CBR15 Book 76: "Kindred in Death" by J.D. Robb

Page count: 384 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Spoiler warning! This is book 29 in the series, it's not necessarily the best place to start.

Eve Dallas has a couple of days off due to a national holiday and is planning on spending it with her gajillionaire husband Roarke. But murder doesn't take days off, and when Eve is specifically requested to lead a case, she neither can nor wants to refuse. A newly promoted police captain whom Eve has worked with in the past returned home from a weekend away with his wife to find their teenage daughter tied up, sexually violated, and brutally murdered in her own bed. The crime is an especially gruesome one, and the abuse and violence cannot help but remind Eve of her own dark past. 

The security at the captain's house was state of the art, and his daughter, while innocent in many ways, was also the daughter of a cop, so didn't trust easily. She wouldn't have let a stranger into the house, yet as far as her parents knew, she didn't have a boyfriend and would never have arranged to have a party or similar while they were away. It's not an easy thing to track down a murder suspect, let alone figure out the motive for such a gruesome crime. After another young woman, a realtor is found similarly murdered in an apartment she was showing to a potential buyer, the clues start to add up, and while the murderer might think he's clever and untraceable, Eve Dallas and her team aren't going to rest until they track him down and deliver justice to the grieving families. 

There's also a subplot with Eve's friend Louise getting married and her being completely puzzled by the many duties she's supposed to perform as the matron of honour. Thankfully, she has the trusty Peabody to assist her, both with professional duties and to navigate tricky social situations she doesn't entirely understand.

It's been years since I read an In Death book, but since they're basically like self-contained episodes of a familiar police procedural series, it wasn't exactly difficult to slip back into the series. Even if I only vaguely remember some of the characters mentioned, as a reader, you've given enough information to be able to follow along. 

It wasn't like I liked reading about bad things happening to children even before I had one of my own, but since I became a mother, I tend to react very badly to children in peril. The first victim in this story is only sixteen, and more pertinently, is her parents' only child. I fight the anxiety of something bad happening to my little boy all the time, and reading about a couple losing their only daughter was difficult. One of the reasons I've not read as many mystery and suspense novels in the past decade or so is that I just cannot emotionally deal with the sort of harrowing crimes that are often depicted in these novels, whether they involve children or not. It seems like the victims are predominantly women, and that there may be sexual violence involved, which is just deeply depressing to read about.

Nevertheless, it was fun to revisit the futuristic world of Robb's future New York (even though I find it highly implausible that the soft drink of choice in the future will be Pepsi), and since I'm planning on mood reading a lot more next year, I'll probably read a few more of them. 

Judging a book by its cover: Obviously, considering how long J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts has been writing these books, they've had a number of cover redesigns over the years. The one I read had the block of a solid colour on top - in this case a delicate yellow, not sure if it is a good fit considering the horrible crimes committed in the book - and a series of images that are connected to the plot in some way on the bottom. Apart from the running woman (the first victim liked to run in the park), I'm not sure what the ones here are supposed to represent. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

#CBR8 Books 65-67: "Salvation in Death", "Ritual in Death" and "Promises in Death" by J.D. Robb

Total page count: 912 pages
Rating:
Salvation in Death - 3.5 stars
Ritual in Death - 3 stars
Promises in Death - 4 stars

It's that time of year again, when I decide to check in on Lt. Eve Dallas and her unbelievably wealthy and gorgeous husband Roarke. Just like a long-running TV show with characters and a setting I enjoy, these books are perfect vacation reading for me.

Salvation in Death - A Catholic priest is poisoned with sacramental wine during the funeral of one of the communities best-loved senior citizens. There are tons of witnesses and initially, it seems impossible that anyone could have anything against the popular and civic-minded father Miguel Flores. Then, across town, a hugely successful tele-evangelist is collapses on stage during one of his huge shows at Madison Square Garden. Are the murders connected, or is there a copycat at large? Can Dallas get over her discomfort with organised religion and genuine faith and discover who the murder (or murderers) are?

While the initial premise of this book was really cool, I thought the unravelling of the murder plot just took too long in this book. The motive for the killings is revealed before we're even halfway through the book and far too much time is spent just getting the guilty parties lured into confessing. I got bored waiting for the final act to really get going.

