SECRETS IN DEATH (IN DEATH #45)

A new novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series: Lt. Eve Dallas must separate rumors from reality when a woman who traffics in other people’s secrets is silenced.

The chic Manhattan nightspot Du Vin is not the kind of place Eve Dallas would usually patronize, and it’s not the kind of bar where a lot of blood gets spilled. But that’s exactly what happens one cold February evening.

The mortally wounded woman is Larinda Mars, a self-described “social information reporter,” or as most people would call it, a professional gossip. As it turns out, she was keeping the most shocking stories quiet, for profitable use in her side business as a blackmailer. Setting her sights on rich, prominent marks, she’d find out what they most wanted to keep hidden and then bleed them dry. Now someone’s done the same to her, literally—with a knife to the brachial artery.

Eve didn’t like Larinda Mars. But she likes murder even less. To find justice for this victim, she’ll have to plunge into the dirty little secrets of all the people Larinda Mars victimized herself. But along the way, she may be exposed to some information she really didn’t want to know…

Release Date: September 5, 2017

St. Martin's Press

In Death #45

Romantic Suspense

Liza's Review:

Once again J.D. Robb has pulled me back into her In Death world with some of my favorite characters ever written. Seriously my biannual Dallas and Roarke fix really isn't enough, but I'll take what I can get each and every time.

Let me just say right up front, I guessed the killer the moment Eve met this person, but thought I was wrong because it seemed way too obvious. I didn't have the killer's motivation correct, but knew this person did it. That being said, I loved watching Eve's mind work to figure out each step along the way. I also loved how much Eve got to work with Roarke on this case. He always helps out a good bit, but many times it is on the edge. Since it occurred in his restaurant, he was in on it from the very beginning.

I also loved we saw the softer side of Eve when it came to her friends. When she makes an offer to Peabody because she can tell she and McNabb need time away, it made me feel all squishy inside. Eve is normally such a hardass even around her friends. It was refreshing to see her in this new light. She is fiercely protective of her friends, and we saw her anger at discovering her friends and Roarke being on the list of possible blackmail marks as she investigated Larinda Mars' death. I love that her anger helped keep her going much of the time.

I now must wait another six months for my next In Death fix from J.D. Robb. With each new release I always say I'm going to savor and take my time reading, and then find myself up at 3 in the morning knowing the alarm is going off in 2 hours for work. Secrets in Death was the same and is once again another winner from Ms. Robb.

Rating: 4 Stars (B+)