STRANGERS IN DEATH
J. D. Robb
Putnam
ISBN: 978-0-399-15470-6
February 2008
Romantic Suspense

Over the past year I have systematically read every one of the J.D. Robb novels in publication order. I think this enhanced my intense enjoyment of this latest offering in her ongoing series about detective Eve Dallas and her industrialist, billionaire husband, Roark.

Taking place in 2060 New York, readers are drawn into the world of the wealthy and a particularly lurid murder in which a prominent businessman is found in his Park Avenue apartment tied to his bed, naked, with chords of black velvet. Eve Dallas is not shocked that Thomas Ander’s death becomes the fodder of all the tabloids and newspapers. What she is curious about is the incongruity between the man’s life and death. Supposedly happily married, the sporting goods mogul is thought by all to be one of the good guys who loved sports and his nephew.

Nothing about the death makes much sense and the novel painstakingly details Eve’s careful sifting through people and information. Of course, it helps that Roark owns the building where Anders died and has access to the most sophisticated computer equipment in the world. Eve is suspicious of everything and approaches the solutions to the murder like a complex puzzle.

The core of this novel, and probably the best part, is the ever deepening relationship between these two fascinating people. The dialogue is sparkling and enhances the reader’s sense of the marriage and the intense bond felt by these two people with such difficult early lives. Secondary characters from other books play a part in the novel and as always, it is delightful to re-visit how they are doing.

By the end of this book, I was looking forward to the next installment from this talented, brilliant author who ALWAYS writes a book I choose to read.

Reviewed by Jeri Neal
Rating: 4 ½