It just goes to show how busy I've been for the last year, that I didn't get this book in hardcover when it first came out, but waited for paper. Of course, then I devoured it in three days -- after I got my day's writing and earning-a-living work done, of course.
Thank goodness the baseball season is over (for me, anyway) so my evenings are a little freer ....
CALCULATED IN DEATH starts with finding a murdered woman in a doorway on a frigid November evening. She's a wife, mother, accountant/auditor, and the murderer tries to make it look like a mugging. But of course, Dallas senses something is wrong. And as she follows the trail and uncovers the lies being told by multiple people, she gets the true criminals upset, then panicked, so they make big mistakes.
More important than the mystery and bringing justice for the victim, though, is the interplay of characters, the growth of the relationship between Eve and Roarke, the visits from people we've come to know and love, and chuckle quietly as Eve struggles with the trials and tribulations of being famous, despite her best efforts to just do her job. Her utter terror of the beautician, Trina. Her frustration with Roarke, who delights in showering her with gifts -- but the man knows how to make them useful, as in a thigh holster to go under her designer gown, or a leather coat with a stunner-proof lining. And then there's Peabody, her partner, and McNab, e-detective, and their relationship, the pop singer Mavis and her fashion designer husband, Leonardo, Dr. Mira and her husband and other members of the NYPSD.
I finished a big writing project, met a deadline, and despite my resolve not to buy new books until I cleared at least one shelf of my to-be-read bookrack ... well, I deserve the treat, the indulgence. Love the books!
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