“As she stood in skinny-heeled shoes instead of boots, a gown instead of trousers, Eve Dallas thought whoever invented the gala should be brutally murdered.” This book doesn’t waste any time getting readers directly into the protagonist’s head. Just as one might expect from a homicide detective, murder is on her mind - just not the sort of murder one might have guessed. Since her friend Nadine is correct when she says Dallas “would rather be chasing a psycho down a dark alley,” it is a good thing that Dispatch calls and saves her from too much socializing.
One of the many things that make the Eve Dallas books so engrossing is that they always offer something fresh. Sure - there are the familiar characters, but the relationships are always evolving and sometimes bring new characters into their orbit. The gritty details of murder are present (can’t have a homicide detective without them), but the motives, victims, and methods vary. And what part will each of the characters play? Will it be Roarke's knowledge of security systems, his financial acumen, or his contacts among the wealthy that are helpful? Will Feeney and McNabb be doing some major hacking? Will a key plot point turn on details from forensics, the morgue, or Mira’s psychological analysis?
This time it seems a burglary gone wrong has ended with the homeowner’s death by bludgeoning. A vault full of expensive objects stands open with only one item missing. Roarke can identify several of the items by sight and knows that they were stolen years ago and have been off the radar ever since. How did anyone know about the vault when the homeowners only discovered it during a recent remodeling job? Is the missing piece of treasure all that the thief was after, or did they panic and run when they were interrupted by the man of the house? Could the death even have been a revenge killing of some sort? There are plenty of twists and turns to tempt readers into ignoring their bedtime and staying up late to reach the conclusion.
Another strength of the series is that everyday life goes on for the characters even as they pitch in to help solve the crime. Mavis and Leonardo are counting down the weeks until their second child arrives. Nadine and Jake are talking about buying a house together. Jenkinson is still searing everyone’s eyes with his crazily colored and patterned ties - including one with “screaming-yellow bananas clutched in the grips of dozens of grinning, pop-eyed monkeys.” And Dallas is still trying to reason out why people use idioms, and amusing Roarke with her efforts.
The In Death series is up to 62 books now with this latest installment. It isn’t much of a mystery why fans keep coming back for more. Stolen in Death just hit book stores February 3, so go get a copy and start finding the answers to the latest mystery.
No comments:
Post a Comment