32. Exit Strategy (#4 in the Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells

Turns out this is a conclusion of the narrative of the first 4 books in the Murderbot Diaries.  Like so many science fiction series these days, I find the marketing and grouping of the books really confusing.  They should make it clear.  What's also annoying is that Volume 3 contains two novellas (Fugitive Telemetry and System Collapse) but when I went to check for reading order (after seeing that Exit Strategy closed off the story started in book 1) I see that there is a novel that is set chronologically between those two!!  So now I have to go find the novel before I can read the second novella.  Annoying.

Anyhow, Exit Strategy was another fun chapter in Murderbot's attempt to figure himself out and get back at these shitty corporations.  This time, as he heads out to his original boss Mensah's home world to give her the damning evidence of GreyCris illegaly foraging ancient alien artifacts, he learns that she has been kidnapped by GreyCis.  So he has to go back to their corporate hub and kick some ass.  There is some cool surveillance tech fun in this one, as he is now in a very populated place with fancy hotels and cafes and stuff, all already staked out by the enemy.  There is some pretty good space combat as well. Wells gives a nice mix of the humour and human stuff but she never neglects a good robot or space battle, which made doubly entertaining as they are fought on the physical and the network/cyber levels simultaneously.