I always admire J.D. Robb’s In Death novels because homicide Lieutenant Eve Dallas never forgets the victims. Yes, I enjoy police procedurals, and the emphasis on the search. That’s certainly a part of these books. But, so many crime novels focus on the killer, and forget the victim. There have been times I’ve forgotten who the victim was by the time I finished a book. As in her other books, Abandoned in Death, the fifty-fourth in the series, emphasizes the victims and their loved ones. Dallas knows she shatters lives when she has to notify the family that someone is dead.

The woman was prominently displayed in a children’s playground. Lauren Elder had been missing for ten days. Now, she’s dead, wearing clothes from the late twentieth century. And, the crayoned sign left with her body says “Bad Mommy”.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is furious. She’s furious that a young woman was killed, made up and displayed. And, the killer made a mistake. Dallas knows that playground near the house where her friends are going to live, and their daughter, Bella, plays. Bella’s mother, Mavis, Dallas’ best friend, knows how angry she is. “He sure made a mistake using our playground. Pissed off Lieutenant Dallas.”

This case strikes close to home in so many ways. Mira, the NYPSD’s top profiler, thinks the killer experiences trauma at an early age. The dead woman is a reminder of that trauma. It reminds Eve and her husband, Roarke, of their own “Bad Mommys”, and the trauma in their young lives. But, neither of them turned to kidnapping and murder. This killer rejected one “Bad Mommy”. Now, there are several other young women, with similar appearances, missing as well. Eve will have to use all the resources available to dig into the past, the late twentieth century, to find clues to a killer.

J.D. Robb is one of those authors who can still suck readers in when the subject matter is uncomfortable. Missing women, and a search for a “Bad Mommy”, are certainly not enticing subjects. But, Robb is so skilled at wrapping a complex, fast-paced search into story with an interesting setting and backstory. Best of all, she always brings back a cast of well-developed characters that readers have grown to love. Abandoned in Death is another engrossing book from a master.

J.D. Robb’s website is https://jdrobb.com/

Abandoned in Death by J.D. Robb. St. Martin’s Press, 2022. ISBN 9781250278210 (hardcover), 368p.

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent a galley of the book, hoping I would review it.