Series: In Death, Book 58
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Futuristic/Mystery/Suspense
Release Date: January 23, 2024
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Audible
J.D. Robb Reading Order
Jenna’s parents had finally given in, and there she was, at a New York club with her best friends, watching the legendary band Avenue A, carrying her demo in hopes of slipping it to the guitarist, Jake Kincade. Then, from the stage, Jake catches her eye, and smiles. It’s the best night of her life.
It’s the last night of her life.
Minutes later, Jake’s in the alley getting some fresh air, and the girl from the dance floor comes stumbling out, sick and confused and deathly pale. He tries to help, but it’s no use. He doesn’t know that someone in the crowd has jabbed her with a needle—and when his girlfriend Nadine arrives, she knows the only thing left to do for the girl is call her friend, Lieutenant Eve Dallas.
After everyone on the scene is interviewed, lab results show a toxic mix of substances in the victim’s body—and for an extra touch of viciousness, the needle was teeming with infectious agents. Dallas searches for a pattern: Had any boys been harassing Jenna? Was she engaging in risky behavior or caught up in something shady? But there are no obvious clues why this levelheaded sixteen-year-old, passionate about her music, would be targeted.
And that worries Dallas. Because if Jenna wasn’t targeted, if she was just the random, unlucky victim of a madman consumed by hatred, there are likely more deaths to come.
When the pool of potential victims is vast and the killer’s method of picking targets seems random, Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her team won’t rest. Random in Death is fast-paced, tense, and engaging. There’s no down time for Eve, Roarke, Peabody, or McNab as they try to form a profile of a killer who selects their victims at random.
The In Death series can be roughly divided into stories that are primarily case-centric and those that are mainly character-centric. This story is the former, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be invested in it. I loved watching Eve and company put together the clues to form a picture of the villain. The deaths in this book weigh heavily on Eve, as all the victims she stands for do, and to see the innocence snuffed out was heartbreaking. I really enjoyed seeing the pieces of the puzzle come together as Eve and her team (with the help of their civilian consultant, Roarke) work tirelessly to form a picture from not much. And the picture is that of a psychopath with a brilliant mind.
Even with the timeline of the cases being so tight, we still get to see the characters we know and love over the course of the story. Roarke continues to watch out for his cop, the “great house project” of Mavis, Leonardo, Peabody, and McNab moves along, some other fan favorites have a small role to play, and we get to see more of Nadine’s boyfriend, rock star Jake Kincade. You can read this book pretty much as a standalone, but you’d be missing out on the characters and relationships if you aren’t at least familiar with the series.
Regardless of whether you’re a longtime fan of the In Death series or are just looking for an interesting mystery to get caught up in, Random in Death is sure to please. With fifty-eight full-length novels in this series and counting, J.D. Robb shows no sign of slowing down – and with a mystery as solidly entertaining as this one there’s no reason to. I thoroughly enjoy every outing with Eve and Roarke and Random in Death is no exception.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
0 comments:
Post a Comment