ARC Review: Golden in Death by J. D. Robb

Golden in Death
Author: J. D. Robb
Series: In Death (Book 50)
Publication: St. Martin's Press (February 4, 2020)

Description: In the latest thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, homicide detective Eve Dallas investigates a murder with a mysterious motive―and a terrifying weapon.

Pediatrician Kent Abner received the package on a beautiful April morning. Inside was a cheap trinket, a golden egg that could be opened into two halves. When he pried it apart, highly toxic airborne fumes entered his body―and killed him.

After Eve Dallas calls the hazmat team―and undergoes testing to reassure both her and her husband that she hasn’t been exposed―it’s time to look into Dr. Abner’s past and relationships. Not every victim Eve encounters is an angel, but it seems that Abner came pretty close―though he did ruffle some feathers over the years by taking stands for the weak and defenseless. While the lab tries to identify the deadly toxin, Eve hunts for the sender. But when someone else dies in the same grisly manner, it becomes clear that she’s dealing with either a madman―or someone who has a hidden and elusive connection to both victims.

My Thoughts: The 50th In Death mystery has Eve hunting for a killer who used a terrifying chemical weapon to kill a pediatrician. Dr. Kent Abner was a beloved doctor. He was also a beloved husband to Martin Rufty who is the Headmaster of an elite private school, two grown children and grandchildren too. No one can understand who would have done something so terrible to a man like Dr. Abner.

But then there is a second murder using the same chemical weapon. This time the victim is the wife of a Professor at Columbia. She works in her family bookstore but spends most of her time raising the couple's two teenage sons. Again, there doesn't seem to be any reason that she would have angered anyone enough to be the target of such a brutal attack.

Eve and her partner Peabody find a connection when they begin digging deeply to see what the two victims have in common. They discover that both of the husbands were or are associated with the same private school at a time when the school was going through turmoil - bullying, cheating, inflated grades for students who parents were substantial donors. Duran was a whistle blower and Rufty was brought in to right the ship.

The investigation digs deep into that time of turmoil to look for people who could be holding a grudge that only murder will satisfy. I enjoyed the police procedural aspects of this mystery. I also enjoy the relationship between Eve and Roarke who prove that even horrible childhoods can lead to successful adults and that the past doesn't determine future possibilities.

Favorite Quote:

It's never just the dead, Eve thought as they got back in the car. Death--but most especially murder--ripped so many lives to shreds. And no matter how they were put back together, they were never, never the same.

For some killers, she thought, that miserable truth was a kind of bonus point. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.