Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6263 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-07
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Synopsis
Technology may be different in 2060 New York, yet the city is still a place of many cultures and great divides. But as ever, some murders receive more attention than others - especially those in which the victim is a prominent businessman, found in his Park Avenue apartment, tied to the bed - and strangled - with cords of black velvet.It doesn't surprise Lieutenant Eve Dallas that Thomas Anders' scandalous death is a source of titillation and speculation to the public - and of humiliation to his family. But while all those in the city are talking about it, people close to Anders aren't so anxious to do the same. With some help from her billionaire husband, Roarke, Eve is soon knocking on doors- or barging through them - to find answers.But the facts don't add up. Physical evidence suggests that the victim didn't struggle. The security breach in the apartment indicates that the killer was someone connected to the family, but everyone's alibi checks out. Was this a kinky sex game that turned into a crime of passion - or a meticulously planned execution? It's up to Dallas to solve a case in which strangers may be connected in unexpected, and deadly, ways.

Customer Reviews

strangers in death.
Unlike some people who want to dissect the books they read. I am only interested in a few things. Was it a good story, was it well written and did I enjoy it. Well as to that It was a great story and J D ROBB books are always supremely written and yes I loved it and thoroughy enjoyed it.

Didn't skim this one
I've read all the many 'in Death' books and I'll admit I'd grown weary of the same old hard-nut Dallas (the only characters I still enjoyed were Roarke, McNab and Charles). However, this time I didn't feel the need to skim read the book. It's hard to explain why this one grabbed me whilst other recent ones didn't, especially as I missed Roarke who took a very backstage seat in this book. Perhaps it was because Dallas appears to be maturing in her relationship with Roarke and isn't so unreasonable and tedious. Perhaps it was because the story concentrated on so few murders and had a reasonable twist and believable murderer. Whatever the reason, I'd recommend giving this one a go if you're debating stopping the series - it should inspire you again.

Appearance Makes the Suspect
Strangers in Death is a fascinating police procedural that relies on Eve Dallas's thoughtful consideration of what she observes. While traditional mysteries have often relied on a sleuth who could spot details and their significance well ahead of everyone else, J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) draws on the female perspective more than in any other mystery I've ever read to unravel a complex case. Taking that slant made the story even fresher than placing it into the year 2060 did.

In magic, most of the illusions are based on drawing your attention toward what you are supposed to see . . . and away from what you aren't supposed to see. Strangers in Death employs magic legerdemain to create an impression of a crime that must have been done by a kinky lover while the reality is something else.

The story is a little slow in the beginning as Eve Dallas tries to make sense of an incongruous crime scene. The pace and my interest quickly picked up as the preliminaries were done and the hard work of uncovering what isn't supposed to be seen began.

Eve's interactions with her wealthy husband, Roarke, made the book much more lively than it would otherwise been. The contrasts between their relationship and the marriage of Thomas and Ava Anders also make for good reading.

I haven't read any of the earlier books in the series so a fair amount of the character development didn't make a lot of sense to me. If you are a long-time fan of the series, you may like the book better than I did. On the other hand, I didn't find the book to be too hard to appreciate for one in a long-running series. So newcomers to "in Death" books should be encouraged to sample this one.

Watch out who you hang around with!