FURY IN DEATH

5 stars out of 5

It doesn’t seem possible that there have been 62 previous books in this series, though I know I’ve read my share. Set in the fairly near future, they’re guaranteed to be both intriguing and fun – and I can’t ignore the fact that police lieutenant Eve Dallas’s hunky husband, filthy rich Irish rogue turned police consultant Roarke, has long held a near-the-top spot on my all-time list of male book heroes (if anyone cares, No. 1 is fine art restorer and former Israeli spy Gabriel Allon, a best-selling series by Daniel Silva). 

This latest installment of this series carries on the tradition in fine fettle, starting with the death of a man who apparently fell accidentally, followed closely by the death of Lawrence Chu, a wealthy executive who’s been beaten so badly he’s nearly unrecognizable in his ultra-secure building. Someone must have had super-human strength plus more than a little fury (a nod to the title) – an emotion Eve knows all too well given her background - but how in the world did he or she get into the building to do the deed?

When still another body turns up beaten to an unrecognizable pulp, Eve learns they were both from the same company. And what’s that old chestnut – always follow the money? Connections begin to form with help from trusty Roarke, whose company is a rival with the one that employed the two dead men. The rest of the story basically follows the investigation led by Eve with help from Roarke and her coworkers (a favorite of mine is Dr. Charlotte Mira) - with a bit of diversion by way of an upcoming bash hosted by good friends. As always, it was tough to put it down, though I won’t call it the most edge-of-seat book in the series I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Love it, though, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Fury in Death by J.D. Robb (St. Martin’s Press, September 2026); 368 pp.

STOLEN IN DEATH

5 stars out of 5

Since I started my book blog in 2013, I’ve logged 16 reviews of books in this series. This is the 62^nd, and I’m certain I’ve read most of them since it’s one of my favorites. Well, make that a favorite character for sure; the somewhat mysterious, hunky Irish Roarke, husband of police lieutenant Eve Dallas, has long ranked No. 4 on my list of Top 10 all-time favorite book heroes (No. 1, if anyone cares, is Israeli spy Gabriel Allon (by Daniel Silva), followed by Boston private investigator Spenser (originally by the late Robert B. Parker), and British 007 agent James Bond (Ian Fleming).

To be sure, Roarke has mellowed over the years (in his younger days, he was an ace thief, a fact that plays a major role in this book). And for a time, he stomped on my feminist nerves when he crossed over the line just a titch from loving to controlling. But now he’s back – and the two lovers are still lovers; instead of looking for treasures to steal, Roarke already owns far more than his share and serves as a consultant for the New York City police department at which Eve is considered a superstar. The story takes place in 2061 – one of the reasons I love the series, in fact. It’s close enough to the present  that some of the intriguing gadgets that pop up – like AutoChef machines that spit out coffee and fancy meals just by programming in what you want, pills for instant sobering up or killing pain and cars that can “go vertical” when necessary - are believable (and fun to dream about).

While attending a charity gala (dressing to the nines is far from Eve’s comfort wheelhouse, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do), she gets called to a murder scene. The victim, Nathan Barrister, is an ultra-wealthy guy (we’re talking billions here, folks) who’s been bashed in the head with one of his works of art. The atrocity happened in a room that has a secret vault – the door to which now inexplicably stands open to reveal an eye-popping display of priceless works of art. Problem is, all of them are stolen goods. The goodies, Eve learns, belong to the victim’s late father, a known womanizer – and now a confirmed buyer of stolen trinkets, much to his family’s chagrin. But only one is missing – and whoops, it’s one that, very early on, was a treasure originally stolen by none other than Roarke.

The victim’s family claim to have zero knowledge of not only the treasures, but the room itself, until quite recently; since then, they’ve been quietly working to return them to the original owners. Early-on investigation by Eve and her team confirm that to be true. Still, how could anyone but an insider know exactly what was in the vault, and why was only one item taken? The even bigger question, of course, is who is the thief and killer? And are they, in fact, the same person?

