Finding a murderer is never easy --- especially in FAITHLESS IN DEATH, the 52nd installment in J. D. Robb’s long-running series.

In May 2061, NYPSD Homicide Division Lieutenant Eve Dallas is finishing up her reports on a previous case. It is one of her least favorite parts of the job, but it must be done. A dispatch on her communicator appears: possible homicide. When Eve and Lt. Peabody arrive at an apartment in the West Village of New York City, they find Ariel Byrd, a talented sculptor, with her head bashed in. A lover’s tiff with unintended consequences? A break-in? The cause is yet to be determined. However, there is that 911 call.

"The suspenseful plot is a provocative look at the manipulation plied at the hands of a charismatic and influential leader."

Eve and Peabody follow that lead to an Upper East Side residence. When they interview Gwen Huffman, a beautiful wealthy woman with a handsome fiancé lawyer by her side, she seems fragile. Tears flow in abundance as she talks about her early morning appointment with Ariel. She was to have a sitting for a sculpture and arrived to find the artist dead. According to Gwen, she was so shocked and discombobulated that she left the apartment. When she could finally think clearly, she called 911.

The detectives leave the interview knowing that they have just heard a concocted story. But why the pretense and tears? Eve and her crew begin to investigate. The more they learn, the more their witness looks like a suspect in the murder, but the evidence doesn’t support their suspicions.

Still, they can’t ignore Gwen and her family’s connection to the Natural Order, a strict religious group. When Eve and Peabody go to the compound to interview its leader, Stanton Wilkey, they are offered refreshments, and a note with a name, date and address is discreetly dropped to Eve. She follows up, and what she learns is shocking. With the help of her tech-savvy husband Roarke and her team, she uncovers a broad international conspiracy that includes some very influential men in the country. But how is it possible that this group has something to do with the case? And why? To uncover the complicated and ugly truth about Ariel’s murder, Eve must walk down a dark road into the workings of a cult-like secret society.

FAITHLESS IN DEATH, as do all the books in this series, relies on the collective talents of Eve, her team and Roarke. The suspenseful plot is a provocative look at the manipulation plied at the hands of a charismatic and influential leader. But once again, good will triumph and justice will reign, because Eve Dallas is on the job.