cover image Born in Death

Born in Death

J. D. Robb, writing as J.D. Robb. . Putnam, $24.95 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-399-15347-1

Set in New York City in 2060, bestseller Roberts's latest police thriller under her Robb pseudonym in her Lt. Eve Dallas series (Naked in Death, etc.) offers her usual engaging characters. Dallas's investigation of the brutal murders of Natalie Copperfield, a 26-year-old accountant, and Copperfield's boyfriend becomes entangled with the search for Tandy Willowby, a pregnant friend who mysteriously vanishes shortly before her due date. Dallas discovers that Copperfield had stumbled on some white-collar fraud at her high-profile accounting firm, while Willowby's disappearance may be part of a series of abductions. Predictably, the two cases converge, and the mystery's solution becomes obvious. Newcomers, who may be dismayed at how little things will have changed in more than 50 years, would do better to start with earlier books in this near-future suspense series. (Nov.)