Ritual in Death - Eve Dallas and her multi-gazillionaire husband are at a swanky party with one of his society friends in one of his many New York hotels. Suddenly a naked man staggers in, clearly disorientated, covered in blood and clutching a knife. Eve traces the bloody footprints to another hotel suite, where they find a young woman clearly murdered in what appears to be intended as a Satanic ritual of some sort. The suite shows clear signs that quite the raucous party with food, drugs, wine and sex took place before the festivities were finished off with a spot of sexual assault and murder. The blood-covered man remembers absolutely nothing and has clearly been heavily drugged. As the crime scene is one of Roarke's properties and the security has been compromised, he is just as invested in having the crime solved quickly and the murderers apprehended as his wife.

There are hints of supernatural elements in this novella, as Roarke, initially going against the wishes of his wife, calls on a former flame, a woman who practises witchcraft in order to figure out who is responsible for the grisly murder. As this is a novella, the plot moves a lot more quickly than in the novels, and there is less of a presence from the supporting cast, with the notable exception of Dr. Mira, who helps Eve try to get through to the various individuals who may be able to shed light on the situation, but who have all been drugged into oblivion.

Promises in Death - Amaryllis Coltraine, a cop recently transferred to New York from Atlanta, and Chief Medical Examiner Morris' current girlfriend is found murdered in the basement of her apartment building. The murder of a cop is always something that shakes everyone involved, but for Dallas, who has to break the news personally to her good friend, it becomes imperative that she track down the person or persons responsible. As she and Peabody investigate Ammy Coltraine's murder, they discover connections between her past and that of Eve and Roarke. Coltraine's former lover, currently conveniently visiting New York, is the son of Max Ricker, a man currently serving multiple life sentences on a prison colony off world thanks to Lt. Dallas and her husband. Is the son as dangerous and corrupt as his father, or is his presence in the city just a coincidence?

While Coltraine had only been mentioned as a supporting character in a few of the preceding books, Morris has been one of the long-running secondary cast, and his burgeoning romance had been given some attention. To make the book even more sad, the prologue is from Coltaine's POV, as she leaves her flat for the last time, going to meet her murderer, and it's quite clear that she's happy and in love, making Morris' loss all the more tragic. Eve, Roarke, Peabody and the other regular character have to do their very best to try to comfort their friend in his time of need, while also investigating the murder of his girlfriend.

Because of the emotional connection to Morris and the way the murder felt personal to everyone involved, this book really affected me and although I couldn't remember Max Ricker at all (which isn't all that surprising, as I read the book he featured in nearly six years ago and never bothered to review it), it was clear that he was a pretty loathsome character and the question of whether his son was a chip of the the old block worked fine even if I couldn't recall who the father was or what exactly he had done.

Having now glommed three In Death stories in a row, I think I've satisfied my romance/sci-fi/mystery itch for this round. I'm ready for something different again now.

Judging a book by its cover: Because the In Death books invariably have pretty identical covers (the top bit in one solid cover with the author's name prominently displayed - the middle bit a solid black bar with the title of the book - X in Death - and the lower part comprising a number of random mystery/suspense elements that may or may not fit the theme of the novel), this is all you're getting. The covers are so formulaic that commenting on them isn't really much fun. I can tell you that on Salvation in Death, the top bit of the cover is purple, Ritual in Death is a novella, so it doesn't even get its own cover and Salvation in Death as you can see, is a sort of reddish coral.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read. 

#CBR7 Book 55: "Strangers in Death" by J.D. Robb

Page count: 384 pages
Rating: 3 stars

 As this is book 26 in the In Death series (and probably somewhere in the mid-thirties in terms of Eve and Roarke stories if you count novellas as well), I shouldn't have to tell you that it might be best if you start at the beginning, with Naked in Death. Although since these books play pretty much like a any murder of the week procedural on telly, and none of them tend to require you to jump in a the beginning, you'll be able to pick up what you need if you decided to start here too.

Successful and well-liked sporting goods mogul Thomas A. Anders is found in his bedroom, tied to the bed and strangled with velvet cords in what appears at first to have been an adventurous sex game gone wrong. Even at first glance, some of the details don't add up, and Lt. Eve Dallas is suspicious.Closer investigation proves that the victim was heavily sedated when the rope went around his neck and he strangled slowly. There are absolutely no signs of another person in the room, which seems strange if the victim was involved in extra-marital sex play while his wife was away on a weekend trip with friends. There are no signs of a break-in. The security codes of the house were known to only three people, one of whom was the victim. The other two, one of whom was the widow, are solidly alibied.

