Author J.D. Robb
In Death Series #55
Publisher St. Martin's Press
Release Date: Sept. 6, 2022
Order Link: Amazon
Many thanks to St. Martins Press for an arc.
The #1 New York Times bestselling author presents a gripping new thriller that pits homicide detective Eve Dallas against a conspiracy of exploitation and evil…
Review:
It's hard to believe that Desperation In Death is book #55 in the In Death Series, and I'm just as addicted to these stories as I was at books #1-3. So much can be said about the writing, plotting and character development and I'm happy to say it still hits home book after book. Robb's expert care and delivery of sensitive subject manner has never wavered and was never more evident than in this story about the horrors of human trafficking. While the subject matter is heartbreaking, once again Robb has delivered a mesmerizing story that held me in a trance until The End.
Mina Cabot and Dorian Gregg were both abducted as teenagers - two individuals walking home alone and then they vanished. Readers learn that they're being held and trained at the Pleasure Academy. Numerous girls have been imprisoned for months and trained for a life of service and exploitation. They are eventually sold to men to live as their sex slaves. Mina and Dorian hatch an escape plan and manage to get outside the facility before tragedy strikes. One is left dead while the other flees for her life.
Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYC police department, is called to a heartbreaking crime scene at the edge of Battery Park. Joined by her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, they begin investigating the death of a young girl found with a real sharpened piece of wood driven through her small chest. While it may appear to be a mugging, Eve quickly realizes that someone is being set up as there's blood drops from what turns out to be a second teenager. Eve and her team begin working, quickly uncovering clues of a child trafficking ring. They need to find the second missing girl before the villains searching for her kill her also. The story that ensues is dark, gritty and difficult at times to read.
Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYC police department, is called to a heartbreaking crime scene at the edge of Battery Park. Joined by her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, they begin investigating the death of a young girl found with a real sharpened piece of wood driven through her small chest. While it may appear to be a mugging, Eve quickly realizes that someone is being set up as there's blood drops from what turns out to be a second teenager. Eve and her team begin working, quickly uncovering clues of a child trafficking ring. They need to find the second missing girl before the villains searching for her kill her also. The story that ensues is dark, gritty and difficult at times to read.
While Desperation In Death stands alone, as does each of the books in the series, there is a tremendous amount of character development in the previous books. I love that many past characters end up with appearances in this book as Eve calls in all her markers and people to solve this case. Series readers understand how personal this case is to Eve as it brings back her own dark past and nightmares. Roarke is there, as always, helping her get through it personally and assisting the tech team professionally. I love that we see more of Eve leading her team as I enjoy seeing how much she's grown both personally and professionally. Desperation In Death is another excellent book in the series. Highly recommended to fans of the series and readers of mystery and suspense as well as police procedurals.
Synopsis:
New York, 2061: The place called the Pleasure Academy is a living nightmare where abducted girls are trapped, trained for a life of abject service while their souls are slowly but surely destroyed. Dorian, a thirteen-year-old runaway who’d been imprisoned there, might never have made it out if not for her fellow inmate Mina, who’d hatched the escape plan. Mina was the more daring of the two—but they’d been equally desperate.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get away fast enough. Now Dorian is injured, terrified, and wandering the streets of New York, and Mina lies dead near the waterfront while Lt. Eve Dallas looks over the scene.
Mina’s expensive, elegant clothes and beauty products convince Dallas that she was being groomed, literally and figuratively, for sex trafficking—and that whoever is investing in this high-overhead operation expects windfall profits. Her billionaire husband, Roarke, may be able to help, considering his ties to the city’s ultra-rich. But Roarke is also worried about the effect this case is having on Dallas, as it brings a rage to the surface she can barely control. No matter what, she must keep her head clear--because above all, she is desperate for justice and to take down those who prey on and torment the innocent.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get away fast enough. Now Dorian is injured, terrified, and wandering the streets of New York, and Mina lies dead near the waterfront while Lt. Eve Dallas looks over the scene.
Mina’s expensive, elegant clothes and beauty products convince Dallas that she was being groomed, literally and figuratively, for sex trafficking—and that whoever is investing in this high-overhead operation expects windfall profits. Her billionaire husband, Roarke, may be able to help, considering his ties to the city’s ultra-rich. But Roarke is also worried about the effect this case is having on Dallas, as it brings a rage to the surface she can barely control. No matter what, she must keep her head clear--because above all, she is desperate for justice and to take down those who prey on and torment the innocent.
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