RogerBW's Blog

Leverage in Death, J. D. Robb 08 October 2018

2018 SF/mystery; fifty-eighth (roughly, or 47th novel) of J. D. Robb's In Death series. Someone wears an explosive vest into a meeting to finalise a corporate merger; Lieutenant Eve Dallas has to find out why he did it, and whether someone else is pulling the strings.

Of course they are. The motivation for the murder is a slightly unusual one, but it soon becomes clear at least roughly what must be going on; as usual, it's pinning it down to individuals that's the hard part. There are errors made on both sides, and they're plausible errors given the personalities involved.

The B plot involves Dallas' assistant Peabody being invited to the Oscars (it makes sense in context)… but there's a case on, so can she be given the leave? This all goes pretty smoothly, showing mostly how sensible these people have become since we first met them.

Meanwhile most of the minor series characters are absent; for the most part this is a straight story with the regulars, continuing to reveal themselves to the reader and further developing their relationships. It's certainly a series entry; while you wouldn't be lost starting here, because "police work that looks a lot like the modern sort, only in the Future" is not a complicated genre to get hold of, you wouldn't have the history with these characters that can give significant context to small actions.

Yes, all right, this is one of the more formulaic books in the series; it's not going outside the conventions as Dark in Death did, and it's mostly a good example of more of the same rather than something stunning and different. That's not necessarily a bad thing; if you aren't tired of the usual stuff being done a bit differently, then you may well enjoy this one.

To be followed by Connections in Death.

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Previous in series: Dark in Death | Series: In Death | Next in series: Connections in Death

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