Everything seems to center on the dead guy’s proclivity for young, beautiful women – one in particular. Problem is, no one knows who or where she is. Until, that is, they do – and that brings up an even bigger problem that could shake Eve’s marriage – and Roarke’s future – to the very core. It’s nonstop action, bolstered by colorful characters loyal readers know and love (and let’s not forget all those futuristic gizmos). All told, it’s an engrossing tale that can stand proudly among its predecessors in this highly entertaining series.

Stolen in Death by J.D. Robb (St. Martin’s Press, February 2026); 368 pp.

THE PARADOX HOTEL

5 stars out of 5

Back when I was a teenager and Jeff Bezos, much less Amazon, wasn't even a gleam in his mother's eye, science fiction was my favorite genre. Dogeared paperbacks by Bradbury, Orwell and Heinlein were all over the house (who could afford hardbacks)? This book, coming to me in the form of a prerelease review copy - thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley - brings back much of that early interest in time wrinkles and such, but with a twist: Even though it's set in 2072, a lot is relevant to today, when Kindles and virtual wallets are taken for granted and billionaires tout cryptocurrency,  excursions into outer space and elimination of fossil fuels. In fact, climate change has taken a toll here, obliterating Florida and New Orleans, and there's talk of colonization on other planets. The latter isn't being taken too seriously, even with the prediction of an estimated two generations of life left on earth; instead, guests at the Paradox Hotel enjoy taking trips to long-ago periods using the nearby Timeport. Heck, there's even a shop in the hotel that rents costumes appropriate for the destination.

January Cole used to be a guide on these tours, making sure paying guests follow the rules and don't do anything that could alter something that happens in the future. Now, she's chief of security at the hotel, taken off the job that she loved because she's become an "Unstuck" - the term for a person for whom the present isn't always present. She can see things no one else can, and that's not a good thing; the condition will only get worse, the end stage being an vegetable-like existence until her body gives out. Her big challenge as the story opens is maintaining control over a very important conference; the hotel, owned and managed by the government, is losing money, so the plan is to sell it off. To that end, a group of four trillionaires are gathering to place bids - and not surprisingly, security is a nightmare.

But concurrently, a blizzard is rolling in so time travel bookings, flights and transportation services are shut down; nobody can go anywhere. Worse, January finds a dead man in her room - except no one else can see it, so she's pretty sure he's the victim of a murder that hasn't happened yet. She also sees someone who has died who was once very close to her, but she doesn't dare reveal that lest she be sent away never to see her again. In the midst of all this, clocks start going screwy, electricity flickers, and January's drone, Ruby, gets flustered from time to time (pun intended) for no apparent reason. Something's going very wrong, but no one can, or wants, to believe January because of her shaky mental state. She sets off to investigate, but she can't do it alone so faces still another challenge: Who can she trust when she can't even fully trust herself?

All that said, let the action begin as she fights to keep her job amid a trio of smuggled-in prehistoric critters, fighting among guests who demand only the best accommodations and unsettling visions of the past and future. As I suspected from the beginning, this is a very complex, but thoroughly entertaining, story that's action-packed but requires more than a little concentration to fully comprehend (which, IMHO, is well worth the effort). And if you're like me, strains from "Hotel California" will run through your head almost from the first page. For a big Eagles fan like me, that's not a bad thing, but for others, forewarned is forearmed. And to this very talented author, thanks for rekindling an old passion.

The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart (Ballantine Books, February 2022); 336 pp.

DELIVERING THE DIGITAL RESTAURANT

5 stars out of 5

This book is ideal for restaurant owners, so in the interest of full disclosure, I am not one. The topic, though, is of great interest to me as a former newspaper business writer/editor, restaurant reviewer and blogger and, maybe more importantly, half of a couple who visited a restaurant at least four times a week throughout most of our empty nest years.

It wasn't always that way. When I was a teenager, the only dining out I did happened when a friend had a sleepover (back in the '50s, we called them slumber parties) and we all ate what our host's mom cooked. Contrast that to today, when there's a Starbucks on every corner - unless, of course, a Dunkin' Donuts got there first. Want Chinese? Check. Ribs? Check. How about pasta, burgers or chicken wings? Check, check and check. We can eat inside, pick it up at a drive-thru window or have it delivered. Throughout it all, though, restaurant margins have remained razor thin. And then came the unthinkable: Total shutdown for nearly a year in our state and others, thanks to a killer virus that as I write this still threatens lives around the world and prompts us to avoid going inside anything.

