Encore in Death

The 56th installment in J.D. Robb's futuristic "In Death" series, set in a mid-21st-century New York City, follows Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the New York Police and Security Department (NYPSD) Homicide division as she investigates the cyanide poisoning of a beloved Hollywood actor at a glamorous party, only to discover the murder is connected to a death that occurred 25 years earlier.

Broadway legend Eliza Lane and her husband, film star Brant Fitzhugh, host a lavish party at their Upper West Side penthouse to celebrate a revival of the musical Upstage. Twenty-five years earlier, Eliza got her big break in the original production when the actress cast as the lead, Leah Rose (born Rose Bernstein), died of a drug and alcohol overdose hours before opening night. Now Eliza plans to play the mother role. She is upset that Brant is about to leave for six months to film a major production in New Zealand and has repeatedly asked him to stay, but he insists on going. During the party, Brant brings Eliza her signature champagne cocktail. When her best friend, Sylvie Bowen, suggests Eliza perform a duet with young co-star Samantha Keene, Eliza hands the untouched drink back to Brant. He lifts the glass in a toast and drinks. Within moments, he collapses and dies.

Eve arrives at the penthouse after 11 P.M. and examines the body, noting symptoms consistent with cyanide poisoning: blue-tinted fingernails, red facial patches, and the scent of almonds. Her partner, Detective Peabody, and Detective McNab of the electronic-evidence division (EDD) assist as Eve begins interviewing the roughly 200 guests. A central question emerges: Was the poison meant for Fitzhugh, or for Eliza? The champagne cocktail was Eliza's drink, prepared at Brant's direction, and she never took a sip.

Eliza insists the marriage was perfect. Sylvie points out that the poison was clearly intended for Eliza. Vera Harrow, Fitzhugh's ex-lover, openly admits holding grudges against both Eliza and Brant for a decade-old romantic betrayal, making her an early suspect. Eve also learns that Eliza had a stalker, Ethan Crommell, recently paroled from a mental health facility. Eve and Peabody track Crommell to his Queens apartment, where they discover a shrine to Eliza. He attacks Eve with scissors and is arrested. In a formal interview observed by Dr. Charlotte Mira, the department's top profiler, Crommell reveals deep delusions about a past-life bond with Eliza. Eve and Mira agree he did not commit the murder.

Eve's husband, Roarke, a wealthy businessman who knew Fitzhugh casually, reviews the couple's finances and finds nothing suspicious. Eve re-interviews Vera, who provides credible testimony and seems genuinely shaken by the death. Eve largely clears her but keeps her on the list.

While running background checks on the cast and crew, Eve discovers that choreographer Minerva "Minx" Novak's deceased stepsister was Rose Bernstein, the actress whose death launched Eliza's career. Novak admits she kept the connection secret to protect her job but does not blame Eliza for Rose's death, attributing it to Rose's own choices and the toxic influence of Rose's mother, Debra Bernstein. A search of the Novak home turns up nothing incriminating.

Eve shifts focus to Debra, a manipulative grifter with a long history of fraud. Through Maeve Spindal, a London-based actress who originated the mother role in Upstage, Eve learns from Spindal's assistant that Debra is in New York and recently received a $5,000 wire transfer. Bank records later reveal three transfers totaling $15,000 from various people Debra cultivated over the years. Eve and Peabody locate Debra at the West End Hotel, where she spots them, runs, and is caught.

Searching Debra's room, Eve finds wigs, theatrical makeup, fake IDs, burglar's tools, a maid's uniform matching the cleaning service for Eliza's penthouse, and Eliza's stolen Tony Award. Peabody confirms Debra used forged references to get hired as a temporary cleaner, worked in the penthouse the day of the party, and stayed behind when the crew left. She hid on the third floor, changed into a cocktail dress, and mingled at the party. In interview, Debra admits to the trespass and theft but reacts with what Eve reads as genuine shock when accused of murder. No poison is found among her belongings, and her finances show no cyanide purchase.

Spindal arranges a top defense attorney and posts Debra's million-dollar bail. Eve assigns officers to watch the hotel and begins constructing an alternate theory. The detail that has nagged her from the start, that Eliza never sipped the drink, takes on new significance. Eve also catches lies in Eliza's account of a backstage confrontation with Rose the night Rose died, inconsistencies too deliberate to be faded memories. Eve theorizes that Eliza killed her husband because he chose his career over her and used her own drink to make it appear someone else was the target.

Roarke discovers that Eliza's housekeeper has a nephew, Tyler Vance, a Brooklyn metal artist who uses cyanide for electroplating. Eve and Peabody visit Vance, who confirms Eliza toured his studio two weeks before the party and was briefly left alone near his chemicals. His records show more cyanide missing than he can account for.

Shortly before two A.M., officers report Debra dead at her hotel with the same signs of cyanide poisoning. A staged suicide note and a glass of premium vodka laced with poison sit near the body. Surveillance officers describe a woman matching a disguised Eliza entering the hotel after midnight and leaving 30 minutes later. Cab records confirm the trip from Eliza's building and back.

At Sylvie Bowen's apartment, Eve finds the cyanide bottle hidden in a toy teapot in the guest room where Bowen's three-year-old granddaughter plays. Eliza hid the poison there weeks earlier while helping Sylvie pack up her ex-husband's belongings. Sylvie is shattered by the revelation that her closest friend endangered her grandchild. A search of Eliza's penthouse yields a black wig, sneakers with carpet fibers matching Debra's hotel room, the premium vodka bottle bearing Eliza's fingerprints, and a vial with cyanide traces. Lab results confirm the cyanide matches what killed both victims.

Eve arrests Eliza onstage at the Crystal Gardens Theater during rehearsal. In interview, Eliza initially plays the grieving widow and denies everything. Eve reveals that Eliza knew about Debra's death before it was made public. Peabody expresses understanding for how abandoned Eliza must have felt, and Eliza's composure cracks. She admits Brant crushed her by choosing his career, declares she will not be made second by any man, and states she did what she had to do. Eve presses Eliza about Rose's death 25 years ago, suggesting Eliza slipped pills into Rose's vodka. Eliza responds hypothetically that if she did, it was only to make Rose sick enough to miss performances. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney (APA) Cher Reo charges Eliza with two counts of first-degree murder, child endangerment, and second-degree manslaughter for Rose's death, announcing the state will seek two consecutive life sentences served off-planet at a penal colony. Eliza demands a lawyer, and her defense team's attempt to negotiate a lesser sentence is rejected.

Eve returns home, takes down her murder board, and reflects with Roarke. Eliza loved Brant but killed him because he would not put her first, a narcissism that also contributed to Rose Bernstein's death a quarter century earlier. Eve and Roarke share pizza on the terrace, finding comfort in a partnership built on compromise and unconditional love.