Lt. Dallas and her partner, Peabody, hone in on a suspect fairly early on, but since everyone connected with the victim have iron-clad alibis, it becomes a game of cat and mouse for the dedicated investigators to prove how a murder could have been committed when all the suspects are accounted for.

Just like the mystery procedurals I mentioned earlier, the In Death books vary in quality somewhat. Not every "episode" is as thrilling and engrossing, but I always enjoy spending time with the characters and seeing how their lives are progressing. In this mystery, the guilty party is identified fairly early on and most of the book becomes about Dallas and her co-workers, frequently aided by "Expert Consultant, Civilian" Roarke, proving the how and the why. If you like this series, this is a perfectly solid if not remarkable instalment. If you've not yet read the books, this is not the one I'd recommend as an introduction to the world of Lt. Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR6 Book 54 + bonus novella: "Eternity in Death" and "Creation in Death" by J.D. Robb

Total page count: 467 pages
Eternity in Death - 3 stars
Creation in Death - 4.5 stars

Creation in Death is book 25 in the In Death series (and the novella precedes it, counting as 24.5) and this is possibly not the place you want to start, as a whole load of character development comes before. However, as the books are a bit like episodes in a crime procedural show, picking up with this one would be like watching a random episode of a show a few seasons in. I don't think there's any major spoilers for previous books in this review, but if you jump in at 25, you have only yourself to blame.

Eternity in Death is a novella, first included in the anthology Dead of Night. A wealthy society girl is found dead in her apartment, with two puncture wounds in her neck. Lt. Dallas and her partner Delia Peabody investigate, and all clues point to an underground horror club, where the owner is indeed purporting to be an actual vampire, with an alibi for the night in question. Pragmatic Dallas ignores all superstitious rumours and is determined to prove the guilt of the skeevy club owner.

In Creation in Death, Dallas and her crew hunt a serial killer, after a young brunette is found tortured and murdered in a public park. Carved into her torso is the time it took her to die, complete in hours, minutes and seconds. The dead woman was artfully draped on an expensive sheet, and had a silver ring placed on her left ring finger. The body signals the return of "The Groom", who nine years earlier killed four women in fifteen days, and then disappeared. Eve and Feeney, her then partner, now her friend and mentor, worked the case, and both see it as a personal failure that the killer got away.

To make the case even more personal, it becomes obvious that the victim was employed by Eve's billionaire husband Roarke, and all the products used to clean the body, as well as the sheet she was lying on was bought in stores owned by him. As the case progresses, it becomes obvious that the killer is going to target only women employed by Roarke, and he intents his fourth and final victim to be Eve herself.

Some of the In Death novels are quick, entertaining, light reads, with a fairly generic mystery of the week, usually with some subplot involving Eve and Roarke's marriage or their relationship to their friends. This book is tense and exciting, with the stakes being very high for everyone involved. As the reader also gets to see the POVs of the victims "the Groom" has captured, as well as the killer himself, you really get a feel for the case, and understand the tension in the police department to stop him. Because of the personal stakes for the investigators, tempers are also frayed, and there is quite a lot of tension between Eve and Feeney, whose roles are now reversed. She, who used to be the rookie, is now heading the investigation, and Feeney has to follow her lead.

The investigation also shows how far Eve is willing to go to bring murderers and criminals to justice. While normally unfailingly moral and law-abiding, she's not above using all the resources her husband's unimaginable wealth can provide, and in this case, she needs him more than ever. After the fairly annoying complications forced on their marriage in the last book, Innocent in Death, it was nice to see them working together more as a team. I also thought, considering the very real danger facing his wife, that Roarke kept his sometimes very annoying domineering alpha male tendencies in check, and trusted both the competency of his wife and her colleagues in keeping her safe. This is definitely one of the better books of the series, and reminded me why I enjoy them so much and keep reading.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR6 Book 48: "Innocent in Death" by J.D. Robb

Page count: 385 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars

This is book 24 in the In Death series. I wouldn't recommend starting with this one, although if you're interested in plot summaries of earlier ones, I've reviewed most of the previous ones on the blog.

