thankless in death

thankless in death
in death #37
nora roberts
fiction/mystery/thriller/romance
putnam adult
published 2013

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has plenty to be grateful for this season. Hosting Roarke’s big Irish family for the holiday may be challenging, but it’s a joyful improvement on her own dark childhood.
 
Other couples aren’t as lucky as Eve and Roarke. The Reinholds, for example, are lying in their home stabbed and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition. Those who knew them are stunned—and heartbroken by the evidence that they were murdered by their own son. Twenty-six-year-old Jerry hadn’t made a great impression on the bosses who fired him or the girlfriend who dumped him—but they didn’t think he was capable of this.
 
Turns out Jerry is not only capable of brutality but taking a liking to it. With the money he’s stolen from his parents and a long list of grievances, he intends to finally make his mark on the world. Eve and her team already know the who, how, and why of this murder. What they need to pinpoint is where Jerry’s going to strike next.

I can't remember if there's ever been an 'In Death' case like this one.  Dallas & Peabody know who their killer is almost right away and it's not a matter of collecting evidence, but finding where he's holed up.

Reinhold was a pretty good villain.  Super gross and annoying, I couldn't wait for him to get his and it was a pretty satisfying conclusion.  

At one point in the beginning Eve mentions that the year is 2060 and going back, the first book Naked in Death took place in 2058 so less than 2 years have passed!  It feels like much longer than that.  While sometimes you get the feeling that these cases are back to back it seems like there's longer breaks between some, but I guess not.  Then again, Mavis & Leonardo's kid is a good measure of how much time has passed.  She's just barely walking and talking!

There were some sentimental moments here.  The acknowledgement of Eve & Roarke's hard work and their support of her team, not to mention Roarke's family and the appearance of a character from tons of books ago!

Now seriously, when is Eve going to have a kid?  Or Peabody, when are Peabody and McNab going to get married?  Something's got to happen there, right?!