The iconic shower scene in the movie Psycho sends shivers
down the spines of most viewers, but now it's been used as
a cover for murder. A young actress is killed while viewing
the classic movie with a friend and Lieutenant Eve Dallas is
determined to find the murderer. A best- selling author
provides Eve with her biggest lead, as the murder scene is
eerily reminiscent of one of her books. Will more murders
follow, copying the various murder scenes in the author's
books?
I am unabashedly a huge fan of J.D. Robb's books, and I
dive into each one as soon as I get my hands on a copy. From
the characters to the carefully plotted murder
investigations, each In
Death book feels like I'm visiting with friends
while discussing the latest police case. DARK IN DEATH
offers a bit of a twist as the murders are based on books,
and so it was fun to see Eve and Roarke cozily reading
together in their library.
The focus is primarily on the investigation in this
installment of the series, but we still get to see glimpses
of some of the secondary characters (like Mavis) who have
warmed our hearts over the years. I have to admit that I
missed Eve snarking at Somerset but I'm sure he'll be back
from his vacation soon. One of the little quirks I love
about Eve's character is her penchant for humor in
unexpected situations. There is a scene in a yarn store that
still cracks me up even as I think about it now.
DARK IN DEATH is the 46th book in the In
Death series and I still can't get enough of Eve,
Dallas, Peabody, McNabb, and all the other and engaging
characters J.D. Robb has introduced us to over the years.
I'm already looking forward to the 47th book as I can't
wait to see what J.D. Robb has in store for us next. Bravo,
J.D. Robb, for yet another stunningly good book!
It was a stab in the dark.
On a chilly February night, during a screening of
Psycho in midtown, someone sunk an ice pick into the
back of Chanel Rylan's neck, then disappeared quietly into
the crowds of drunks and tourists in Times Square. To
Chanel's best friend, who had just slipped out of the
theater for a moment to take a call, it felt as unreal as
the ancient black-and-white movie up on the screen. But
Chanel's blood ran red, and her death was anything but
fictional.
Then, as Eve Dallas puzzles over a homicide that seems
carefully planned and yet oddly personal, she receives a tip
from an unexpected source: an author of police thrillers who
recognizes the crime―from the pages of her own book.
Dallas
doesn't think it's coincidence, since a recent strangulation
of a sex worker resembles a scene from her writing as well.
Cops look for patterns of behavior: similar weapons, similar
MOs. But this killer seems to find inspiration in someone
else's imagination, and if the theory holds, this may be
only the second of a long-running series.
The good news is that Eve and her billionaire husband Roarke
have an excuse to curl up in front of the fireplace with
their cat, Galahad, reading mystery stories for research.
The bad news is that time is running out before the next
victim plays an unwitting role in a murderer's deranged
private drama―and only Eve can put a stop to a creative
impulse gone horribly, destructively wrong.
From the author of Echoes in Death, this is the
latest of the edgy, phenomenally popular police procedurals
that Publishers Weekly calls "inventive,
entertaining, and clever."