Origin in Death (urspr publ 2005; utgåvan 2006)

Revered Doctor Wilfred B. Icove, a modern reconstructive and cosmetic surgery pioneer, has a reputation for being completely devoted to his practice and his family. Nevertheless, the man known as “Doctor Perfect” meets an untimely end, thanks to a well-placed scalpel in his heart.

But New York Police and Security Department homicide detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds his impeccable record suspect and, surmising that the doctor held some sort of secret, deepens her investigation. She’s certain the doctor’s son, who worked closely with his father and is the successor to Icove’s practice, knows what it is; his reticence, however, means Eve isn’t getting any help from the younger Doctor Icove.

And then there’s a second, identical, murder . . . and Doctor Wilfred B. Icove, Junior is the victim.

Can Eve find the dark secrets led to the deaths of the two doctors?

Twenty-first in the venerable “In Death” series, the compelling narrative sets an absorbing investigation in motion. As always, the relationships are at the heart of the story, but here the investigation of the crime is central to the telling of the tale. Eve and Peabody are in top form as the gripping plot unfolds, revealing both surprises and unexpected twists. Readers will find a bit of romance [and Thanksgiving visitors] amid the suspense and intrigue while a fair amount of creepiness in this impossible-to-set-aside story makes this a perfect addition to the series.

Highly recommended. ( )

This is a series set in the future so it follows that the technology would outpace what we currently know. The death of a noted cosmetic surgeon followed closely by the death of his son, also a cosmetic surgeon, set the investigation in motion. What Dallas finds opens a can of worms regarding births and engineering the perfect child and similar philosophical and ethical questions. ( )

Eve's on the trail of a woman who murdered a prestigious doctor and uncovers a terrible underground. She and Rourke also face his relatives coming for Thanksgiving.
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I'm bored. I knew it at 50 pages, but at page 87 I decided I could not go on.The theme might be that cosmetic surgery causes moral degradation, but so much of the fantasy is about how lovely it is to look lovely. Waste of time. ( )

3.5 stars

The plot was a bit far-fetched and I wish Eve was a little more supportive when Roarke's family came for the holidays.
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