Jandy's Reading Room

Strangers in Death

J.D. Robb
aka Nora Roberts

Strangers in Death

Mystery and SuspenseRomantic SuspenseScience Fiction 3/1/2008 Rating: 4 1/2 Scrolls

Thomas Anders had been a respected businessman. He and his wife, Ava, were very active in charitable organizations especially for families and children. He is found dead in his bedroom in what appears to have been a kinky sex scene gone bad. His wife was on vacation with friends when he died. It doesn't appear that anyone broke into their home. The security system was bypassed by an expert. There are no signs of a struggle on Anders' body. Why would someone want to kill him?

Lieutenant Eve Dallas and Detective Delia Peabody are assigned to the case. Because of his position in the community and the sensational death it quickly becomes a high profile case. His widow wants answers. So does Dallas. So she starts digging. Friends and relatives are shocked. Anders wasn't that type of person. He was conservative and comfortable. He adored his wife. They were a good couple.

The Anders marriage wasn't as it appeared on the surface. In fact Ava Anders had been seeing a Licensed Companion by appointment a couple times a month. The LC is Dallas' and Roarke's friend Charles Monroe. She is forced to admit they had an open marriage because his sexual requests were twisted in ways she didn't want to share. She knew there were other women.

The deeper they investigate, the more Dallas is sure that Anders' murder wasn't an impulse or accident but cold bloodedly planned out. She is even fairly sure she knows who planned it. Now she, Roarke, and Peabody have to figure out how it was carried out.

J.D. Robb pulls a classic mystery theme out for Strangers in Death. It is a strong book, well crafted, and sticks true to the characters. While I am completely involved in all the different personal stories throughout the In Death series (this time the focus is on Charles and Louise), the better ones usually are the ones that put the mystery first and the personal second. The threads are there in this novel, and in a good story-telling fashion, the thrown out threads bind together is unanticipated ways.

Enjoy - both the mystery and the personal stories.

You can find more about this book at Link to Amazon.Com.

Notice: Graphic violence, Strong indecent language, Strong sexual content

 The In Death Series:
Naked in Death
Glory in Death
Immortal in Death
Rapture in Death
Ceremony in Death
Vengeance in Death
Holiday in Death
"Midnight in Death" Silent Night
Conspiracy in Death
Loyalty in Death
Witness in Death
Judgment in Death
Betrayal in Death
Seduction in Death
"Interlude in Death" Out of This World
Reunion in Death
Purity in Death
Portrait in Death
Imitation in Death
Remember When (written w/ Nora Roberts)
Divided in Death
Visions in Death
Survivor in Death
Origin in Death
Memory in Death
"Haunted in Death" in Bump in the Night
Born in Death
Innocent in Death
"Eternity in Death" in Dead of Night
Creation in Death
Strangers in Death
"Ritual in Death" in Suite 606
Salavation in Death
Promises in Death
Kindred in Death
"Missing in Death" in The Lost
Fantasy in Death
Indulgence in Death
"Possession in Death" in The Other Side
Treachery in Death
New York to Dallas
Celebrity in Death
Delusion in Death
Calculated in Death
Thankless in Death

 

Book Rating System

  • Explicit sexual content - very explicit sex or erotica
  • Graphic violence - explicit scenes of gore or violent acts
  • Non-graphic violence
  • Strong language
  • Strong sexual content - somewhat explicit sex
  • Suggestive dialogue or situations

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