Shadows in Death by J. D. Robb

In the new novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series, Lt. Eve Dallas is about to walk into the shadows of her husband’s dangerous past... While Eve examines a fresh body in Washington Square Park, her husband, Roarke, spots a man among the onlookers he’s known since his younger days on the streets of Dublin. A man who claims to be his half brother. A man who kills for a living—and who burns with hatred for him. Eve is quick to suspect that the victim’s spouse—resentful over his wife’s affair and poised to inherit her fortune—would have happily paid an assassin to do his dirty work. Roarke is just as quick to warn her that if Lorcan Cobbe is the hitman, she needs to be careful. Law enforcement agencies worldwide have pursued this cold-hearted killer for years, to no avail. And his lazy smirk when he looked Roarke’s way indicates that he will target anyone who matters to Roarke...and is confident he’ll get away with it. Eve is desperate to protect Roarke. Roarke is desperate to protect Eve. And together, they’re determined to find Cobbe before he finds them—even if it takes them across the Atlantic, far outside Eve’s usual jurisdiction...

Reread because I wanted a good comfy read. This one's kind of jarring, since we know the bad guy from step one and we're just trying to catch him. The hunt isn't the same. I like it, but not my favorite of the series.

Is it weird to put a Content Warning for violent death of a cat in a book about a serial killer? Don't worry, it's not Galahad but for a minute Eve thinks that it is

Just when I think this series has run its course, Roberts/Robb releases one of the stronger entries in recent years. The fact that this case is intensely personal makes it so more compelling, and the way Eve and Roarke respect each other's ability to take care of themselves even when their first instinct is to be overprotective shows just how far they have come since the series started (and how much Eve is acing those “Marriage Rules” she's still trying to figure out)

We know the identity of the killer early on, as well as his motives, so the stakes are all about how quickly Eve & Co. will catch him, and whether there will be additional victims before they do. There are several scenes of page-turning, stomach-clenching heightened danger, but unfortunately the final confrontation is a bit anticlimactic. But meanwhile there's lots of familiar tropes to enjoy, from Jenkinson's hideous neckties to Eve's dislike of being anywhere except on the ground in NYC, and Dennis Mira's gentle intelligence that proves he is the most wonderful man in the universe (sorry, Roarke).

Looks like I'll be on that library waiting list for #52 after all...