"The first kill was an accident. Mostly." And so Darryl and Ella-Lou’s quest to reach New York City begins with a string of bodies in their wake.
Eve Dallas and Roark have just returned from a post-Christmas holiday on their tropical island. The year is 2061 and as soon as they return to NYC, where it's cold and snowy, Eve and her partner, Peabody, are called to a homicide scene. The victim has been horribly tortured before being put out of his misery. Eve almost misses the murderer's signature; a heart carved into the victim with the initials E and D inside. Eve wonders if this is the signature of a serial killer. If so, where are the other victims? As far as she can find there have been no other murders in NYC with the same signature.
As the investigation progresses, or not, help arrives in the form of Deputy Will Banner from Silby's Pond, Arkansas, a small town in the Ozarks not far from the Missouri border. He has traveled to NYC on his own dime after hearing about the current investigation as some cases he has been following have similar elements. This is the lead that Eve has been looking for and, with a girl missing, she has less than 48 hours to figure out who the killer is and where to find the latest victim before it's too late.
Devoted in Death is the 41st in death title and it doesn't disappoint.