The Naked Sun

Baley is reunited with his robot partner, R. Daneel Olivaw, and together they interview a cast of eccentric Solarians who find the idea of being in the same room as another person disgusting. Baley, raised underground in Earth's enclosed cities, must also confront his own fear of open spaces under a bright, naked sun. Since robots cannot harm humans, the murder seems impossible, until Baley begins to think carefully about exactly what the laws of robotics forbid.

Asimov combines a satisfying whodunit with a remarkably prescient portrait of a society that has replaced human contact with screens and servants. Readers today will find the Solarians' isolation uncannily familiar. The relationship between Baley and Daneel is warm and understated, and Baley's personal struggle gives the mystery emotional weight.

The prose is plain and the characters can feel stiff, as in much classic science fiction. But the puzzle is clever, the ideas are lasting and the solution is fair. You can read it without the first book, though Baley's journey makes more sense in order. About 288 pages in the Bantam Spectra paperback.