Fantasy in Death

SUMMARY: In the latest novel from #1 New York Times-bestselling author J.D. Robb, it is game over for the criminals pursued by NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas. Bart Minnock, 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. It is the most puzzling case Eve Dallas has ever faced, and it is not a game. . . . NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas is having as much trouble figuring out how Bart Minnock 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 problem 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 Minnock 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. . . . Murder Did That. Took Lives, Crushed Others. But Why? Money. Jealousy. Revenge. Secrets. Passion. Whatever The Answers, The Method Had Been Bold And Complex. They Were Best Friends, Driven By A Shared Vision To Rule The World Of Virtual Reality Games. Their Newest Invention, Developed To Transport The Player Into A Fantastical Virtual World, Is About To Be Launched. But Suddenly, Bart, The Brains Behind It All, Is Found Brutally Killed - Defeated By His Own Game. Their Close-knit Group Is Torn Apart. Who Could Have Engineered Such A Devastating Virtual Death? Even Eve Dallas, New York City's Most Cunning Investigator, Is Thrown. But As She Peels Back Layers Of Secrets, Revenge And Misplaced Allegiances, She Realises The Depth Of The Killer's Master Plan. And She Knows His Game Is Far From Over . . .