Yesterday I also read Holiday in Death, by J.D. Robb. This is #7 in the In Death series, and I'm rereading it for discussion.
Plot summary:
In the seventh of J.D. Robb's futuristic romance thrillers, NYPD Lieutenant Eve Dallas is on the trail of a serial killer terrorizing the city during the holidays. The only link between the victims--all are patrons of an exclusive dating service, Personally Yours. Working with her aide Officer Peabody, Peabody's nemesis Ian McNab, and her own intriguing husband, Roarke, Eve uncovers secrets that link the victims: secrets that involve both the owners and the clients of Personally Yours and which might be worth killing for.This was one of the best in the series, I'd rate it an A.There were many good things here. I just adored Eve's dilemma of having to buy presents to all those new people in her life. It was fun to see her co-operate with Summerset to get Roarke the ideal present, and I LOLed when she forbid Peabody to buy anything and then kept buying stuff all over the place. And I loved the Peabody - McNab thingie, this is just getting started here, and it's good.
The suspense part was very good. The crimes were terribly disturbing, and heart-wrenching. I felt like crying when Eve had to go tell Marianne Hawley's boyfriend that she was dead (OT: I seem to remember Jeremy Vandoren making an appearance in another In Death book. Wonder which that was). Plus, Robb does great in her characterization, especially with the twins, who are too, too creepy.
The only bad thing here is that Eve is starting to lose the light-heartedness she had in the first few books of the series. She's much too short-tempered and intolerant for me. Oh, and, IMHO, what she does when she refuses to sleep / eat / take care of herself borders on being Too Stupid To Live. That's something I don't get of hers.