Monday, November 6, 2017

Review: Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb

Title: Strangers in Death
Series: In Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: February 18, 2008
Publisher: Berkley
IASIN: B000UZNRP0

Technology may be different in 2060 New York, yet the city is still a place of many cultures and great divides. But as ever, some murders receive more attention than others—especially those in which the victim is a prominent businessman, found in his Park Avenue apartment, tied to the bed—and strangled—with cords of black velvet.

It doesn't surprise Lieutenant Eve Dallas that Thomas Anders's scandalous death is a source of titillation and speculation to the public—and of humiliation to his family. But while people in the city are talking about it, those close to Anders aren't so anxious to do the same. With some help from her billionaire husband, Roarke, Eve's soon knocking on doors—or barging through them—to find answers.

But the facts don't add up. Physical evidence suggests that the victim didn't struggle. The security breach in the apartment indicates that the killer was someone known to the family, but everyone's alibi checks out. Was this a crime of passion in a kinky game gone wrong—or a meticulously planned execution? It's up to Dallas to solve a case in which strangers may be connected in unexpected, and deadly, ways.


My rating:

A prominent member of society is found dead in his home, while his wife is away with friends. The man was tied and strangled on the bed with various sex toys proudly displayed beside his bed. It looks like a kinky game gone wrong, but it sure smells like foul play to Lieutenant Eve Dallas.

She also has a perfect suspect, although there's one big problem. The main suspect has an airtight alibi. Yet Eve's gut keeps on tingling, and soon the seemingly perfect web starts to unravel.


This might've been set in the future, but it carried a very mid-past-century vibe. Taking its cues from Patricia Highsmith's book and Hitchcock's subsequent movie Strangers on a Train, those who know the plot, know how it all went down. Thanks to that angle of predictability, I saw the signs early on and struggled with the fact Eve didn't make the connection sooner.
Still, the killer was the only predictable thing and it didn't deter from my overall enjoyment of the story; I loved the twists and turns of the investigation and looking for possible clues that might tie it all down with a pretty red bow on top.

Masterfully executed. Well-written and well-paced with that little added nugget of frustration at the characters for not making the right connection and the evidence that simply wouldn't cooperate (at least at the beginning).

Intriguing, engrossing, gripping, a little frustrating...Loved it.



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