Author: J.D. Robb
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: February 2021
Genre: Mystery / Romantic Suspense / Urban Fantasy
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: In the new Eve Dallas police thriller from #1 New York Times-bestselling author J. D. Robb, what looked like a lover's quarrel turned fatal has larger--and more terrifying--motives behind it...
The scene in the West Village studio appears to be classic crime-of-passion: two wine glasses by the bed, music playing, and a young sculptor named Ariel Byrd with the back of her head bashed in. But when Dallas tracks down the wealthy Upper East Side woman who called 911, the details don't add up. Gwen Huffman is wealthy, elegant, comforted by her handsome fiancé as she sheds tears over the trauma of finding the body--but why did it take an hour to report it? And why is she lying about little things?
As Eve and her team look into Gwen, her past, and the people around her, they find that the lies are about more than murder. As with sculpture, they need to chip away at the layers of deception to find the shape within--and soon they're getting the FBI involved in a case that involves a sinister, fanatical group and a stunning criminal conspiracy.
My Thoughts: After so many books in this series, to continually be surprised is important. The fifty-second book in this intriguing and entertaining series provides plenty of surprises. Initially, this book appears to be another run of the mill homicide that appears to be a crime of passion committed by a woman with secrets to keep regarding her sexual orientation. As Eve and her crack-shot Scooby gang begin to peel back the layers, we see so much more there besides murder. Kidnapping, rape, torture, human trafficking, just to name a few. The sordid nature of the people at the root of the organization called Natural Order make Warren Jeffs appear vanilla and harmless.
I continue to be amazed and beyond impressed at the way Eve’s brain puts it all together and zeroes in on her suspects as if she were deciding what to eat for breakfast or what outfit to wear to work on a given day. She really does operate several levels above the rest of us and when you partner that with someone like Roark, who is also equally brilliant, they are a force of nature. I can’t take my eyes off of them, in complete enthrallment at what this dynamic duo will pull off next.
I also enjoyed seeing more snark from Peabody in this one. Some of her deadpan one-liners delivered with a straight face and off the cuff had me giggling with delight. Eve really hit the mark when she picked Peabody for her squad. I would be remiss in my praise if I don’t throw some love to Susan Ericksen, the narrator of the audiobook editions. She captures the personalities of all the characters brilliantly, but especially with Eve and Peabody. They go together like peanut butter and jelly and I know I am in for quite a ride with these two and Ms. Ericksen makes it come to life with little to no effort, it seems. At this point, I doubt I will ever read any of these books in any other format.
I am in high anticipation for the next installment to see how the house remodeling with Mavis, Leonardo, Peabody and McNabb is progressing and I can’t get enough of Bella and her obvious delight being around Eve and Roark. She’s a smart cookie as being around them makes me feel the same way.
My Final Verdict: As of this writing, there are currently fifty-six installments to this series and I highly recommend this series for the interesting story lines that remain fresh instead of feeling cookie-cutter, which happens all too often in a long running series. I also highly recommend this series for the characters. They are well-written, highly developed with unique and individual personalities that come to life and jump off the page (or for you audio fans, like me, jump into your ear) and grab your heartstrings and never let go.
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