Naked in Death by Nora Roberts (1995, Paperback)

This book is the first story in a mystery-romance series. The author, "J.D. Robb," is a pen-name for the author "Nora Roberts." The series' lead character, "Lieutenant Eve Dallas," is a Homicide detective. The series is set in a slightly futuristic (50 years) NYC. This book introduces the reader to some of the characters who are central to all the other stories. You do not have to read this story first to enjoy the others; I didn't. But it is fun to get the background of the female and male protagonists.

The author writes a tightly-plotted mystery, with exciting action sequences interwoven with sexually-charged, yet highly romantic scenes. All of the stories in this series are extremely well-written, and are multi-layered. Descriptions of characters, locales, internal workings of different organizations (particularly the NYC police), etc., are all detailed and finely crafted enough to maintain the reader's interest. A character's psyche and motivations may be explored and delineated in several sequential books, but each book is so excellently written that it can stand alone!

In summary, an excellent author, an enjoyable read, and a great mystery series!