Book: Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: 2018
Pages: 379
Source: ebook borrowed from the library
Summary: Leverage in Death is the 47th book in this futuristic mystery series featuring police detective Eve Dallas. This case is particularly unusual, starting with a suicide bomber who doesn't seem to be an entirely willing participant, even though he pushes the button on his vest. This act takes out the lead players just as a large business merger is about to be signed. The discovery of the man's wife and daughter leads to an explanation of the motive of the bomber. He was trying to protect his family. But who were the masked men who trapped and tortured that family for several days and what was their motive?
Thoughts: I don't usually bother to review these books on my blog. I just consume them like potato chips and move on. This one, however, features the Oscars. Since this year's Oscar nominations we're announced this morning, I thought it would be fun to anticipate the Oscars with some of the regular characters in this series.
A former case of Eve's and her partner, Delia Peabody, was written into a book by their friend, journalist Nadine Furst. That book was made into a movie and, in Leverage in Death, everyone is excited because the movie received Oscar nominations.
Eve, of course, hates this sort of formal event and she's not about to fly from New York to California for such a thing. Her partner, Delia Peabody, is incredibly excited to attend. But will she get to, given the bizarre and puzzling nature of their current case?
Appeal: The anticipation of the Academy Awards was fun, with dresses and red carpet and all the other accompanying festivities. The mystery was good, too!
I've been trying to decide if this is a series that I'd recommend reading in order. The mysteries are all stand-alone. The character arcs were pretty well established in the first few books and haven't changed that much since. Some of the plot arcs are longer, but I imagine you'd enjoy this book whether or not you read Origin in Death that tells the story of the Icove case that was made into a movie. That was book 21 and I barely remember it.
These are the sorts of books that you used to pick up as a paperback in the airport and not really care if you read them in order. These days, with Goodreads helpful list of the In Death books in order and with the easy availability of ebooks, it probably makes most sense to read the series from the beginning. It will take you less time than you think to catch up. I generally read these in two to four days and I most appreciate them when I want a good distraction from what's going on in my life or the world.
Are you looking forward to the 2019 Academy Awards?
About Joy Weese Moll
a librarian writing about books
