Visions in Death (In Death Series #19) » (Reprint)

One of the most prolific and popular writers in the world, Nora Roberts (who also writes as her edgier alter-ego J. D. Robb) publishes multiple books a year. Not that it s enough for her fans, who tear through her unconventional romances. With her trademark mix of fantasy, mystery, and romance, Roberts has created her own genre -- and romance fans are grateful for it!

On one of the city’s hottest nights, New York Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas is sent to Central Park — and into a hellish new investigation. The victim is found on the rocks, just above the still, dark water of The Lake in Central Park. Around her neck is a single red ribbon. Her hands are posed, as if in prayer. But it is the eyes —removed with such precision, as if done by the careful hand of a surgeon — that have Dallas most alarmed.

As more bodies turn up, each with the same defining scars, Eve is frantic for answers. Against her instincts, she accepts help from a psychic who offers one vision after another — each with shockingly accurate details of the murders. And when partner and friend Peabody is badly injured after escaping an attack, the stakes are raised. Are the eyes a symbol? A twisted religious ritual? A souvenir? With help from her husband, Roarke, Dallas must uncover the killer’s motivation before another vision becomes another nightmare...

Publishers Weekly

Though not as gripping as the previous installments in Robb's mid-21st-century In Death series (Remember When, etc.), this new offering showcases her many talents. New York policewoman Eve Dallas is on the trail of a serial killer who strangles his young female victims with a red ribbon and removes their eyes postmortem. Dallas and her longtime partner, Detective Peabody, pursue the criminal with wisecracking vigor and old-fashioned police work, assisted as well by Eve's handsome husband, billionaire businessman Roarke, and a beautiful psychic who volunteers to share her chilling visions of the murders. Naturally, the determined Dallas gets her man, though her toughness is shaken along the way by memories of her own childhood abuse, the murderer's vicious attack on Peabody and a surprising 11th-hour revelation. The Thomas Harrisesque mystery resolves rather simply, and the story gets less of an energy boost than usual from the romantic power play between Eve and Roarke and the edgy sci-fi detail that made the earlier books so distinctive. (In fact, the Manhattan of 2059 is oddly old-fashioned, with more homey crafts stores than the New York of 2004.) Nevertheless, the book is a sassy, smart-alecky read, possessing the warm characterizations and witty dialogue that have earned Robb/Roberts her huge and loyal readership. Agent, Amy Berkower at Writer's House. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.