Also by this author: Devoted in Death (In Death, #41), Festive in Death (In Death, #39), Brotherhood in Death (In Death, #42), Apprentice in Death (In Death, #43), , Echoes in Death (In Death, #44), Secrets in Death (In Death, #45), Leverage in Death (In Death, #47)
Series: In Death #46
Also in this series: Naked in Death, Glory in Death, Immortal in Death, Apprentice in Death (In Death, #43),
Published by Brilliance Audio, St. Martin's Press on January 30th 2018
Genres: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Pages: 384
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 1250161533
ASIN: B0784YCX7H
Goodreads
It was a stab in the dark.
On a chilly February night, during a screening of Psycho in midtown, someone sunk an ice pick into the back of Chanel Rylan’s neck, then disappeared quietly into the crowds of drunks and tourists in Times Square. To Chanel’s best friend, who had just slipped out of the theater for a moment to take a call, it felt as unreal as the ancient black-and-white movie up on the screen. But Chanel’s blood ran red, and her death was anything but fictional.
Then, as Eve Dallas puzzles over a homicide that seems carefully planned and yet oddly personal, she receives a tip from an unexpected source: an author of police thrillers who recognizes the crime—from the pages of her own book. Dallas doesn’t think it’s coincidence, since a recent strangulation of a sex worker resembles a scene from her writing as well. Cops look for patterns of behavior: similar weapons, similar MOs. But this killer seems to find inspiration in someone else’s imagination, and if the theory holds, this may be only the second of a long-running series.
The good news is that Eve and her billionaire husband Roarke have an excuse to curl up in front of the fireplace with their cat, Galahad, reading mystery stories for research. The bad news is that time is running out before the next victim plays an unwitting role in a murderer’s deranged private drama—and only Eve can put a stop to a creative impulse gone horribly, destructively wrong.
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#EveAndRoarke #SerialKiller #CopycatKiller #NYPSD #InDeathSeries #JDRobb #SusanEricksen @StMartinsPress
I can’t think of a more appropriate book to review on Valentine’s Day than Dark in Death featuring one of my favorite literary couples. Never mind that he is a Dublin street-rat-turned-billionaire and she is a hard-eyed cop, J. D. Robb has made these two unlikely lovers so appealing that those of us who are hooked on Eve and Roarke anxiously await each new installment in their story. The characters we know and love from earlier books also make an appearance — Eve’s partner Peabody and her man McNabb; Mavis, Leonardo and baby Bella; Feeny and the guys from the NYPSD; and ace reporter Nadine Furst with a new rocker boyfriend. Conspicuously absent is Roarke’s majordomo, Summerset. Eve’s bĂŞte noire is on a well-earned vacation, leaving our couple home alone under the watchful bi-colored eyes of Galahad the cat who can be counted on not to share what they’ve been up to.  Dark in Death’s storyline evolves from the search for the perpetrator of a dramatically staged murder executed during a showing of Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Psycho. Is the killing related to the movie or is it just coincidental? With their usual methodical approach, Eve and her team begin their investigation only to be interrupted as they dig for clues by a popular mystery novelist who comes forward with a theory of her own: someone has brought one of her books to life in a bizarre copycat killing. Because her novel is one of a series, the logical conclusion is that the killer has killed before and will kill again in a deadly parody of the author’s work.
Listening to Susan Ericksen perform is a unique form of addiction. She is the voice of the series and with each new book, I am amazed at her ability to interpret every character with such consistency.
Dark in Death, as with all the In Death books, can be read as a stand-alone. Just be forewarned, however, that you will miss some of the fine points from the earlier books such as why Roarke carries a tiny grey button in his pocket and why a no-frills professional like Eve wears a goofy snowflake hat. If you are a fan of the series, and especially if the visual of Eve and Peabody under attack by a flying dwarf intrigues you, #46 is a must-read. There really are some singularly unorthodox and humorous moments in this one.
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