FURY IN DEATH, the SIXTY-THIRD In Death series novel featuring Eve Dallas

FURY IN DEATH
J.D. ROBB
St. Martin's Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$14.99 ebook, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: In the new crime thriller from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author, Lt. Eve Dallas journeys into the darkness where murder is born…

NYSPD homicide detective Eve Dallas never knows what to expect when she gets word of a body. It could be an elderly man who made the mistake of climbing a ladder in slippery footwear. And the next call could be a wealthy biotech executive beaten to death in his home office—but what was Larry Chu’s mistake?

The victim’s corpse is so mangled and damaged it’s hard to believe a lone, unarmed assailant could have managed it. The killer was clearly unnaturally strong—and smart enough to find a way into Chu’s highly secure building. Most of all, whoever did this was very, very angry.

The excessive violence leads Dallas to conclude that this was a deeply personal act, born of a rage that she can’t excuse but can understand thanks to her own traumatic past. And though the motive seems rooted in heated emotion rather than cold hard cash, she can’t ignore the suspicious bank account in the Cayman Islands, or the shadowy, profit-hungry company Chu worked for. The mystery only grows when it turns out Chu isn’t the only victim—and Dallas will need to tear through one layer of secrecy after another to reveal what lies behind this explosion of fury...

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: The story starts with a huge spoiler and it's not the perp's identity. It's a weird place to put one of those, Author Robb, and I think rafts of people have been hollerin' at you online.

A very interesting slantwise take on the Luigi Mangione case, with a deeply aggrieved victim deciding on exacting revenge against the corporate scum he once worked for after they cause him irreparable harm. It's terrible to contemplate the events that drove him to take the actions he took.

It's Eve and Delia solving the how part of the crimes, uncovering deeply buried secrets and unearthing the bodies literally everyone in the story would prefer to remain buried if only for decorum's sake...there were *awful* crimes committed in connection to this case.

I'm routinely gruntled by the explicitly anti-capitalist messaging in these stories. It gives me a happy dose of fellow-feeling for the undoubtedly well-off Author Robb to expressly go out of her way to chastise greed that blinds the greedy to morality and common sense, while loving and enjoying a billionaire with that lifestyle because no one's ever said Roarke is an evil rotten-souled bastard.

I'm sure it's just me, but it feels like this is the first time I've heard MacNab's name? Delia and Summerset and that repugnant felid all recrudesce as expected, but MacNab? No bells in my brain so much as clinked still less rang. I got an unnerved frisson, though, about the seemingly eternal housewarming party FINALLY coming home (!) to roost...is Author Robb planning to retire now, after I finally found my way into the series by starting at #40? No fair, if so, and I'll kick off big style if there's no #64 in 2027.

I myownself think you'd do best to start where I did rather than here. It's okay to get this plot early but most of the best fun is dynamics that develop best over time. Start with Obsession in Death, #40, for maximal character and series-story enjoyment.

J.D. ROBB'S PAGE: Eve Dallas series #61 FRAMED IN DEATH,& #62 STOLEN IN DEATH

FRAMED IN DEATH
J.D. ROBB
St. Martin's Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$14.99 ebook, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Death imitates art in the brand-new crime thriller starring homicide cop Eve Dallas from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author J.D. Robb.

Manhattan is filled with galleries and deep-pocketed collectors who can make an artist's career with a wave of a hand. But one man toils in obscurity, his brilliance unrecognized while lesser talents bask in the glory he believes should be his. Come tomorrow, he vows, the city will be buzzing about his work.

Indeed, before dawn, Lt. Eve Dallas is speeding toward the home of the two gallery owners whose doorway has been turned into a horrifying crime scene overnight. A lifeless young woman has been elaborately costumed and precisely posed to resemble the model of a long-ago Dutch master, and Dallas plunges into her investigation.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: I'm new(ish) to the Eve Dallas storyverse. An abortive early run went badly and left me not interested in her. I tried again when someone whose taste is like mine, queer sex and crimes that do not involve above-the-necessary sexual violence aganst women and zero rapes (never gonna happen in Eve's world) told me to start at #40 (Obsession In Death) to get past some issues. I listened, I'm okay with the series now; but there is a LOT more straight-people sex than I ever want in a book I purchase for myself.

