She smelled it, fresh death. Both metallic and fruity. Easing the door all the way open, she found it. . .It's Christmas-time in New York City, but homicide lieutenant Eve Dallas struggles to get into the holiday spirit. Finding a woman strangled to death by a murderous Santa doesn't help. And he's left behind a present: a partridge in a pear tree, pinned to the victim's hair. With a creeping dread, Eve watches the bodies mount and realises the key...

"In the new crime thriller from #1 New York Times-bestselling J.D. Robb, a small and easily concealed weapon wreaks havoc, and the killer is just a face in the crowd. Jenna's parents had finally given in, and there she was, at a New York club with her best friends, watching the legendary band Avenue A, carrying her demo in hopes of slipping it to the guitarist, Jake Kincade. Then, from the stage, Jake catches her eye, and smiles. It's the best night...