With SALVATION IN DEATH J.D. Robb delivers another fast-paced addition to the ever evolving "In Death" series. I know fans of Robb have been eagerly awaiting the release of her newest book. What I wonder is... what are they hoping the book reveals? Do they want to see more of Eve and Roarke's relationship, the working relationship between Eve and Peabody, Eve's adversarial relationship with Sommerset, or last but certainly not least do they just want a straight police procedural where the reader is given enough hints to be able to solve the crime?

SALVATION IN DEATH opens with a catholic priest poisoned and dying during the celebration of a funeral mass. It's up to Eve to discover the identity of the killer and make him or her pay for the crime. When a television evangelist dies by the same method Eve must figure out whether or not it's the same murderer or a copycat. And the race begins. How many will be dead before Eve successfully puts the killer away?

Overall, I personally believe the "In Death" series is an interesting enjoyable read, and each book continues to bring the characters forward in their interpersonal relationships. However, SALVATION IN DEATH seemed a little too easy to me. I didn't feel the anguish that I normally feel when Eve is working a case. Taking Eve into a religious arena was definitely a place where she wouldn't have been comfortable, but the intensity of her uneasiness in having to work through the rituals and traditions of religion was not what I was expecting, and I feel an opportunity to present a new side of Eve was missed.

As a reader who loves the interpersonal relationships Robb has developed between Eve and the very extensive cast of supporting characters, I was dismayed with the lack of Eve's growth as a friend. For me when I know that a new Robb is coming these relationships are what I look for along with a new interesting and twisting case. SALVATION IN DEATH delivered an intriguing case and solution but left me wanting more development between the "In Death" ensemble cast.