What would you do if someone broke into your house and threatened you and your family? Your loved ones would be safe only if you let the thugs button you into a vest bomb and send you to blow yourself up, taking with you a number of innocent people. That's what happens to Paul Rogan, and the choice he makes is to go to his Manhattan office and set off the bomb. He and 11 others die, and several more are badly injured. This is how J. D. Robb begins her 47th installment of her In Death series, which stars NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas, her extraordinarily rich husband Roarke, her partner Peabody, and the rest of the regular crew at the cop shop.

At the heart of this futuristic novel is the merger of two popular airlines: Quantum Air, which constitutes luxury accommodations, and EconoLift, which is cut-rate. The world will change if the merger goes through as planned. One of the main players in this high-stakes game is Rogan, VP of marketing at Quantum. He has taken out Derrick Pearson, Quantum's president and CEO, and sent Willimina Karson, a mover and shaker at Econo, to the hospital in critical condition.

"The characters in LEVERAGE IN DEATH are finely honed, and the writing style moves apace. Readers are taken through an ocean of red herrings but are also given clues that may allow them to solve the mystery before reaching the end of this terrifying novel."

As the police investigation goes into full swing, the professionals determine that the two masked men behind this harrowing plot spent months painstakingly stalking Rogan and his family. They knew he would never put his wife or daughter in any kind of jeopardy, so they were able to take their time engaging in the break-in. Their plan went off without a hitch from their evil perspective.

As the story moves along quickly, another bomb is set off in the same manner. This time it's at an art gallery. An evening was planned for artist Angelo Richie’s show when the paintings in his home, as well as the ones getting readied for the gallery, are destroyed and blown up. Why choose an artist who has not yet made a name for himself? He and several others are killed in the bombing. Not too much time passes for the police to determine that “leverage,” as well as the stock market, the military and the art world, is what the bomb masters are about.

Another casualty is Jordan Banks, a dilettante who dabbles in artwork. His gallery is not successful, and he has joined forces with the bombers. He eventually becomes a loose end in their plot and is murdered after spilling the beans about the next targets.

The characters in LEVERAGE IN DEATH are finely honed, and the writing style moves apace. Readers are taken through an ocean of red herrings but are also given clues that may allow them to solve the mystery before reaching the end of this terrifying novel.