Release Date: February 22, 2011
Series: #32 in the In Death Series.
More Info: Amazon
Today we have a guest review from an acquaintance I'll call Nifty. I met Nifty at Patricia Briggs' discussion board. Nifty is an avid reader and when she's not reading or working, she is playing with her dog, Bandit.
Book Blurb:
In the latest from the #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon, Eve Dallas tracks down those who break the law-including the ones sworn to uphold it.
Detective Eve Dallas and her partner, Peabody, are following up on a senseless crime-an elderly grocery owner killed by three stoned punks for nothing more than kicks and snacks. This is Peabody's first case as primary detective - good thing she learned from the master.
But Peabody soon stumbles upon a trickier situation. After a hard workout, she's all alone in the locker room when the gym door clatters open; and-while hiding inside a shower stall trying not to make a sound-she overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. It doesn't take long to realize they're both crooked-guilty not just of corruption but of murder. Now Peabody, Eve, and Eve's husband, Roarke, are trying to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down-knowing all the while that the two are willing to kill to keep their secret.
My Thoughts:
Unlike other books in this series, Treachery in Death is light on the mystery - we know who the bad guy is, and what the crime is, from the first chapter – and doesn’t seem to have the heft and evilness of some previous plots. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as sometimes the plots of the In Death books can be over-the-top – not just evil, but eeeevil – and in this case, it’s a straight-forward police procedural that brings the focus back on the team, their skills, and their principles. Merely knowing who the bad guy is isn’t enough. Eve still has to gather evidence and build a case and move with care in doing so, considering that the bad cop is a ranking officer of the NYPSD and the daughter of a highly respected former commander. This investigation has to be 100% above-board and air-tight.
Most of the story moves at a lightning pace. Eve uses the homicide of one of the bad cop’s weasel as her foot in the door, and from there it’s just connecting the pieces. And if she has to shake a few trees to see what kind of rotten fruit falls down, so much the better. We all know how much she loves to get in the face of the villains she has targeted.
Eve's personal story doesn't get a whole lot of attention, but there's a humorous scene with Eve, Bella, and Mavis – who is tagged for a bit of con-work -- and a sweet scene between Roarke and Eve. The most significant personal aspect for me was actually professional also: Eve muses on how the type of woman she is sets the tone for the type of cop she is, but also the type of BOSS she is. Also, every In Death story comes with at least a little focus directed at one of the (many!) secondary characters, and in this book, that particular spotlight is focused on IAB rat Don Webster.
I thought the tightness of the story suffered just a bit at the very end - the last 70 pages or so - and the climax could have used a bit more punch. But overall I found this one to be really enjoyable and kind of rewhetted my appetite for these characters and this series (which had begun to wane in the last couple years).
Detectives books I like, but I have not read any of Roberts. I have said before that her books tend to be very predictable and I don't like who is the villain of the story from the start, as seems the case with this novel. However, there are some aspects that you mention that intrigue me, like those sweet and funny scenes, I think it's something I have read, curiosity killed the cat, but I'm going to risk to get this book. By the way, have you read a book from Lis Wiehl with April Henry? have heroines who are worth reading and the mystery remains until the end, you spend the whole book trying to find who the murderer.
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