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| Strangers in Death (In Death) | 
 enlarge | Author: J.d. Robb
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $4.00
You Save: $21.95 (85%)
New (80) Used (63) Collectible (3) from $3.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  66 reviews
Sales Rank: 4639
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0399154701
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780399154706
ASIN: 0399154701
Publication Date: February 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The new novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series.
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's scandalous death is a source of titillation and speculation to the public-and of humiliation to his family. But while people in the city are talking about it, those close to Anders aren't so anxious to do the same. With some help from her billionaire husband, Roarke, Eve's 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 known to the family, but everyone's alibi checks out. Was this a crime of passion in a kinky game gone wrong-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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 61 more reviews...
 Sin Has Many Tools, But A Lie Is The Handle Which Fits Them All. -Oliver Wendell Holmes February 21, 2008
62 out of 69 found this review helpful
This is the 31st book, when including novellas, in a long running and my personal favorite suspense series.
The year is 2060 and Lt. Eve Dallas of the New York Police and Security Department is called to the scene when sports mogul and children's philanthropist, Tom Anders, is murdered in his home. All evidence points to some sort of sexual deviancy gone wrong, but things aren't making sense to Eve. She enlists the help of her delectable Irish hubby, Roarke, and her partner Detective Peabody to solve the case.
I love this author and I loved this book. This In Death book had a slightly different feel as pretty early on we learn who the murderer is and the rest of the book is Eve building her case to prove her gut feeling. But that didn't detract from the suspense or the flow of the book at all; in fact I thought it enhanced it. J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) throws some twist and turns in that kept Eve, her team and this reader on their toes.
While these In Death books tend to be dark to due to the homicides Eve investigates, this one had a lot of light moments, too. I laughed a lot at the banter Eve engages in with Peabody, Roarke and Captain Feeney. Eve's friend Louise, the doctor and her Licensed Companion boyfriend, Charles play a small but significant role in this book, and that added a large amount of pleasure for this reader.
This book was definitely hard to put down and exceptionally entertaining. I am wowed by this series. After so many books it seems it would be hard to delight and surprise her faithful readers, but J.D. Robb does so, continuously and flawlessly. Enjoy!
Cherise Everhard, February 2008
It's a competition - Dallas vs the murderer February 20, 2008
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
In Chapter 19 Roarke tell Eve "It's a competition" and that is the best description I can give this book. The murderer got into a high security house and manaaged to kill Thomas Anders without leaving a trace. The suspects all have alibis. Lieutenant Eve Dallas has no clues, witnesses, or even a motive.
This book has a fresh plot. Most of the "in Death" series have serial murders with Eve fighting against time to stop the bad guy(s) before any body shows up. Strangers In Death has one dead body and only a few suspects. Eve quickly narrows down her murderer, but has to tweak out the clues as to how it was done. Hint - look at the title.
Many of my favorite supporting cast is back. Charles Monroe is tied into the murder and he has his own subplot problems. We have our sassy Peabody, prancing McNabb, a sick Feeney, a touch of Mavis (and Belle), Louise, Nadine, Trueheart, Baxter (I think he's the candy thief - he seems to be the only cop not afraid of Eve) and of course Summerset (who finds a new way to irritate Eve - jus not greet her at the door) And of course the luscious Roarke who is both lover and investigating partner (squishing in "bit of business" while waiting to help Eve grill suspects).
JD Robb has gone all out on this book. We have murder, twists, humor, and even a few moments set aside for emotional growth in Eve & Roarke's marriage. Eve's childhood nightmares have been put on hold and relationship issues brought to the forefront. If you were a hater of Roarke's old girlfriend from a couple books ago, Eve has her own version of theraphy.
 Originality *****************Spoiler alert***************** February 21, 2008
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Ms Roberts gives credit to Alfred Hitchcock and his 'Strangers on a train' in the book. A borrowed story is not what we have come to expect from Ms Roberts. Sure, there is a twist in that the murderer is obvious to Lt Dallas and to the reader by the middle of the story. The remainder of the story is about how the intrepid heroine goes about proving it.
The writing style, as always, is near perfection. Even knowing that the story is borrowed, I could not put the book down - that is solely due to Ms Roberts' powerful writing.
