It was a glittering event full of A-listers, hosted by Eliza Lane and Brant Fitzhugh, a celebrity couple who’d conquered both Hollywood and Broadway. And now Eve Dallas has made her entrance—but not as a guest. After raising a toast, Fitzhugh fell to the floor and died, with physical symptoms pointing to cyanide, and the police have crashed the party.

From all accounts, he wasn’t the kind of star who made enemies. Everyone loved him—even his ex-wife. And since the champagne cocktail that killed him was originally intended for Eliza, it’s possible she was the real target, with a recently fired assistant, a bitter rival, and an obsessed fan in the picture. With so many attendees, staff, and servers, Eve has her work cut out determining who committed murder in the middle of the crowd—and what was their motivation. As one who’s not fond of the spotlight herself, she dreads the media circus surrounding a case like this. All she wants is to figure out who’s truly innocent, and who’s only acting that way…

Encore in Death is the fifty-sixth (yes, 56th) title in the long, ongoing …in Death series.  For a complete listing of all the titles (along with novellas) in this series please visit our J. D. Robb page.

This is an adult 18+ story that may contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

Title:  Encore in Death
Series:  …in Death #56
Author:  J. D. Robb
Genre:  Crime, Mystery, Police Procedural
Published:  February 7, 2023
Publisher:  St. Martin’s Press
My Rating:  5 stars

Twice a year I look forward with high anticipation to returning to the …in Death world created by J. D. Robb for another adventure with Eve Dallas, Roarke, and a crew of folks who have become, over the years, somewhat of a family – well-known, loved, each with their own personalities and quirks.  When a series has fifty-six titles (along with novellas), well, that’s simply a world that has become part of the lives of readers worldwide.  I know I stop everything and sit down with the newest title (and I don’t think I’m alone in that).  As always, I won’t give away the plot in detail (beyond what you could find in the Cover Description) but I’m always excited to share my thoughts about the next adventure with familiar friends.

Encore in Death centers around the world of entertainment, specifically two major stars in their own right in their often drama-filled world.  Eliza Lane and Brant Fitzhugh were at the top tier of this entertainment world, if not the king and queen in their specific areas of it.  This night they are throwing an extravagant party at their home in New York City to celebrate the revival of the Broadway play that launched Eliza’s career, and perhaps as a going away event as Brant was off to New Zealand to begin production on his next project.  A couple deeply in love, who seemed perfect for each other, especially given their chosen careers, believed they would be temporarily separated when Brant left the following day on his long overseas trip… instead, they would permanently be separated when Brant raised the champagne cocktail in his hand in tribute to his wife and took one sip of a specialty drink intended for Eliza… and seconds later collapsed, dead of a suspected cyanide poisoning.

Spotlights and media frenzy makes the top of the list of things Eve Dallas will avoid by any means possible… but this time she has no choice since her latest case will take her right into the glitzy, media-heavy, back-stabbing world that the victim lived, and died in.  Brant Fitzhugh is hers now, and she’ll do everything in her power to bring his killer to justice.  Yet in a world where almost everyone is very well-versed in lying (after all isn’t acting just pretending to be someone you aren’t), there will be a lot of twists and unexpected developments before Brant’s killer is discovered and brought to justice as only Eve and crew can do.

While I love any story set in this world, I especially enjoy the ones that are basically a puzzle, finding the pieces that sort of fit here but fit perfectly over there… and in many ways, that’s what Encore in Death was for me, a puzzle with a missing piece until it all fell together and I had that “aha” moment.  I love the bantering between Eve and Peabody, their relationship has changed and grown over the course of this series and they are perfect partners/friends at this point.  And absolutely loved that Peabody got to shine just a bit more this time around.  Roarke is as always handsome, charming, and totally Eve’s throughout.  I’ll never tire of how he loves “his cop” or smile when he’s accused of thinking like a cop.  Familiar faces, bits and pieces of their lives outside of fighting crime always are a plus to me when I come back to this world. I absolutely love Eve’s crew.

You’ll find twists and unexpected turns in Encore in Death, a murderer to loathe, and some surprises along the way to finding justice for Brant.  I enjoyed myself, had a few laughs, a few knowing chuckles, was entertained, and learned a bit more about some book friends.  This story is one of my favorites in the series, and I’ll go back in a few weeks to re-read it to see what clues I missed along the way.

I own a Kindle edition of this title.

Available in print, audio, or for your favorite e-reader