Stolen in Death (In Death, #62) by J.D. Robb (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

Jul 31, 2026 

This reader’s guilty-pleasure series just keeps getting better and better. This installment features a surprisingly absorbing mystery that involves greed, sibling rivalry, and a decades-old family scandal.

In a novel that also reveals a piece of Lt. Eve Dallas’s husband, Roarke’s, shadowy past; before he turned from a life of crime into the benevolent multi-billionaire philanthropist of today; we see a villain of prior books, Magdalena, strike out in revenge against our heroes.

Roarke has rejected and embarrassed Magdalena in Innocent in Death, a prior installment, because he loves Eve and his new life with her, on the right side of the law. Later he boots her from a hotel he owns, which fact he reveals to Eve, helping her understand Magdalena’s motive for masterminding the entire heist/murder episode that is the principal crime she is investigating.

The owner/ heir of a successful family business, Nathan Barrister, has been found murdered in his own home, in his office next to an open safe containing fabulous treasures, most of which are stolen and have been missing for decades. The culprit in those acquisitions appears to be the late father of the Barrister family. His children, including Nathan, claim to be unaware of their father’s clandestine activities until after his death. Only one set of pieces, the Emerald Suite, is missing; why?

What follows are twists and turns as Eve discovers that numerous crimes including a murder attempt against Eve herself are not only related but masterminded by the same party; to seek revenge against Roarke and Eve, as well as profiting from the theft of a set of famous jewels.

As usual, in addition to Roarke’s help as a “civilian consultant,” Eve is surrounded by a whole squadron of loyal, dedicated detectives who will go the extra mile to drag criminals and crimes to light.

I am a long time fan of this series, but this book is truly one of the best efforts I have read. I award this novel five stars and am sure I will revisit J. D. Robb’s world soon.