Once again, J. D. Robb amazes readers with the perfect balance of police procedure and time spent with friends and colleagues.
The story opens with Dallas and Roake attending a gigantic benefit for Sarah's Song and mingling with friends Nadine and Mavis. According to Roarke's Marriage Rules, spouses must support each other in situations like this, so Dallas is trying hard to be a good wife. However, as the event winds down, a murder scene summons Dallas to attend.
Billionaire Nathan Barrister is found dead in his home office, the victim of an in-home robbery. Just one little detail that alters the significance of the crime. It seems Henry Barrister, Nathan's father and recently deceased, had a secret vault filled with stolen treasure – art and jewels – like the infamous Royal Suite and a painting by Renoir. The family tells Dallas they discovered the vault during renovations after Henry's death. Due to the significance of the various treasures, the family was working to return them to their rightful places.
Due to the nature of the items in the vault, Dallas contacts Interpol. Apparently, Henry had paid for "paintings, jewels, objects d'art stolen, then hoarded them for his own personal, private enjoyment." Dallas will need Interpol's help to find the owners and return the stolen items after verifying their authenticity.
There is one small problem: it turns out Roarke stole the Royal Suite when he was 18 for a private broker. While Dallas is nervous, Roarke swears the broker is dead, and no one knows of his involvement in the original theft.
Since the family was unaware of the vault’s existence, Dallas and her team must now find out who knew about the hidden treasure, planned the robbery, and murdered Nathan Barrister.
Ms. Robb writes an impressive account of how the police determine who discovered Henry’s secret and pursue the thieves. STOLEN IN DEATH is the most intriguing and imaginative novel in this author’s series.
A blow to the head with a block of amethyst has left multibillionaire Nathan Barrister dead—while nearby, a vault, its door ajar, sits filled with priceless paintings, jewelry, and other treasures. Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband, Roarke—who misspent his youth in Ireland as a scrappy thief—recognizes at least two stolen pieces among the hoard. The crime scene suggests a burglar caught in the act. But only one item seems to be missing.
Then it’s revealed that the vault had actually belonged to the victim’s late father—and no one in the household knew it was there until a recent remodeling project exposed it. To protect the family name and business, they explain to Eve, they’d been looking for a way to return the ill-gotten gains anonymously and avoid the police. But now the police are all over their elegant house, and have a bigger, bloodier mystery to solve.
By all accounts, Nathan Barrister was a good man, a generous employer, a devoted husband and father. As for his father—he clearly had secrets. Now it’s up to Eve and her team to find out if those secrets got Nathan killed—and if it was a crime of passion or revenge.
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