This is another of the books from the backlog. When I received the book 31 in the In Death series, I figured it was time to dig out book 30 and read it. Usually I try to read a series from the beginning rather than pick up the story in the middle, but when the series hits 30 books or even 31, there is no way. I had heard good things about Robb, back in the mists of time I had read something by Nora Roberts, another pseudonym for the same person.
Set just slightly in the future, this mystery investigates the murder of a computer game designer. By this time, computer games resemble the Star Trek Holodeck, and while playing alone in a locked flat, Bart is decapitated. How? Why? Everybody loved him, and his small business was completely dependent on his design genius. Enter Eve Dallas and her partner Roarke. She covers the police work and he has the computer skills to smooth her way. Together they lead the reader up blind alleys, follow red herrings and eventually work out whodunit.
This book was a bit of fun. The sheer impossibility of the crime had me stumped for ages. Even as the murder weapon was found or the suspect list was shortened, I was still thinking – but How? As with the best of crime writing, all was made clear in the end.
I will warn that this is clearly an example of crime chick lit. There is just as much focus on the relationships between the various regular characters as there is on the crime and it’s investigation. That’s inevitable for a long series. Eventually the readers come back to find out what happened to their favourite characters as much as for the new story. It’s a bit like a soap really.
But still, a fun read while on holidays.
