(no subject)

Something most unusual happened at the exit to the Metro station near my workplace. I'm fully accustomed to people handing out fliers, coupons, and newspapers there. Today, it was 306-page novels.

The novel in question is Naked in Death by "Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb." (Why the cover should display both her names is unclear to me.) The front cover points out a special price of $4.99. That's cheap, but still pretty expensive for giving away in large numbers.

I just learned from the Nora Roberts Web site that the handouts were done only at a few locations in a few cities for a few hours, in honor of the book's debut. Still, I've been thinking, "This could be a worthy gamble for a relatively little-known author, but a #1 New York Times bestselling author with 23 previous 'in Death' books?"

Maybe the gamble will pay off. I must admit that I would never have thought to buy or borrow such a book, yet it holds some promise to rejuvenate my interest in murder mysteries.

But only some. The fact that the protagonist is a policewoman alerts me to the possibility of another low-mystery police procedural like The First Eagle. Of greater concern is the one-paragraph summary's implication that it is in large part a romance novel. Certainly the title evokes erotica as well as violence.

What's most likely to get me to try it? Probably the convenient fact that I finished another book today. More on that later.