Craig Foster is planning a history quiz for his pupils at a New York private school while having lunch, and dies horribly from ricin poisoning at his desk. The two schoolgirls who find his dead body are deeply traumatised. Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her partner Delia Peabody have to figure out who could possibly have wanted the young and seemingly universally popular dead. As they start investigating the staff and various parents, they discover a number of juicy secrets that Foster may have been privy to, but none of them seem to be bad enough that someone would murder a man. Then a second body is found in the school, and the hunt for the killer has to be intensified.

It doesn't help that Dallas' attention is divided. Blonde bombshell Magdalena Purcell, one of Roarke's former lovers, is certainly no innocent. Recently divorced, she's back in town, allegedly seeking investment advice from her old friend, and Eve, who is normally never suffers from jealousy or doubts, is shaken to discover that this woman gets under her skin like no other. Roarke seems completely blind to the woman's manipulation, and keeps getting more and more furious that Eve's trust in him is waning. Yet Eve can't rest easy, and as the sultry Magdalena keeps popping up, the tensions in her marriage keep rising.

My records show that I only read a single In Death book last year. I find them deeply comforting, like an episode of a procedural I've followed for years, but I can only read a few at a time, before they get too samey. I know what I can expect from the books and they tend to be quick and entertaining reads, following the same formula. Eve will work hard and doggedly to track down murderers, getting cranky and baffled by strong emotions or perfectly normal social conventions. Peabody and McNab will flirt and make her uncomfortable because of their PDAs. Peabody will be overly focused on food and her figure, but also provide an important stabilising influence on Eve. McNab will wear outrageous clothes. Roarke will be devastatingly gorgeous as always, insist on dressing and one or several of his business interests will be involved in the case in some way as he knows most of the known world. Summerset and Eve will quibble. Mavis will be bubbly, outrageous and colourful. Dr. Mira will be calm and give Eve wise professional and motherly personal advice. The mysterious candy thief will probably have stolen one of Eve's candy bars. I'll keep getting annoyed that Pepsi apparently has a soft drink monopoly in the future.

What was different in this book was the tension introduced in Eve and Roarke's marriage. Normally Eve has no cause for jealousy, despite knowing that Roarke had lovers before he met her. Yet Magdalena is clearly a manipulative piece of work, and masterfully plays the spouses against each other. It doesn't help Eve's worries that Summerset, normally her nemesis, steps forward to warn her, claiming that Roarke never had the ability to see the way the scheming con artist played him, and the fact that she possibly broke his heart will make him all the more vulnerable to his whiles now. Because the characters in the book feel like old friends, I obviously didn't like that they were unhappy, but while the books should follow a familiar pattern, they need to shake it up a bit occasionally, or the series would become unbearable. Janet Evanovich, I'm looking at you.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR5 Book 13. "Survivor in Death" by J.D. Robb

Page count: 384 pages
Rating: 4 stars

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.

There is no apparent motive for the killings. The security in the house was expertly disabled, and the murderers were in and out of the house in less than ten minutes, suggesting military training of some sort. Once the killers discover that they left someone alive, they're determined to finish the job. Eve's decision to house the child witness in Roarke's impregnable mansion keeps her safe, but spending time with the traumatised child brings to the surface painful memories from her own past and her own early experiences with death.

This month (February) is In Death month on Vaginal Fantasy Hangout. Having read the first books more than once, I decided to just read new ones in the series, and when looking through the list, realised that I'd skipped this one entirely. Not that it matters that much once you get this far into the series, as all the major supporting characters are pretty much established, and you can jump in at any point without being too confused.

It's always fun seeing Eve out of her comfort zone, and having a young girl around is certainly one of those occasions. Luckily, trusted manservant Summerset (and the thorn in Eve's side) and a host of police officers are around to entertain the girl while Roarke tries to to find out who can take care of her once the case is solved, and Eve and Peabody work diligently to crack the case and find out who's behind the vicious murders.

While all the books are formulaic to a certain extent, and if you've read a few of these, you're pretty sure what you're going to get in each book, some of them are more entertaining than others. Letting the reader see what Nixie sees at the beginning of the book, and making us sympathetic with the child is a nice touch, and the grief that Nixie has to face, and the growth it brings on in Eve  made this book one of the more enjoyable in the series for me so far.

CBR4 Book 27: "Origin in Death" by J.D. Robb

Page count: 352 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars
Date begun: March 12th, 2012
Date finished: March 15th, 2012

Book 21 in the In Death series. Works as a stand alone, but I suspect you'd get more enjoyment out of it if you started with one of the earlier ones.

