REVIEW: Fantasy In Death by J.D. Robb

Title: Fantasy in Death (In Death #30)
Author: J.D. Robb
Publisher: Putnam
Publication Date: February, 2010
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Rating: 10/10

Description: In the latest novel from #1 New York Times-bestselling author J.D. Robb, it is game over for the criminals pursued by NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas.

Bart Minnock, founder of the computer-gaming giant U-Play, enters his private playroom, and eagerly can't wait to lose himself in an imaginary world, to play the role of a sword-wielding warrior king, in his company's latest top-secret project, Fantastical.

The next morning, he is found in the same locked room, in a pool of blood, his head separated from his body. It is the most puzzling case Eve Dallas has ever faced, and it is not a game. . . .

NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas is having as much trouble figuring out how Bart Minnock was murdered as who did the murdering. The victim's girlfriend seems sincerely grief-stricken, and his quirky-but-brilliant partners at U-Play appear equally shocked. No one seemed to have a problem with the enthusiastic, high-spirited millionaire. Of course, success can attract jealousy, and gaming, like any business, has its fierce rivalries and dirty tricks-as Eve's husband, Roarke, one of U- Play's competitors, knows well. But Minnock was not naive, and quite capable of fighting back in the real world as well as the virtual one.

Eve and her team are about to enter the next level of police work, in a world where fantasy is the ultimate seduction and the price of defeat is death. . . .

My Thoughts: Welcome back to the world of Eve Dallas where she operates at a level most of us can only dream about. With this installment, J.D. Robb takes virtual reality to a whole new level as Eve and her team have to solve a murder where trying to figure out how the victim was actually murdered when there appears to be no plausible explanation proves to be quite challenging. From the outside looking in, this case appears to be unsolvable. I enjoy how Eve Dallas’s mind works and this book is no exception as she analyzes every detail with a fine-tooth comb looking for the slightest hair out of place.

Sadly, there wasn’t enough sparring with Somerset in this book. I have come to enjoy their snark sessions as much as they do and wish there had been more.

One of my favorite things about this series is seeing how the characters have evolved. Early on, I wondered if Eve had a compassionate bone in her body. Oh, sure, she feels passion, anger, satisfaction, and even fear throughout the series, but this is a character that plays her hand very close to her chest. You have no idea what cards she is holding until it’s time to draw. Eve surprises me throughout the series with the range of emotions she displays and the control she exerts on herself to hold herself to her high standards. This book brings us another surprise when the reader is given another glimpse into Eve’s soul and how she has to remain detached from people in order to do her job. To someone who doesn’t know her very well, she may come across as cold and unfeeling. And sometimes to some who do know her well, they make the same assumption about her too.

With every book I wonder where J.D. Robb can take this series to next. There are no limitations. On planet or off, virtual or reality, this series takes the reader to unbelievable heights and depths and we are left to wonder, what next? One thing is for certain, with this series, no matter what happens next, it will be amazing and I am looking forward to my next Eve Dallas excursion.