by J.D. Robb
Part of In Death, book 13
First published 2004
Lieutenant Eve Dallas stares at a crime scene that looks like romance gone wrong. Rose petals cover the bed. Candles burned down to stubs. Wine glasses sit abandoned. But the woman is dead, killed by a rare date-rape drug worth a quarter million dollars on the street. The killer spent weeks wooing his victim online before they met in person. He set up an elaborate seduction with candlelight and music, but the fantasy was all for him. He never meant to kill her, but now he faces a choice. He can hide in fear and guilt, or he can start hunting again. Dallas replays every detail in her mind. The expensive drug suggests someone with serious money and connections. The careful online courtship shows patience and planning. The romantic staging reveals a twisted need for control. As Dallas digs deeper into cyberspace and the dark world of designer drugs, she races to catch a killer before he decides that murder might be even more thrilling than seduction.
Genres: romance, suspense, mystery, crime
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, twisted-romance
354 pages · Paperback · Piatkus
Content warnings: drug-use, murder, sexual-assault