Delusion in Death

Author: J.D. Robb
Author's Website: http://www.jdrobb.com/
Publisher: Putnam (Penguin)
Released: September 11, 2012
Genre: Futuristic Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death / Eve Dallas and Roarke
Source: Library
Challenge: Mystery and Suspense

In a bar during happy hour, dozens of patrons suddenly turn on one another and viciously murder each other. Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her crack team of detectives, profilers, and "civilian consultants," aka her husband Roarke, work frantically to catch the perpetrator before mass murder and madness break loose in New York again.

What I love about this series is the ebb and flow of the continuity. Just looking at the last three books - New York to Dallas was intense, both in the case and in the emotional trauma Eve had to deal with. Then Celebrity in Death was more low-key, the case not having a lot of violence, Eve's personal life taking a back burner for once, not too many nightmares, no fights with Roarke. And then - bam! The opening scene of Delusion in Death is utter chaos, and Eve has to slog through that madness throughout the whole book. She also has to deal with her own residual trauma from her trip to Dallas, and I love the way that plays out. It shows how much she's grown, how she can rely on others to help her, but she still is the strong, independent Eve we love for her pigheadedness. There's a great scene between Eve and Mira, and between Eve and Peabody. And we get to see a soft side of Eve that I really didn't expect when she talks to Mavis at one point! That was a delight. But she's still snarky enough. Still love that.