This is book 20 in the In Death series, and while the books can be read in no particular order, and as stand alone mysteries, I suspect you’d have more fun if you started with some of the earlier books, or at the beginning with Naked in Death.
9-year-old Nixie Swisher sneaks down into the kitchen to grab a forbidden midnight snack, and in so doing, is the only survivor after two masked men slit the throats of everyone else in the house. The housekeeper, her parents, her brother and her friend who’s visiting for a sleepover are all coldly and efficiently assassinated. Lt. Eve Dallas and her partner Delia Peabody take charge of the case, and to make sure the girl is safe, Eve goes over the heads of child protective services and brings the child home with her.
More on my blog.
Cannonball Read V 