In New York to Dallas, part of JD Robb’s (Nora Roberts) hugely popular In Death series, Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds herself facing Isaac McQueen, a blast from her past in more ways than one.

The perp is one of Dallas’ first busts as a young detective. Responsible for putting the serial pedophile in prison, McQueen escapes after 12 years of incarceration. He then sets up an elaborate game to extract revenge on Dallas, the first step of which is luring her away from her beloved New York City to Dallas, Texas. Out of her element and in an unfamiliar territory, Dallas must also deal with her violent past while keeping ahead of McQueen.

One of my (many) guilty reading pleasures, I remain hooked because of several factors: Eve’s back story, Roarke, and a very strong supporting cast.

Eve is the quintessential career woman, who juggles married life with her police career. It’s quite interesting to see how far she’s come from an abused child to one of the most respected lieutenants in the New York Police and Security Department.

Roarke is the dashing Irishman, former petty thief turned business tycoon who managed to sweep the cynical Dallas off her feet and convince her to marry him. He represents what love can do: being married to a cop has reformed him into legitimizing his businesses. With his street smarts and exceptional computer skills, he usually plays the role of expert civilian consultant to Dallas.

Dallas’ backup consists of former mentor and partner Feeney, now head of the e-detectives. Delia Peabody, Free Ager (or tree hugger, depending on Dallas’ mood) is a newly minted detective who used to be her aide. Not as cynical as her boss, Peabody can be quite hilarious. She and her “cohabitation partner” Ian McNabb, an e-detective, keep Dallas from getting too serious or too involved in her cases.

Summerset, Roarke’s butler, is the thorn in Dallas’ side. They have a love-hate relationship, neither one acknowledging the respect they have for each other.

Having followed the futuristic series since book one, the plot remains similar with the others.  However, Robb provides a refreshing change for the reader by setting the story in Dallas, Texas in the year 2060, rather than New York City. The writer also manages to keep the story line exciting and captivating, reeling in the reader with glimpses of Eve Dallas’ history, a subplot in all the books. The dialogue is witty and funny, with Dallas keeping a running commentary on how different New York cops are from the Texans.

While Feeney, Peabody, McNabb and Summerset remain in New York, they keep within the fringes of the story and provide their usual comic relief.

Makes for an interesting read, but could be quite difficult to follow the story if you’ve missed the previous books.

Tina Aureus, currently based in Singapore, is a mom of two.