Moving forward, what can, should or will happen to the industry remains unclear, but one thing is certain: It ain't gonna return to the good old days. So it is that I wanted to find out what experts have to say. And what they say in this book should be a wake-up call for restaurants that aren't willing to shift gears. A digital divide is already here, and it's growing fast; those who don't get on board most likely will fall between the cracks never to be seen again. Quality food and customer relationships are here to stay, but from now on customers will expect both to happen through digital channels.

Among the eye-opening statistics is this: At the start of 2020, there were 600,000+ restaurants in this country; in the short space of six months, that number was down by 100,000 - and the industry as a whole lost a quarter of a billion dollars during the year. Besides the pandemic (and at least partly because of), what happened? "We are going from an era in which people go to food to an era in which food goes to people," the authors explain in this book. Blame it also on a drop in nuclear family eating - heck, it's hard to even find a nuclear family these days. And no whether you're in a family or not, few among us have much discretionary time - at least none that we want to spend cooking. Couple that with pandemic restrictions and it's no wonder that 70% of restaurant business today happens at the drive-thru window. As the economy zooms in on the IWWIWWIWI concept - "I want What I Want When I Want It" - the authors emphasize that delivery will be the driving factor for success (inside dining, in fact, may well drop to as low as 25% of a restaurant's total business). But, they add, the bulk of success won't come primarily by way of delivery services like DoorDash and GrubHub - which charge restaurants a substantial percentage of each order and slice already thin profit margins to the bone. And that brings us to (ahem!) Delivering the Digital Restaurant.

This is only the tip of the iceberg; the book is filled with timely, well-researched facts and figures as well as examples of how restaurants can make technology work for them, from concepts like "ghost restaurants" to shared restaurants to no restaurant at all. It also speaks to the need to tempt customers with individualized food choices, loyalty programs and enticingly branded, environment-friendly packaging. And it looks at what evolving technology could mean for the future - some of which is already being tested - such as drones that drop appropriate temperature foods on your doorstep, picnic table or, (gasp!) your dining room table. All this will be made possible, the authors say, by digital platforms that eliminate the guesswork and hone the processes down to an error-free fare-thee-well.

My take[out] on this book which, notably, was delivered to me digitally right to my e-reader, is this: For current and wannabe restaurant owners who want their establishments to be around for the next few decades, it's a must-read. For those like me, it's a deliciously enlightening and easy-to-understand look into the here-and-now and tomorrows of the industry. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review it.

Delivering the Digital Restaurant by Meredith Sandland and Carl Orsbourn (Amplify Publishing, July 2021); 264 pp.

2020: HOW TODAY'S BIGGEST TRENDS WILL COLLIDE AND RESHAPE THE FUTURE OF EVERYTHING

 5 stars out of 5

"Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" --Fleetwood Mac

As I too fast approach octogenarian status, I'm ever

more aware that I'm not ready to leave this world (whether I'm looking down or up when I get there is a topic for another day). A big reason for this is my fascination with what the future has in store. Some of that is influenced by where I started - growing up using crank telephones, watching a tiny black-and-white TV screen while my dad was on the roof rotating the TV antenna to get the channel we wanted (one of only three available, I might add) and helping my mom put soppy wet clothes through the wringer of her washing machine. I gravitated toward books written by futurists - researchers like Alvin Toffler, John Naisbitt and Faith Popcorn.

So when this book came within my sights, I zeroed in. And I certainly wasn't disappointed - if anything, it's made me more determined to hang around as long as I can to see how the author's predictions play out. He holds the Zandman Professorship in International Management at the Wharton School, and clearly he's done extensive research on the subject (just check out the extensive list of sources at the end of the book). But while he's an academic, the book really doesn't read like a textbook (neither is it something you can skim, but it was so interesting that doing that never entered my mind). He got my attention early on with just one sentence: "Simply put, the world as we know it today will be gone by 2030."