Doctor Wilfred Icove Sr. is murdered while sitting at the desk in his office. He's been stabbed through the heart with a scalpel, and the last woman to see him alive is seen on security tapes strolling calmly out of there, cool as a cucumber. Eve Dallas and her partner Delia Peabody were in the building investigating a different homicide, so are among the first on the scene. Everyone is shocked by the doctor's murder, and as Dallas investigates possible motives, she discovers that not only was Icove a pioneer in reconstructive surgery, a humanitarian and even a Nobel Prize winner, but everything about his entire life is so squeaky clean that Dallas has no doubt he must have been hiding something.

When his son and heir, Wilfred Icove Jr. is found dead in his home, again stabbed through the heart with a scalpel, it becomes obvious that Eve's suspicions about the Icoves aren't unfounded, unpopular as that may turn out with the general public. With the assistance of her multi-billionaire husband, her trusty partner Peabody and their usual support team, she delves deep into the history of Icove Sr. and his medical work, and discovers that in their quest for perfection, the Icoves were not averse to breaking several ethical and international laws, and that they may have had a hand in creating their own killer.

While a lot of the In Death books are fairly straight forward murder mysteries with a subplot or two to further develop the lives and characters of Eve, Roarke and the other supporting characters (in this book, Roarke's decision to invite a whole bunch of their friends and his recently discovered Irish relatives to New York for Thanksgiving), where despite mentions of some futuristic gadgets, it's quite easy to forget that they are also science fiction stories set in the future, Origin in Death explores a lot more of the futuristic aspects of the world these characters live in, and it's probably the most sci-fi novel in the series to date. There are serious ethical and moral ramifications to the discoveries that Eve and her team make during their investigation, and the details surrounding the murders and the denouement could only have played out in a story filled with science fiction technology. For once, a book that's less dark because of the discoveries either Eve and/or Roarke make about their pasts, and all because of the discoveries made in the murder case. If you're a fan, this is definitely a highlight in the series so far.

CBR4 Book 18: "Visions in Death" by J.D. Robb

Page count: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: February 20th, 2012
Date finished: February 20th, 2012

A woman is found naked in the park, brutally raped and murdered. The red ribbon she's been strangled with is tied around her neck, and her eyes have been cut out. Like all sexual assault cases, the case hits Lieutenant Eve Dallas hard. When it becomes clear that they have a serial killer on their hands, the stakes become higher, and Eve and Peabody have to work to stop him before another woman loses her life.

Eve is approached by a psychic, who claims she saw the murder taking place. While Dallas is deeply sceptical, the woman knows details that have not been released to the public, and the NYPSD can use all the help they can get. Yet the killer keeps staying one step ahead of them, and when the investigation starts closing in, he lashes out towards the investigators.

Having been abused and raped as a child, Eve is always affected all the stronger by sexual assault crimes. She's determined to bring the killer to justice, willing to use even the assistance of a psychic if that's what it takes. Yet the investigation takes its toll. In this book, Dallas finally tells her now partner Peabody about the events in her childhood, and the book also highlight just far Eve has come since Naked in Death, where she was bitter, driven and alone. Now she has a loving husband, a loyal partner, a whole slew of friends who invite her for dinner parties and refuse to let her wallow in misery by herself. That same contact network also steps in when the killer strikes one close to Eve, and helps her catch the culprit.

CBR4 Book 17: "Divided in Death" by J.D. Robb

Page count: 336 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: February 16th, 2012
Date finished: February 19th, 2012

This is book 18 in J.D. Robb's In Death series, so it goes without saying that there is all sorts of backstory you miss out on if this is the first one you pick up. It's impossible for me to write this review without spoiling some of the stuff from previous novels, so go read Naked in Death if you haven't already been acquainted with Roarke and Lieutenant Eve Dallas.

Eve Dallas is called to a murder scene, where at first glance, it looks as if Roarke's personal aide's daughter, brutally killed her husband, Blair Bissell, and close friend  Felicity Cade, in a fit of jealous rage. Both the suspect, Reva Ewing, and her mother, Roarke's trusted assistant, Caro, assure Eve that Reva is not the killer, and that she found the bodies when she rushed over to her friend's apartment to confront them - having received incriminating photographs and video of their affair. It doesn't take much investigation for Eve and her partner Peabody to see that the scene is indeed a setup, but the question is who would want Reva out of the picture, and why are all the computers connected to the victims completely wiped by a mysterious virus?

