If you’re reading the 59th book in a series, you hope the characters will grow.
It’s neat seeing Eve and Roarke grow together.
I don’t know if a reader could just start here, but I expect it would be very possible to simply read it as a mystery set in a future time.

I’ve been reading these books since the mid-90s when Roberts’s pseudonym of Robb was still the only name on the cover. It’s been wonderful seeing the growth of the characters and the social change in the attitudes in the books. They’ve always felt very sex positive. Roberts is letting her social beliefs show through very clearly in the books and love is love. The murder is tough as we see the loss and grief of characters who loved the victim. 

I found the book mostly slow until towards the end where I just absolutely adored it. I found the confrontation with the killer to be very satisfying. This probably won’t get a reread, but I did find myself interested in picking up one of the earlier books in the series to see the growth of the characters.