Cops Work Long Hours: Indulgence in Death

J.D. Robb writes about Eve and Roarke. She's a hard-boiled cop, he's the richest man in the world. Together they have sex. And all this happens in the future, where they have better iphones and flying cars and space.

There are about thirty of these books, and by now they are as formulaic as Perry Mason. Bad guys commit murders in new ways. Eve catches them. Roarke buys stuff and commits handy computer fraud/snooping. The fun is on the fringes, where the secondary characters edge forward in new ways. Some of the books take the murders too far, and the grossness factor exceeds my squick meter. But Indulgence in Death doesn't do that, and in fact gives out the criminals early, which is a good thing because it's annoying when Eve is the last one to figure stuff out. The suspense is all about how to convict the baddies who don't seem to leave much evidence lying about.

But there is a distinct lack of fringe benefits. Baby Bella learns to crawl. Irish family is nice. Charles can cook. As I read this book, I was deep in before I was sure I hadn't read it before, and I think it's because there is no change to the landscape.  B-