Imagine, if you will, a computer program that can be transmitted like a virus to a certain person. A virus that could not be seen by the person using the computer. A virus that could, after a few hours, so infect the person that death is most likely inevitable. A virus aimed at the worst of society that always seem to escape justice. The folks that many would like to see removed permanently in order to make things better for all. Is the ability to do that, justice or vigilantism? When others who are not the target also die, are those deaths unavoidable collateral damage or just the cost of finally achieving justice and getting rid of some very sick folks?
That is the plot behind Purity in Death: Eve
Dallas Mysteries by J.D. Robb. It is July 2059 and the summer is
brutally hot. The soul crushing heat is driving some folks mad which is why all
types of violence are up. But, the actions of one Louie K. Cogburn far exceeded
what is common thanks to the heat. The small-time drug dealer was known for
being calm and organized as he sold drugs to the young kids that attended
schools near his Lower East Side apartment. Folks knew what he did, but proving
it in a court of law has repeatedly proven very difficult over the years.
He wasn’t known for violence, but the carnage he
left behind in the apartment and hallway outside of it shows that he could do
it. A brutal and violent scene, that Officer Troy Trueheart, a young and good
cop that NYSPD Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows and had worked with before, put an
end to with his stun weapon. The use of the stun weapon resulted in the death
of Louis K. Cogburn.
He never should have died. The fact that he did
means Officer Trueheart, who was off duty and heard the screams coming from the
apartment and this came to help, is now in a world of trouble. The fact that he
fought the crazed man before drawing his weapon is a point in his favor. The
fact that he was so shook he called Dallas first before reporting the situation
to dispatch, is a definite negative, and Internal Affairs will not like that
one bit.
Then there is the fact that another resident, Ralph
Wooster, is dead and another has been injured. Suzanne Cohen was the one
screaming and got Officer Trueheart heard and came to help.
Beyond the issue that this whole deal is way out of
character for the very much dead Cogburn, there is a strange message on his
computer. “Absolute Purity Achieved” in capital letters is sitting in the middle
of the screen. That phrase means nothing at this point to Dallas, but it soon
will as the case explodes into yet more violence. The next round is at Cop Central and puts the
lives of several officers and friends in jeopardy along with her own.
Purity in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries
follows the now familiar format of the last several books where there are multiple
interlinked cases, politics and the media are heavily involved, Roarke is a
bedroom stud when he isn’t helping her case along, and the usual head hopping
in point of view. A couple of added twists for various characters are thrown in
for fun, here and to create new complications/storylines for later books.
Purity in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries
by J. D. Robb is another fun read that is part police procedural and part romance.
It is pure escapism and with the way the world is these days, we could all use
more of that.
The series to this
point and my reviews:
Naked in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book
1) March 2021
Glory in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book
2) April 2021
Immortal in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book
3) May 2021
Rapture in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book
4) June 2021
Ceremony in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book
5) July 2021
Vengeance in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book
6) September 2021
Holiday in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book
7) October 2021
Conspiracy in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book
8) October 2021
Loyalty in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book
9) January 2022
Witness in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book 10)
March 2022
Judgement in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book
11) April 2022
Betrayal in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book 12) April 2022
Seduction in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book 13) June 2022
Reunion in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book 14) June 2022
My reading copy
came from the Dallas Public Library System through the Overdrive/Libby app.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2022
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