Betrayal in Death (in Death Series) [Paperback]

Now in this book - which, as usual, was well-plotted, funny, exciting and oh-so-sad- there was even more of this. We had two very interesting new characters introduced for the first time; Agents Jacoby and Stowe.

Jacoby is a completely unbalanced, smolderingly neurotic idiot, with the potential to cause serious trouble for Eve. And yet he does little but cause a blip in her investigation. Stowe is a strong, intelligent female FBI agent, with huge potential, who also does little but pass through the story on her way to the next. These characters are so beautifully drawn and realised, and yet so under utilized, that it makes me believe they are going to crop up again later in a more important role.

Also, in an unprecedented twist, two of the bad-guys - again, only superficially involved, although they were really nasty - escape without any punishment whatsoever. They have a serious grudge against Rourke - and now Eve. It stretches the bounds of possiblity that they will disappear, never to be seen again.

And finally, there is the way that babies seem to keep finding their way into the books. There is a completely unnecessary scene in which Mira shows off her new grandson to a reluctant Eve. In 'Judgement', if you remember, Eve handles one, again reluctanly. In 'Witness' the whole book centres on motherhood, and in 'Loyalty', Eve contemplates her own mother for the first time. Although the author stringently denies a baby is on the way, I do think that she is skillfully insinuating the subject into Eve's - and therefore our - consciousness.

Because, lets face it, there isn't much more to do with this couple. We've seen them meet and fall in love, move in together, get married. We've watched as Eve gradually begins to trust in Rourke's love, and Rourke trusts his past to her, how she learns to let him take care of her, and how to do the same for him. There are no more layers of intimacy to add to their relationship now, and the only other way to develop it is to toss in unneccesary, uncharacteristic, marital troubles: ala 'Judgement'.

And finally, there is the Peabody/McNab thing. The tension over Charles has been steadily building for some time and explodes here, with tradgically funny results.

So, I think that all the players have been racked up and set out for a cracker of a book in September - 'Seduction in Death'.

And I, for one, cannot wait.

In this case, Lieutenant Eve Dallas has to face crime again. She finds herself as the primary in the gruesome murder of a maid that happened in one of the hotels of her husband, Roarke, just as Eve was attending a charity party there with him. Thanks to the security cameras, Eve discovers that the murderer is nobody else than Sylvester Yost, a gun for hire for the elite, that has been in the FBI's most searched list for more than 20 years. However, one thing is to know who he is, and another one is to find him. Only a very confident assassin does not mind showing his face.

As if that were not enough, soon afterwards another murder is committed by Yost, and in this case the victim is a young friend of Roarke. All seems to point out to the fact that someone ordered Yost to mess with Roarke, and ultimately who knows, maybe kill him. But why? And is Eve in danger too?.

Of course, there is much more than that in this book. An old friend of Roarke, Mick Connelly, reappears, and Eve cannot help but think he might be linked to the murders, despite Roarke's trust in Mick. Also, there is trouble in paradise for Peabody and McNabb, and more than some squabbles between Eve and some FBI's officers that are also trying to catch Yost.

On the whole, the points mentioned above help to make this a very engaging book, for those who like a good thriller with lots of action. I would like to point out, however, that the murders in this book are specially grim, so take that into account when deciding whether to buy this book. That having been said, I recommend "Betrayal in death" to you.

Belen Alcat