I’m reading Bill Crider’s Sheriff Dan Rhodes mysteries in order, but Kevin Tipple had a bigger task ahead of him. He’s reading J.D. Robb’s “In Death” series. She’s up to number 60, and he’s up to number 56, Encore in Death. Thank you, Kevin, for your review.
It should have been a great evening at the home of power couple Eliza Lane and Brant
Fitzhugh. Eliza Lane is about to go on stage again in, Upstage, the vehicle that started
her stardom back in September 2036. Twenty-five years later, she and her husband of
nine years are celebrating the revival of Upstage and her powerful role in the upcoming
production.
Not that her husband is any slouch. Brant Fitzhugh is a powerhouse in his own right and
is about to go overseas on a major production. The movie is going to be a global
blockbuster for his new production company and he is going to be the headliner in it.
The future is incredibly bright and they are going to take it all. Until they don’t.
Brant dies during the party in front of hundreds of horrified guests and in the arms of his
devasted wife. Now the penthouse on the Upper West Side is a crime scene and Dallas
has an obvious murder on her hands. Red patches on his face, dilated pupils, and the
blue tint on the finger tips indicate that yet another has been killed by cyanide. Most
likely by way of the drink that he consumed just seconds before he collapsed.
A drink that had been meant for his wife. It was her favorite kind of drink and one she
was known for. Instead, he drank it, as she performed a song, and died. Was she the
real target?
Lieutenant Eve Dallas, Detective Peabody, and others have to answer that question and
many others in Encore in Death by J. D. Robb. Billed as the 56th book in the long
running series, it is an enjoyable and fast read. It was also a pleasant change from the
last several books as this time there were no kids involved in the crime or the aftermath.
As always, head hopping is present. Clearly not a bug, this a feature of this author’s
writing style in the series. A distracting feature that one that soon fades away as the
story unfolds.
It maybe a little over fifteen years in the future where guns are not celebrated as they
are outlawed. Still, folks get murdered because people are people and messed up.
Thankfully, Dallas, Peabody, and others are on the case standing for the dead and
seeking justice.
My eBook reading copy came by way of the Libby/OverDrive App and the Dallas Public
Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
