RogerBW's Blog

Encore in Death, J. D. Robb 19 August 2024

2023 romance/SF/mystery; 56th novel of J. D. Robb's In Death series (SF police procedurals). The famous actress throws a party to celebrate a new project; then her husband drops dead of a champagne cocktail meant for her.

Well now, that was unexpected. These stories tend to be pretty light mysteries at most, and I read them largely for the atmosphere. But this one contains a genuinely challenging mystery plot, with multiple plausible suspects, even if it still takes the format of a thriller (there's no point where Robb hangs a sign saying "you now have all the evidence, make your choice").

There's the shadow of the past, and people who are horrible but not necessarily murderers, and people who are lovely and possibly are murderers. There's a genuine sense of loss at the death. Of course, most of the people involved are professional actors, so…

All right, I think Robb has the LD of cyanide off by an order of magnitude, but honestly it would have been fine if she hadn't named a quantity at all. Some of the series regulars turn up, but the story is mostly for the principals and guest cast.

This series has its ups and downs, but for me as a traditional mystery fan this one's a winner.

[Buy this at Amazon] and help support the blog. ["As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases."]

Previous in series: Desperation in Death | Series: In Death | Next in series: Payback in Death

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