2018 SF/mystery; fifty-seventh (roughly, or 46th novel) of J. D. Robb's
In Death series. A woman is stabbed while watching Psycho in a
cinema; there's no obvious motive for killing her. Homicide Lieutenant
Eve Dallas soon discovers roughly what's going on, but it'll still be
a long twisty road to catching the killer.
The main new element this time is that the killer seems to be
copying the murders in a series of police procedural novels, and this
allows Robb to vent a bit about the frustrations of her writerly life:
the claims that she must have a secret writing partner, the story
ideas sent in by fans and followed by accusations of plagiarism, and
so on. All of these tie somewhat into the crime plot as well, so it
doesn't come over as self-indulgent.
There are continuing characters doing their usual things, and the
overall plot arc is familiar, but to me this book felt surprisingly
fresh; I tend to like the series entries that try something a little
different, and while I can see a devoted fan of the series regarding
this one as a bit of a downer I thought the meta-story about writing
worked rather well.
To be followed by Leverage in Death.
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