Conspiracy in Death

in Death: 8

ISBN: 0-425-16813-1 Order from: Amazon.com

A tense police thriller with an appealing, intelligent heroine, good on human emotion and interaction, but set in a fake-seeming world and with a rather overpowering romantic interest.

Reviewed by David on June 05, 1999

Genre: Mystery (Near Future, Romance, Police Procedural)

Synopsis: Sixty years in the future, many drugs have been legalized, prostitution has become a licensed profession, and androids help guard buildings and tend bars. Nevertheless, poverty, greed and jealousy remain. After ten years on the force, Lieutenant Eve Dalls has become one of the most effective homocide investigators in the New York police. Her combination of intelligence and compassion, dedication and passion for justice drive her to treat each case as the most important thing in her life.

A derilict is found dead with his heart removed. Instead of a ceremonial murder, this looks like a neat surgical procedure. When Dalls starts to dig, she finds a handful of other cases, all with poor, sick victims. Unfortunately, none of the cases were pursued, whether out of indifference or cover-up is not clear. The investigation is complicated as Dallas becomes the target of an internal investigation. In danger of losing the most meaningful part of her life: her career and reputation as a good cop, Eve must battle despair as well as most skilled and ruthless murderers.

Full Review: While tense and exciting in its portrayal of the investigation, the plot stumbles badly in its explanation of the crimes. The villanous scheme appears implausible, and strains even further with an episode of mustache-twirling explanation, something that is all too common to this otherwise good series.

Nora Roberts, a well-known romance writer, has written this series of near-future police procedurals with a romantic bent. Her protagonist, Eve Dallas, has the combination of courage, intelligence and humor that make for a very appealing hero. A small set of supporting characters that make their continuous appearance in the books of this series flesh out her life and investigations.

The world of the near future is rather flawed for a science fiction reader. The tropes: annoying androids, space flight, cranky computers, are full of inconsistencies and seem to be more appropriate to sitcoms than to fiction. For instance, there is some confusion between orbital and interstellar flight, AI and glorified PCs. In general, the setting is used to add artificial glitter and remove the grit and constraints of a real city police investigation rather than to add narrative value.

This setting, artificial as it is, does allow for a more streamlined plot.

In summary, this is a fast-moving, entertaining novel with an appealing hero, offering a good emotional ride marred by implausible villains.

The fans of Eve Dallas may also like Hamilton's Anita Blake.

Overall: 6; Plot: 4; Characters: 6; Style: 5.5; World-building: 5; Originality: 6;

ISBN: 0-425-16813-1 Order from: Amazon.com