A maid is brutally beaton, raped, and murdered during a gala at one of Roarke's hotels. Eve Dallas is at the event with her husband, so immediately becomes the primary detective of the crime. DNA results quickly prove who killed the maid. Now she has to catch a serial murderer for hire who has been doing that job for over forty years.
Soon another employee of Roarke's is found murdered. The editor was killed in the same manner as the maid. A pattern is forming - the targets are people attached to Roarke. Dallas wants to protect him; he won't allow it. He is busy with a fund raising auction that is coming up. So instead, he becomes a civilian consultant for the police. The FBI has been trying to catch the exterminator for years. They also join in the manhunt.
An old friend from his boyhood days in Dublin visits Roarke and Eve. The charity auction is for an old friend and idol of Roarke's, a veneered actress who has been able to maintain her dignity, presence, and living in the fickle world of acting. Now Roarke will divide his attention yet another way as he helps Eve close in on the murderer and the person who hired this killer.
Once again Robb (aka Nora Roberts) delivers a suspenseful, futuristic thriller. It twists around on itself throwing out threads here and there. The darkness of the psyche of the hired killer is explored. The lives of Dallas and Roarke are drawn closer together and their relationship grows deeper. The title, as usual, gives a clue, but even that is misleading. Here is another in the series I recommend.