With anyone else, this would have been a 4-star book. But from Nora Roberts, I, like other readers, have come to expect more. So, my rating is at most a 3 1/2. If I were not collecting hard cover copies of her In Death books, I would have waited for the library's copy.
Strange bedfellows February 20, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
After 13 years and 25+ books, I'm still not bored with this series. Strangers In Death was a fast read that kept me hooked and interested from beginning to end. As a nice departure from many of the other In Deaths, Eve is not up against the clock with this one. She's not so much trying to stop a serial killer from killing again -- although she's reasonably certain that the killer WILL kill again eventually -- as she is trying merely solve this one homocide. If, in the process of doing so, she's able to solve a couple other homocides as well...well, bonus! The who-done-it of this book isn't as mysterious as the how-it-was-done -- the how of it is the real meat-and-potatoes of this story, and Robb tips her hat to classic Hitchcock for plot inspiration.
Normally I feel like the titles of the books parallel both Eve's professional life and her personal one, but I saw no such personal connection in this one. In fact, her personal life was very low-key, although we got to see some stuff with Charles and Louise and Mavis and Belle. (A great laugh-out-loud scene with Eve and Mavis when Eve, after listening to Mavis' over-the-top baby talk, bluntly tells her that she sounds like a moron.)
There was one aspect near the end of the story that bugged me, because I felt that Eve's reactions were out of character to some extent. Can't say much more without being spoilerish. Since the book is so new, I haven't read a lot of online conversations about it, so I don't know if my issue with Eve was simply MY issue, or if, indeed, she was behaving in a way that was slightly out of character for her.
 Robb is Back On March 28, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Doing a 180 after the last lackluster Eve Dallas mystery, Robb takes us back to New York 2060 when Eve tags a new case. Thomas A. Anders, the sportswear king, is found dead in his bed, naked and apparently in the throes of something pretty kinky when he died. Something about the scene is off, however. Anders was drugged up to his eyeballs and passed out cold when he choked to death, and the security disks show that his killer left the scene well before he died. Eve's investigation doesn't turn up any motive to murder Thomas Anders...except money.
Anders left two beneficiaries, a widow and a nephew he raised as a son. Benedict Forest stands to gain control of his uncle's company, but his affection for the dead man seems sincere and Eve bumps him off the suspect list rather quickly. The widow, Ava Anders, catches Eve's eye right off the bat, appearing just a little too polished and put together for someone who should be devastated by shock and grief. When Eve finally gets some people to admit they don't like the widow Anders, and actually find her to be quite self-centered and cold, Eve starts doing some serious digging, determined to get to the bottom of things and put her away. What she uncovers is a carefully masterminded plot that took years to execute, but she has to be careful how she investigates because her top suspect is chummy with the wife of the chief of police, and the media is all over the case because of the lurid sex angle.
This book brought back several popular elements of this much-loved series, giving the side characters a few more scenes and lines. And, as Eve's suspect was a client of her high-class prostitute friend Charles Monroe, Charles and his love interest Louise had a decent chunk of the story. The only thing missing in this book was restraint. There were a few aspects to the killer that went over the top when the story would have seemed more believable had not absolutely every opportunity for an evil deed been exploited. Some things should have been left to chance, leading an opportunist to make a fatal decision at a fork in the road, thus bringing about subsequent events and actions, rather than a rotten apple seamlessly ingratiating itself with decent people and scheming and plotting for over a decade. It rang false the way it played when just a little restraint would have made the story more believable and interesting. I'm tired of Eve chasing serial killers, and unraveling the progression of a character from simply selfish to manipulative and downright murderous in order to get what they want would be a refreshing change from Eve's typical sick, heartless monster.
Though this book opened Eve and Roarke's lives again, Eve and Roarke could stand a few hobbies. Whereas in the past, Roarke would occasionally take Eve on a vacation or the two of them would go out to dinner or attend social functions, of late they seem to have abandoned all pursuits but Eve's work, save an occasional romp in the pool. I make these complaints because I hold this series to the highest of standards, and since there have been over 30 stories between the books and short stories, the everyday lives of the characters are important. Their lives have all progressed since the first novel, so it is disappointing when the main characters seem to regress.
In all, this was a satisfying mystery for anyone, and a return to what we love for longtime JD Robb fans. The series is still going strong, and the author has the talent to keep it fresh and fun, so I expect it will stay that way, despite an occasional complaint.
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