Oh yeah? Tell me more. And he does, in eight chapters that focus on various topics ranging from changing demographics - by 2030, for instance, the world's largest generation will be age 60 and up (even today, they own 80% of the net worth in the United States alone) and half of the world's wealth will be owned by women 10 years from now. Also interesting to me is the change in birth rates; by 2030, the author notes, one-third of American men and two-thirds of American women will retire childless. As for technology, we ain't seen nuthin' yet. By 2030, there will be more computers than human brains and more robotic arms than human labor in the manufacturing sector. "Artificial Intelligence will bring about epochal change," the author maintains. We're also moving fast toward a cashless world. Today, more than 80% of all international trade is invoiced in dollars - but that will change (pun intended) fast.

For I've read that the author has added his take on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the final version of the book, but alas, my pre-release copy for review (for which I thank the publisher, via NetGalley), did not include it. I'd also be interested in his opinion on what effect the current U.S. administration will have on progress, but that's not in here either. I'm no expert, but I do have a couple of theories. First, the advances in technology noted here that relate to our personal lives - like a no-currency, no bank society - may be slowed because the current administration is allowing - even encouraging - people who believe the government is conspiring against them to come out of the woodwork. No way will these folks willingly give up their "guaranteed Constitutional right to privacy," no matter how much it may improve their quality of life. Meanwhile, the pandemic has shown us (well, at least my husband and I) that we can see, hear and buy just about anything we need and want without ever leaving home; that could help speed up the permeation of technology into just about every facet of daily living (especially the cashless society thing). Only time will tell - but if you want to get ready, I encourage you to read this book. 

2030: How Today's Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything by Mauro Guillen (St. Martin's Press, August 2020); 288 pp.

THE WAREHOUSE

5 stars out of 5

Think Amazon and Walmart on steroids: What would happen if either (or both) of these already giant companies went wild and, quite literally, took over the world's commerce?

At first blush, the yin-yang is easy to envision; virtually all small business would be wiped out and the only "secure" jobs essentially would be low-paying gruntwork (albeit with substantial benefits). On the other hand, the convenience for consumers would be unmatched. With state-of-the-industry order technology, huge distribution centers staffed by hundreds and a sky littered with delivery drones, anything people might want would be at their fingertips almost instantly. The question then becomes - and worthy of note is that it's a question that's being asked today - to what extent are those consumers willing to overlook the exploitation of other human beings in order for their own needs to be satisfied?

This entertaining yet often disturbing book gives readers some idea of what life might be like should that happen (some, of course, will argue that we're already at that point). The scene is set at the mothership of a ginormous company called Cloud, which has "campuses" all over the country complete with living quarters, health care and recreational opportunities for the thousands of employees at the facilities. During working hours, they perform jobs assigned to them by managers supposedly according to their skills; to keep them all in line, there's a rating system that, if in any way violated, would land them back in the outside world to fend for themselves (with the promise they'd never again be employed by Cloud). That outside world is dog-eat-dog - pretty much literally - and the long lines of people waiting to submit their resumes to Cloud is a testament to their desperation to escape as well as serve yet another deterrent to any employee who might consider bucking the carefully contrived system.

Enter central characters Paxton and Zinnia, both of whom applied for jobs at Cloud, each for a different, nefarious reason. I won't reveal what those reasons are, but only that neither expects to be working there after their goals have been realized. They meet for the first time briefly on the tram ride that takes them to their work and living quarters. Paxton is more interested in Zinnia than she in him, but early on, she sees an advantage in cozying up to him. Meanwhile, Gibson Wells, the creator and CEO of this monster company, is dying of cancer. Considering himself to be the savior of the free world, he starts a blog to lay out the reasons - more like justifications - behind all he's done that will culminate in the announcement of his successor. He's also announced plans to personally visit all his Cloud facilities before he succumbs, ending with the MotherCloud at which Paxton and Zinnia are employed.

Told through alternating perspectives of the three characters, readers begin to get the full story - complete with a few timely surprises that keep things really interesting and, in the process, provide some food for thought that carries over to the real world (as evidenced by the twinge of buyer's remorse I felt just after finishing the book as I pushed the "place order" button to get the items in my Amazon cart). Oh well, at least they haven't activated drone delivery in my neighborhood (yet).

Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this entertaining and thought-provoking book.

The Warehouse by Rob Hart (Crown, August 2019); 348 pp.