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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