Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds herself with a serial killer or killers on her hands when, on a frosty winter day, three people are shot to death at the Wollman Rink in Central Park. The second attack comes to fruition in Times Square where four individuals are shot, one of whom is a cop. Eve's team, including her husband, Roarke (a technical genius), discovers the "nest" from where the first shots were fired, and they determine that "a tactical laser rifle with a range up to two miles was the weapon" used by the sniper. They also realize that two people are responsible for the shootings: a man named Mackie and his daughter, Willow, known as Will, an attempt to hide her gender.

"APPRENTICE IN DEATH is a fast-moving police procedural that rushes readers to finish quickly. It is charged with suspense and a sense of reality."

Once the team learns that more than one person is to blame, they surmise that more killings will take place. But are these snipers targeting specific people or random victims? Shortly after the Times Square shootings comes the discovery of a hit list comprised of initials, not names. Eve and her New York Police Security Department realize that the number of those killed are just "collateral damage" to hide who the real target is.

The third attack is a bloody massacre outside Madison Square Garden. Eve and her colleagues are determined to track down the killers, and readers will find it quite gratifying to watch the narrative unfold with all of the details of the investigation. Since the story takes place in the future, author J. D. Robb offers new technology to enhance the way police do their job.

The first attack in Central Park took the lives of a teenage girl who was spinning on the ice in a red skin-tight outfit, a doctor and a teacher. What in the world did these individuals have in common? The same question applies to the other two killings, and Eve understands the pattern that leads to the collateral damage.

APPRENTICE IN DEATH is a fast-moving police procedural that rushes readers to finish quickly. It is charged with suspense and a sense of reality. Robb has done her homework, and in this, her 43rd In Death novel, setting it in "the near future New York City" puts a new slant on its recurring characters. This is a book to snuggle up with as fall turns to winter.