That said, this art-crime thriller gave good value for icks endured. The art world of 2061 is the art world of 1761 with faster transportation; the same sort of narcissists will always become artists because without that drive, why would one dream of putting one's creative soul out there for any- and everyone to opine about, comment on, write nastygrams about. Now thwart the narcissist's desire for eyeblinks, and watch the meltdown. It took the form of murder in a very arty setting this time.

Eve's no stranger to the stranger side of life. I don't want to harp on how she came by her PTSD, but it raised my hair (what's left of it) and my gorge. The revolting details...well, find out yourselves or start at book 40 and learn more slowly. Moving on...the body is discovered in a location that a stonking great clue. But Robb's no knob, she misdirects and obfuscates and casts doubt on the obvious, facile solution. I was sure I knew why, of course, it's in synopsis. I was most of the way to a conclusion (the right one) when Robb bobbed a big ol' red herring at me. I'm not five-starring the read because that certain reveal happened earlier than I prefer in my murder investigation stories.

Still, *happy sigh*

I like playing at solving the mysteries, and even more when Something Exculpatory Happens (but it gets explained later). Keeps me from autopiloting past the clues. Ma'at is served, of course. There are mysteries where the perp does not get punished, and that's okay; then there are the ones whose perps died before they're about to be punished. Those mildly do not please my orderly side.

I fear the Spoiler Stasi's shrieking vituperative hordes, so that is explicitly a general observation, not a hint. The entire point of this story is to examine in fine detail Entitlement. What could possibly be more timely. Just ask Prince Andrew.

A better-than-average reading experience for me, in a long series that seems not to sag as much as I'd expect for how long it's been running. The prose is never the problem, it's pleasant to read, but nothing stands out. I think that's a gift Robb gives to her readers: Shes's not calling attention to the Writerlyness or the Phrasesmithing. She is telling you the story effectively, unadornedly; you get the story, not the writer.

Generous of you, ma'am. Thank you most kindly for the gift.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

STOLEN IN DEATH
J.D. ROBB
St. Martin's Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$14.99 ebook, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: A violent death and a vault of stolen treasures has Eve Dallas struggling to solve crimes old and new in the next thriller in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series.

A blow to the head with a block of amethyst has left multibillionaire Nathan Barrister dead—while nearby, a vault, its door ajar, sits filled with priceless paintings, jewelry, and other treasures. Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband, Roarke—who misspent his youth in Ireland as a scrappy thief—recognizes at least two stolen pieces among the hoard. The crime scene suggests a burglar caught in the act. But only one item seems to be missing.

Then it’s revealed that the vault had actually belonged to the victim’s late father—and no one in the household knew it was there until a recent remodeling project exposed it. To protect the family name and business, they explain to Eve, they’d been looking for a way to return the ill-gotten gains anonymously and avoid the police. But now the police are all over their elegant house, and have a bigger, bloodier mystery to solve.

By all accounts, Nathan Barrister was a good man, a generous employer, a devoted husband and father. As for his father—he clearly had secrets. Now it’s up to Eve and her team to find out if those secrets got Nathan killed—and if it was a crime of passion or revenge.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: "The sins of the father" has a long, interesting history in English usage. I the sixty-second book in this (apparently immortal) series, it's prominently aimed at the very wealthiest in society. Greed and covetousness are very much in Roarke's past, and Eve deals with Entitlement all day every day. They need both outlooks to solve this weird crime.

I was very interested by the unusual set-up for the crime. It feels very surprising to me, very weird indeed. I did not expect to have the dead billionaire not be the real villain of the piece. The real villain was more satisfying.

Because it's not coming out until February, and because I've given this one and book sixty-one four stars each, I'm not risking my sanity to say more than, "I've never given one of the series more than 3.5* before...but these got 4" and leave you to discover why. Do not start here...see my review of FRAMED IN DEATH for my best series-order advice.

Let's just say I get it better now than ever.