From Publishers Weekly
In the 20th fine volume of Roberts's futuristic mystery franchise, police lieutenant Eve Dallas is called in when lawyer Grant Swisher and his family are massacred with eerie skillfulness on the Upper West Side. The only survivor is 10-year-old Nixie, who evades—and witnesses—the killers as she creeps down to the kitchen for a midnight snack. Despite the painful memories of her own childhood that Nixie's presence calls up, Eve decides to hide the girl in the high-tech mansion she shares with her husband, billionaire businessman Roarke. With help from Roarke; her faithful sidekick, Peabody; and others, Eve discovers the existence of a shadowy former military operative with a grudge against Swisher—the lawyer helped the operative's battered wife divorce him right before she disappeared. The relatively early disclosure of the villain's identity and the dearth of other viable suspects dulls the suspense in the first half of the book, but tension escalates toward an absorbing denouement as a trap Eve sets for her target ends up with Nixie as its unintentional bait. Throughout, the series' colorful supporting cast and Eve's prickly personality—smartly showcased in her power struggles with everything from space-age vending machines to her own past—remain as vividly appealing as ever. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description
No affairs. No criminal connections. No DNA. No clues. Eve Dallas may be the best cop in the city - not to mention having the lavish resources of her husband Roarke at her disposal - but the Swisher case has her baffled. The family members were murdered in their beds with brutal, military precision. The state-of-the-art security was breached, and the killers used night vision to find their way through the cozy middle-class house. Clearly, Dallas is dealing with pros. The only mistake they made was to overlook the nine-year-old girl cowering in the dark in the kitchen. . .

Now Nixie Swisher is an orphan - and the sole eyewitness to a seemingly inexplicable crime. Kids are not Dallas's strong suit. But Nixie needs a safe place to stay, and Dallas needs to solve this case. Not only because of the promise she made to Nixie. Not only for the cause of justice. But also to put to rest some of her own darkest memories - and deepest fears. With her partner Peabody on the job, and watching her back - and with Roarke providing the kind of help only he can give - Lieutenant Eve Dallas is running after shadows, and dead-set on finding out who's behind them.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
She writes top-notch women's fiction as Nora Roberts, futuristic police procedural mysteries under her recently revealed pseudoymn J. D. Robb, and is a No.1 New York Times￯﾿ﾽbestselling author under both names. In Survivor in Death, the prolific author has New York City homicide detective Eve Dallas battling bitter memories as well as cold-blooded killers, as she struggles to protect the lone survivor of a deadly home invasion.

The only thing that kept young Nixie Swisher from suffering the same fate as her parents, brother, housekeeper, and young sleepover companion was the impulsive nine-year-old's desire for an illicit orange fizzy at 2 a.m. Taking the bereft girl under her wing, Eve is determined to make sure the killers don't get the chance to finish their lethal job. From the first, however, the investigation is baffling. The Swishers were a nice family, living on the Upper West Side in a house with an excellent security system. Ordinary almost to a fault, they seemed unlikely victims for this carefully planned and executed crime. Valuables at the scene were left untouched, there was no sign of vandalism -- just the corpses of five people murdered in their sleep.

All Nixie saw was two people dressed in black, wearing night-vision goggles and carrying sharp knives. They were in and out in less than 15 minutes -- silent, swift, and deadly. Unwilling to turn the gutsy young survivor over to the questionable refuge of Child Protective Services, Eve brings her to the safest place she knows -- the fortresslike home she shares with her husband, Roarke. There's no doubt in her mind that this was a professional hit, Now it's up to Eve and her top-notch team of civilians and cops to protect the little girl while they track down the people responsible for this unspeakable tragedy. Sue Stone

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The newest in the number-one New York Times-bestselling In Death series featuring Lieutenant Eve Dallas and Roarke. Nora Roberts writing as J. D. Robb returns to the New York City of 2059-where Dallas will struggle to solve the murder of a seemingly ordinary family and to protect one small, terrified survivor.

The members of the Swisher family were murdered in their beds with brutal, military precision. The state-of-the-art security was breached, and the killers used night-vision equipment to find their way through the cozy, middle-class house. Clearly, Dallas is dealing with pros. It seems the only mistake they made was to overlook the nine-year-old girl cowering in the darkened kitchen.

Now Nixie Swisher is an orphan-and the sole eyewitness to a seemingly inexplicable crime. Kids are not Dallas's strong suit. But Nixie needs a safe place to stay, and Dallas needs to solve this case. With her partner, Peabody, back on the job-and her husband, Roarke, providing the kind of help that only he can give-Lieutenant Eve Dallas is running after shadows, and dead-set on finding out who's behind them.

Author Bio: Nora Roberts is the number-one New York Times-bestselling author of more than one hundred and fifty novels. Under the pen name J. D. Robb, she is the author of the number-one New York Times-bestselling futuristic romantic suspense series featuring Lieutenant Eve Dallas and Roarke. There are more than 250 million copies of her books in print.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In the 20th fine volume of Roberts's futuristic mystery franchise, police lieutenant Eve Dallas is called in when lawyer Grant Swisher and his family are massacred with eerie skillfulness on the Upper West Side. The only survivor is 10-year-old Nixie, who evades-and witnesses-the killers as she creeps down to the kitchen for a midnight snack. Despite the painful memories of her own childhood that Nixie's presence calls up, Eve decides to hide the girl in the high-tech mansion she shares with her husband, billionaire businessman Roarke. With help from Roarke; her faithful sidekick, Peabody; and others, Eve discovers the existence of a shadowy former military operative with a grudge against Swisher-the lawyer helped the operative's battered wife divorce him right before she disappeared. The relatively early disclosure of the villain's identity and the dearth of other viable suspects dulls the suspense in the first half of the book, but tension escalates toward an absorbing denouement as a trap Eve sets for her target ends up with Nixie as its unintentional bait. Throughout, the series' colorful supporting cast and Eve's prickly personality-smartly showcased in her power struggles with everything from space-age vending machines to her own past-remain as vividly appealing as ever. Agent, Amy Berkower. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Writing as J.D. Robb, Nora Roberts sends us to 2059 for another rendezvous with NYPD lieutenant Eve Dallas. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews