Books › Fantasy in death
Fantasy in death
527 pages
A gritty, high-tech procedural where the lethal consequences of virtual escapism bleed into the real world.
What it feels like
Reading this feels like stepping into a sleek, neon-lit future where the grit of a classic police procedural meets the limitless, often dangerous possibilities of virtual reality. The narrative moves at a brisk, confident clip, driven by sharp, banter-filled dialogue and the relentless, pragmatic energy of its seasoned detective protagonist. As the mystery deepens, the atmosphere grows increasingly tense and immersive, blurring the lines between digital fantasy and visceral, real-world consequences. Yet, beneath the high-tech murder and corporate espionage, there is a profound warmth, a grounding sense of found family and enduring romance that softens the story's cynical edges. It is a highly satisfying, suspenseful ride designed for readers who love a tough-as-nails heroine unraveling a seemingly impossible, futuristic locked-room puzzle.
- Mood
- tense
- futuristic
- immersive
- high-stakes
- Tone
- pragmatic
- witty
- suspenseful
- gritty
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- blurring of reality and fantasy · corporate ambition · found family · the dark side of escapism · relentless pursuit of justice
- The writing
- Punchy and dialogue-driven, the writing balances the sharp, cynical edge of a police procedural with moments of warm, grounded intimacy.
- The arc
- The journey shifts from gruesome, baffling shock to a tense, methodical unraveling of secrets, culminating in a deeply satisfying delivery of justice.
- Who it's for
- Fans of futuristic thrillers and locked-room mysteries who crave a tough, no-nonsense heroine anchored by a fiercely loyal partnership.
Content notes
- graphic violence
- decapitation
- murder
- blood and gore
About the book
An Eve Dallas Investigation In Death
They were best friends, driven by one shared vision - to rule the world of virtual reality games. Cill, hard-edged and beautiful, Var and Benny, brains and business acumen, and Bart, the genius behind the idea. Their newest invention, developed to transport the player into a fantastical virtual world, is just about to be launched.
Bart Minnock, the founder of the computer-gaming giant U-Play, enters his private playroom, and eagerly can't wait to lose himself in an imaginary world, to play the role of a sword-wielding warrior king, in his company's latest top-secret project, Fantastical. The next morning, he is found in the same locked room, in a pool of blood, his head separated from his body, defeated by their own game. Their close-knit group is torn apart. Who could have engineered a virtual death with such devastating consequences?
It is the most puzzling case NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas has ever faced, and it is not a game... Eve is having as much trouble figuring out how Bart was murdered as who did the murdering. The victim's girlfriend seems sincerely grief-stricken, and his quirky-but-brilliant partners at U-Play appear equally shocked. No one seemed to have a probA-lem with the enthusiastic, high-spirited millionaire. Of course, success can attract jealousy, and gaming, like any business, has its fierce rivalries and dirty tricks-as Eve's husband, Roarke, one of U- Play's competitors, knows well. But Bart was not naive, and quite capable of fighting back in the real world as well as the virtual one.
Eve and her team are about to enter the next level of police work, in a world where fantasy is the ultimate seduction-and the price of defeat is death... But as she digs deeper, peeling back layers of secrets, revenge and misplaced allegiances, she realises with growing dread the depth of the killer's master plan. And she knows his game is far from over....
Description from Open Library.
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