Mysterye Addict

Style/genre: Procedural, Female protagonist

If you like this, try…Michael Connelly, P.D. James, Ian Rankin, Patricia Cornwell, Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton

Rating: 4 out of 5 fingerprints

“Eve stepped out of the shower and into the drying tube…”

This futuristic series (set in the middle of the 22nd century) centers around a bad-assed NYPD cop who nabs murderers as often as some women shop.*Eve Dallas is long, lean, belligerent–and an excellent detective.  She’s married to a handsome, sexy Irish billionaire named Roarke–he of the long flowing black hair and intense blue eyes.  It’s a fun series with futuristic inventions such as flying vehicles (finally!), Autochefs, and the like.   Eve has a finely tuned bullshit detector and is a master of the verbal ass-kicking.  In “Promises in Death”,  she hunts down a cop-killer.

Li Morris is an NYPSD mortician in love with Amaryllis Coltraine, a fellow cop who has turned up dead. Eve is assigned the case and has the unenviable task of breaking the news to Morris, who is  a good friend.  Eve always takes murder cases personally and this one hits her extra hard. The killer taunts her with a note and memorabilia from the murder, which only increases her determination.

Regular readers of the series will recognize certain features:

• Unbelievably spectacular sex occurs between Eve and Roarke
• Sass talk is exchanged by  Dallas and Peabody, Delia–a detective and Eve’s partner
• Roarke’s e-skills  cut through red tape and help Eve solve the case

A few regulars also put in appearances.  They include  Dr. Mira, a sensitive psychotherapist who often helps Eve profile suspects; Ian McNab, an EDD (Electronics Detection Division) detective and Peabody’s main squeeze; and Dan Webster, an Internal Affairs Division cop and a former lover of Eve’s.

If this is your first venture into the series, I’d definitely recommend reading it from the beginning, but starting here won’t ruin anything for you.  It’s a good book and there’s some good “gotcha!” moments near the end when Eve plays the killer like a violin during interrogation.

*Is woman = avid shopper a shopworn cliche? You bet–which is part of the fun of the series. Eve avoids makeup and trims her own hair and hates shopping, socializing and other “girly” activities.