Fantasy in Death - J.D. Robb

FANTASY IN DEATH
an Eve Dallas novel

ISBN - 978-0-7499-4073-7
FIRST PRINTED - 2010
PAGES - 344
BINDING - Paperback
GENRE - Crime/Thriller

AUTHOR - J.D. Robb

BEST-SELLERS - Naked in Death, Glory in Death

SYNOPSIS - They had been best friends since the early days, driven by one shared vision - to rule the world of virtual reality games. Cill, hard-edged and strikingly beautiful, Var and Benny, with the brains and business acumen, and Bart, the genius behind the idea who is backing the company with every last penny he owns. Their newest invention, refined to transport the player into a fantastical virtual world, is just about to be launched.

Then, suddenly, Bart is found brutally killed, seemingly defeated by the dark side of their secret masterpiece. Their close knit group is torn apart. Who could have engineered a virtual death with such devastating consequences? Even Eve Dallas, New York City's most tenacious investigator, is hard-pressed for an answer. But as she digs deeper behind the flashy facade of the gaming world, she finally sees the killer's master plan and she knows his game is far from over.

EXCERPT - He turned into the next strike, blocking it, and he felt a wrenching pop in his shoulder. He nearly called for a pause in the program, but he was too busy dodging a swipe.

What the hell, he thought as he struck out and nearly got by Manx's guard, winning wasn't winning until you worked for it.

"Your woman will be mine before nightfall," Manx snarled.

"She'll dance on your ---- hey!" His sword slipped, and his enemy's blade sliced his arm. Instead of a quick jolt to mark the hit, the pained seared. "What the hell. Pause ---"

But for Bart, it was game over.

FL Speak - Fantasy in Death is one of the long running thriller novels in the 'In Death' series created by Nora Roberts who writes this series in the pseudonym of J.D. Robb. Of the 30 novels in the 'In Death' series, ALL of them have been best-sellers!

In this novel, Eve Dallas is called to the crime scene where the head honcho at U-Play, a game company, was found murdered. Well not murdered, he was beheaded, at his own house, in his own holographic room while apparently playing a game. As Eve investigates, she notes that nothing is out of order. Upon deep scanning the logs of the house and the house droid, it becomes clear that the murderer was nowhere near the victim in the time of his death. And yet, he was beheaded with a sword and the instrument of the killing was nowhere to be found.

Eve interrogates his partners at U-Play and comes to know that the Bart, the victim, was well loved and they had plans to launch a new game into the market that would change the gaming world forever. But without the motive of the killer, Eve finds it extremely difficult to solve the murder. And without the weapon, the case has become a lot more complicated. As Eve and her cops solve the puzzling murder one at a time, out comes the shocker that Bart was murdered while still in the game. And that also the latest game that is yet to be launched by U-Play. With a definite lead to go on and as Eve works her way up the puzzle, the killer strikes again. This time its Cill though she barely managed to escape. Will Eve brave the menacing virtual world that has almost killed two people and emerge victorious or will she succumb to the unlimited possibilities in the world of gaming as lines between virtual reality and reality finally vanish.

Awesome concept and execution by J.D. Robb. The first half and the last half of the novel are filled with action and explosive material. The story becomes mundane in the middle pages though it recovers well enough. If you like thrillers, this is one for you. Although i won't say this is a must read.

My Rating - 3 stars

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