Within days, not just Reva's husband and socialite friend are dead, but also the artist husband's bimbo assistant. Her computer is also fried. Blair's brother is missing, and everything suggests that the double murder has something to do with a top secret government contract Reva and Roarke were working on to stop a cyber-terrorist group. Then Eve and Roarke discover that both Blair and Felicity were deep cover Homeland Security agents, and possibly also double agents. When hacking into Homeland Security, Roarke also uncovers further secrets from Eve's tragic past, and the two have trouble seeing eye to eye on how to deal with the revelations that come to light.

I love reading about Eve and Roarke and all the recurring casts of the In Death books. It delights me that Peabody has become a detective in her own right and is now Eve's partner, rather than aide. I love that Peabody and McNab live together, that Mavis is having a baby and that Eve is completely befuddled by this. The mysteries are entertaining, and Robb (Nora Roberts writing under a pseudonym) is fairly good at coming up with strange new scenarios, but it's the ongoing story I really read the books for. In this one, Eve and Roarke are at odds through much of the book, and just as I would hate it if close friends of mine argued and had marital discord because of something, I hate it when Eve and Roarke are unhappy. Of course they sort things out in the end - and while I see Eve's side in this, I'm glad that several of the supporting cast took Roarke's side, as well. Another satisfying installment, if you're a fan of the series. If you're not, pick up one of the earlier books, and join the rest of us.

CBR3 Book 48: "Imitation in Death" by J.D. Robb

Publisher: Piatkus books
Page count: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: June 13th, 2011
Date finished: June 15th, 2011

A brutal serial killer is hunting women in New York, killing them in the style of famous former murderers, such as Jack the Ripper and Ted Bundy. He leaves letters addressed to lieutenant Eve Dallas at the crime scenes, taunting her and her associates. Eve manages to keep the media buzz to a minimum, but all the main suspects are either foreign diplomats or high profiled celebrities, and it's not an easy job. Add to the fact that catching a killer based on the exclusive stationary he prefers, is not a walk in the park.

She also has new nightmares, starting to remember her mother. Her domestic nemesis, Roarke's butler Summerset, is due back from vacation and her trusty aide Peabody is stressing out over her impending Detective's exam, worried that she'll fail, and in the process let herself, her family and most of all, her trusted superior, down.

As always, it's a joy to read about Roarke and his darling Eve, not to mention Peabody, McNab, Mira and all the other regulars. The series of murders in this installment are particularly grisly, and, as always, Eve is determined to stand for the dead, and get justice for the crimes committed against them.

CBR3 Book 33: "Portrait in Death" by J.D. Robb

Publisher: Piatkus Books
Page count: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: April 18th, 2011
Date finished: April 20th, 2011

A young woman is found murdered and stuffed in a dumpster. Star reporter Nadine Furst has been sent photos of the victim, and clashes with Lt. Eve Dallas when it comes to reporting on the crime. There are a number of photos of the victim, obviously taken before the crime was committed, without the girl being aware she was being stalked. There are photos of the dead girl, posed, as in a portrait, after her death. None of the victim's friends or family can help determine a motive, and then a second young victim is found, facedown in a fountain, with further pictures being sent to Nadine. Eve is determined to track down the killer before he kills again, but it's not easy finding the links between the dead, and she will have to manage without help from Roarke on this case, as he is preoccupied with other things.

While Summerset, Roarke's faithful butler (and former foster father) and Eve's household nemesis, is convalescing from a broken leg, Roarke receives some troubling news about his past. He reacts badly, trying to shut Eve out, and travels to his old hometown of Dublin to dig up the truth behind the rumours. Eve realises that her husband, despite all his outward strength and confidence, is vulnerable too, and that his dark past is as troubling to him as hers is to her.

Several of the supporting characters take more of a back seat in this one, and more is obviously revealed about Roarke's childhood in Dublin and his family life. Eve and Summerset are forced to form an alliance to get through to the man they both love, and work together to get him through a very difficult time. Another very enjoyable read in the In Death series.

