will never complain about any orders they're given. One automaton in particular, Maximilian, is far more advanced than any of the others, and even possesses the ability to speak with the voice of his creator. The life's work of a genius among geniuses.

Allison is suspicious of him, Alistair despises him, but it is not Maximilian that poses the greatest threat to all those gathered for the funeral, but rather it is Gregory Williams himself and the sprawling manor he spent forty years building.