A bar turns into a gory battlefield during happy hour with patrons killing each other under an airborne hallucinogenic drug. The bar's owner is Roarke, but his wife, Lieutenant Eve Dallas, doubts the attack was directed at him. Then a popular restaurant is hit during lunch hour with patrons exhibiting the same symptoms and Eve knows she's dealing with a madman.


I liked this one. It wasn't perfect, especially in the pacing department (although it did pick up the tempo for its second wind), but it delivered.
I dug the procedural aspects of the story, the little tidbits of (fictional) history, and the whole mass-murder under the influence of an airborne hallucinogen, although I did find the motive beyond lame, idiotic, and unworthy of the "historical figure" the killings emulated.

The cast was superb, as always, with their relationships evolving in front of out eyes book to book, especially Eve/Peabody and Eve/Mira (I loved how Eve's mother figure helped her deal with her dreams).

It was a little different, and different is (always) good.

[11/17/2012]
Two months after I read it I couldn't remember what it was about without checking the book description. But it doesn't matter; it's an Eve Dallas story and I'll read anything about her. Besides I did remember that I enjoyed it; read it in less than two days.

This is the 35th in the Eve Dallas series and this one is a little unusual in that the deaths that Eve must investigate appear that they may be terrorist in nature. Consequently there is more urgency in her investigation than usual, especially after the second event. There's plenty of action and suspense, though no particular danger to Eve or her friends.

Of course, in the long run, this series is not really about murder, or even police investigation. Those are just the vehicles for the real story. Which is relationships. Eve's marriage to Roarke, which has ups and downs and continues to evolve, and the relationships of Eve's friends and coworkers. That's what keeps me coming back after more than 35 books.

"I like to research what works and what doesn't in publishing so when I saw this on the B&N bargain table I grabbed it. I'd seen the name JD Robb but had no clue she was actually Nora Roberts. I don't think I would ever read Roberts even for research since she writes for a market I have no interest in. However her writing as Robb is interesting to me. She has created a believable near-future world and populated it with interesting characters coping with interesting problems. Not hard SF in any way, her stories are more character driven than tech and that's fine by me. That's the way I tend to write.

I knew when I started reading that I was jumping into the middle of a series but that didn't bother me; most authors will drop enough hints and tidbits of back story to let you catch up. I assumed the same for Robb but was disappointed - while she did refer to previous events she did so assuming everyone would know the story. I didn't so I was lost. Big problem.

I also found her attributions confusing at times. I read along assuming I knew who was talking only to discover several sentences later I was wrong. I had to go back then and re-read the dialog so it would make sense. Not something you want or need when immersed in a story.

The story itself was well told, the plot believable, the characters engaging. Perhaps someday I will go back and read the previous books and pick up what I missed.

If you like soft SF thrillers I recommend Delusion in Death.
"

3.5 stars
good. emotional. better than some in the series and not as amazing as others, though it's admittedly been a while since I've read any of the others. there's a surprising amount of head jumping in this. I think it's a common thing in these books, perspective change in the middle of a scene or page. The author makes it work though. I don't think I've ever been startled or confused by the change in POV. that's an interesting talent and one I admire.

Delusion in Death – J D Robb

I think after 45 books, novellas and short stories it may be time to start another series, since this one seems to be bogged down and a caricature of what the series used to be. This book is written with the patented JD Robb formula and you cannot get away from it.
The book opens on a horrific scene of people murdering each other during a casual after work drink in a neighborhood bar—over 80 people are dead. Enter Eve and team---pan to Eves horrified demeanor and the sensibilities of Peabody being shaken to the core. Bring in the full team-enter Roarke, who is starting to really get on my nerves. Of course, Roarke owns the bar so should and will be sticking his rich nose into everything. The wrong people are accused, footwork is done, and Dr. Mira is consulted - all as per normal.

On one hand, we have an incident straight out of the Urban Wars. We have a drug let loose in several places inciting innocent people to horribly vivid blood lust and berserker behavior. This unnatural behavior lasts a mere minutes but the havoc it creates leaves an incredible toll. Moreover, this alone should have been a fascinating story; to see Eve and team search for the master mind. Yet nobody takes responsibility for this crime, so there is nobody for Eve to really focus on. Yet even with no concrete ‘clues’ Eve will solve the crime mainly by pretty much lying to the accused.

On the other hand (as I have mentioned) you would think that to find the culprit that there would be dangerous action that is filled with fancy footwork and policing. You would think! At 64% into the book what we have is yet another deep recap of Eve’s admittedly horrific childhood, some interviews at the cop shop a couple of rote sex scenes and miracle of miracles, Summerset and Eve work together, are polite to each other-dare I say- even nice to each other!

There really is not very much action in this story. What there is is a lot of blood and guts though. There is not a lot of Eve’s lighter side showing, some but not a lot.

I realize that in Eve’s world only about 2 years have passed, so technically she could be working on her issues for a long, long time. However, for the reader 17 real years have passed and with this many published works that many of us have read, the angst is getting a little redundant (at least for me). I for one would appreciate at least every other book to be without Eve’s and Roarke’s angst.