Tina's Reading Books

This is the 10th book of the In Death series.

It is the last gasp of winter in Early 2059. Eve and her husband, the megalicious billionaire Roarke are at the theatre (Roarke's, natch) on opening night of a performance of Agatha Christie's A Witness for the Prosecution.. In a case of life imitating art, the actor who plays the villainous Vole is murdered, right there on stage in front of the whole crowd. The prop knife replaced by a real one.

Who wanted the handsome lead actor dead? Well as it turns out, everyone. It is up to Eve to unravel the drama and bring the murderer to justice.

This was an excellent addition to the series. Robb mixes things up a bit and makes like a Christie cozy mystery in this one. There are quite a few allusions to the Grande Dame of mystery and to life amongst the theatre set. The mystery in this one was clever with a couple of startling revelations.

Other thoughts:
1) More Trueheart! I love this guy and now he's a true blue member of Eve's team.

2) McNabb and Peadbody's deepening relationship. I liked the scene of McNabb getting advice from the grand Master himself, Roarke.

3) This is the first time we see Eve's sense of justice in conflict with her relentless verve to nab the killer. The part where she uncovers the motive for the murder is powerful stuff and the end with her final conversation with the killer adds another layer to the cop we already know.


Great scenes:

- The scene of Eve trying to set up a romantic evening with Roarke is both hilariously funny and achingly sweet. Her bafflement at the number and variety of silverware and china patterns to choose from is pure Eve. Roarke's reaction is the first time we see Roarke stumble as Mr. Smooth.

- The scene Eve trying to roust drunk Peabody and McNabb out of a club is lighthearted and silly. The dialogue and cadences of a drunken Peadbody are spot on.

- The scene where Eve goes to buy a gift and learns that she has "Authorization One" and her card will never be charged for any item manufactured by Roarke industries. Her reaction is comical as are the dollar signs in Peabody's eyes.