Week 50 Review: Random in Death

From Goodreads: 

In the new crime thriller from #1 New York Times-bestselling J.D. Robb, a small and easily concealed weapon wreaks havoc, and the killer is just a face in the crowd.

Jenna's parents had finally given in, and there she was, at a New York club with her best friends, watching the legendary band Avenue A, carrying her demo in hopes of slipping it to the guitarist, Jake Kincade. Then, from the stage, Jake catches her eye, and smiles. It's the best night of her life.

It’s the last night of her life.

Minutes later, Jake's in the alley getting some fresh air, and the girl from the dance floor comes stumbling out, sick and confused and deathly pale. He tries to help, but it's no use. He doesn't know that someone in the crowd has jabbed her with a needle—and when his girlfriend Nadine arrives, she knows the only thing left to do for the girl is call her friend, Lieutenant Eve Dallas.

After everyone on the scene is interviewed, lab results show a toxic mix of substances in the victim's body—and for an extra touch of viciousness, the needle was teeming with infectious agents. Dallas searches for a pattern: Had any boys been harassing Jenna? Was she engaging in risky behavior or caught up in something shady? But there are no obvious clues why this levelheaded sixteen-year-old, passionate about her music, would be targeted.

And that worries Dallas. Because if Jenna wasn't targeted, if she was just the random, unlucky victim of a madman consumed by hatred, there are likely more deaths to come.

My Review:
I loved reading this book! I love this series, ever since I picked up the first book off my mom's shelves. Reading this latest installment, where the victims were chosen at random...it was a challenge for Eve and the gang to overcome to find out who the villain was! 

In this case, finding all the evidence, mining all the details to figure out the M.O. was the most important piece in catching this killer. They remark upon it later, but they fit in a lot of casework in not a lot of time and that pace was pretty relentless to stop the killing! 

The victims in this case, are some of the most heartbreaking, they're young, they had so much life ahead of them, and their only "crime" was being what the killer hated, and being there in the right place at the wrong time. Which is so infuriating! 

One thing that I really wanted, was the moment when they realize, they've been caught, they're going away for a very long time, maybe not even coming out. Alas. Especially because of the attitude of this one, if it wasn't a killer, then it'd be the average person that you just want to throttle because they're like that. Oh, well, can't have it every time! 

This was another fantastic installment in the series and I can't wait for more! 

Author: J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #58
Read: December 10th, 2023
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Expected Publication: January 23rd 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars