Short and sweet, I find HAUNTED IN DEATH to be a fun little interlude between major cases. We get to see all of our favorite characters. Eve is able to give Peabody a little on-the-job training by letting her take point for several aspects of the case. Roarke gets to come in and play cop for a bit. The best part of HAUNTED IN DEATH is that, for once, the identity of the murderer isn’t quite as clear cut as it usually is. When you have a series in which clairvoyants and psychics are accepted as normal, what is a little thing like a ghost? ( )

It is January 2060 and bitter winter Dallas and Peabody have been called to a derelict building by dispatch for a dead body found.

This derelict building, Number Twelve, is known for being a hot club in the 1960s and 1970s. The club closed when recording artist Bobbie Bray disappeared, presumed killed, murdered, or just poofed. This leaves Hop Hopkins, Bobbie's husband and manager, and the building owner a recluse in his upstairs apartment. The building disintegrates, and its reputation for being haunted and cursed grows.

Hap Hopkins III, the grandson of Hop Hopkins, was trying to rehab the building but was on hold due to a lack of funds. He planned on making a profit from the building's relationship with Bobbie.

Now Dallas and Peabody are standing over the body of Hap Hopkins III. killed by a banned gun. Why is he here now?

This novella is another case from Eve Dallas. Robb leaves open the question of personal belief in the paranormal. She does define Dallas as logic-driven, preventing the theater the killer uses from pushing her from following her instincts and the clues of her investigation. ( )

Eve's murder is related to a murder 100 years previous. Is it a ghostly murder or is the murderer just that clever. I'm with Eve, not believing, was an okay read for me. ( )

Haunted in Death
4 Stars

A quick and entertaining novella.

While the paranormal elements in this installment are somewhat incongruent with the established futuristic world building in the series, they are interwoven well within the storyline. It is fun seeing Eve reconcile her analytical thought processes with the existence of ghosts, especially considering the openness of the people around her, mainly Peabody and Roarke, to the idea.

The murder investigation is fairly straightforward with a couple of solid twists and the confrontation at the end is exciting.

All in all, a well-written and cohesive story that covers all the basis in relatively few pages. ( )

The plot is relatively simple. A murder is discovered in a building that is assumed to be haunted and/or cursed and Eve needs to figure out what happened. The victim is the grandson of the former owner of the building which was a swinging club in the 1960s. The owner of the club had a girlfriend who disappeared and attained legendary status. She was a 24-year-old rock star. Then the owner locked himself into the luxury apartment above the club until he died. Since then the building has gone through lots of owners who all seemed to have bad luck there. It is a very different JD Robb. Terrific story and fascinating characters. Eve experiences a world she never believed existed. Lots of fun. ( )