CBR3 Book 32: "Purity in Death" by J.D. Robb

Publisher: Piatkus
Page count: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: April 15th, 2011
Date finished: April 16th, 2011

Lt. Eve Dallas is dreading going to a fancy dinner with her fantabulously wealthy husband Roarke and some of his business associates when she is called to a grisly crime scene. A low level drug dealer took a baseball bat to his neighbours when they tried to make him turn his music down, and while the cop on the scene only tried to stun him, the assailant fell down dead. On his computer screen the cops on the scene find the message: "Absolute purity achieved."

A couple of days later, one of the computer division cops working with the computer in question goes absolutely apeshit and starts firing wildly at his colleagues, hitting Detective McNab in the process and locking himself in an office with his superior (and Eve's mentor and former partner) Captain Feeney as a hostage. Eve, realizing that he seems to be suffering from the same mysterious rage as the dead drug dealer, manages to save Feeney, but is unable to calm her crazed colleague before he collapses and dies. It's clear that they're dealing with some form of virus that can spread from computer to person, and that it kills in a most unpleasant way.

When the group known as the Purity Seekers publicly announces that they mean to bring purity to New York by killing those who prey on children and the weak, Eve has to try to solve the murders of victims no one will miss, and track down an organization whose goals are seen as admirable to many of the people she's sworn to protect.

Jamie Lingstrom, the technology whiz kid from Ceremony in Death makes a return appearance, and Mavis (Eve's best friend and famous rock star) surprises Eve with some unexpected news that completely stuns the emotionally troubled lieutenant. The entire cast of regulars have to deal with the difficult knowledge that McNab may be permanently wheelchair-bound after his accident, which obviously hits Peabody especially hard, and Eve has to realize that sometimes she and Roarke do not agree on how justice should be served to criminals. Another entertaining installment, but without any huge developments on the character front.

CBR3 Book 31: "Reunion in Death" by J.D. Robb

Publisher: Piatkus
Page count: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: April 14th, 2011
Date finished: April 15th, 2011

Walter Pettibone, owner of a florist empire is poisoned during his own surprise birthday party. None of the guests appear to have a motive for the murder, but once Lt. Eve Dallas identifies the murderer on security videos, she recognizes her as Julianna Dunne, a woman Eve helped put in prison early in her career. Now, after ten years in prison, having been released on good behaviour, Julianna plans to get back at all the people from her past who she has grievances against, and Eve Dallas is at the top of that list.

This book was refreshingly different, as it was obvious pretty much from the start who the murderer was, and the point of the book was not figuring out the identity or motive of the killer, but rather Eve and her associates trying to hunt Dunne down and put her away for good this time. The case becomes more challenging for Eve once she has to go to Dallas, the city she's named for, to question a potential future victim of Dunne's, and also face her childhood demons once and for all. Profiling also shows that to get to Eve, Dunne is likely to go after what she cares most for, her husband Roarke.

Reunion in Death was in parts very difficult to read, when Eve actually goes back to the alley where she was found after escaping her abusive father, and even visits the room where she was held and molested before her escape. Having Eve finally open up to and fully take in her harrowing memories actually brought tears to my eyes, but Robb also balances the tragedy with comedy, and there are several scenes both before and after that had me laughing out loud. Eve's shocked reaction to people voluntarily riding horses, and then discovering that Roarke can ride, was especially good.

The book can be read completely independently of the others in the series, but anyone who starts with this will not fully get the emotional impact of the journey Eve is forced to take in this book. You need to have followed the character through more of the 14 novels for it to really feel like a truly satisfying pay-off.

CBR3 Book 30: "Seduction in Death" by J.D. Robb

Publisher: Piatkus Books
Page count: 320 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: April 12th, 2011
Date finished: April 13th, 2011

Every so often, I get the urge to read nothing but J.D. Robb books for a while. As Robb (the novelist Nora Roberts) is still writing the ongoing series, and they feature a set cast of characters, it's like watching an entertaining police procedural, only I get it in book form. Just as with a decent procedural, where you can catch an episode now and then and get a decent idea of what's going on between the various regular characters and what their relationships are to one another, you can pretty much pick up any J.D. Robb In Death novel without having read any others first. I find that the reason I enjoy them so much, though, is because I have followed the characters from the beginning, and can see how they've developed and grown over the course of the series. So if you want to start at the beginning, read the absolutely excellent Naked in Death.


Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas has to solve a series of date rape murders, where the women meet their killer in online chat rooms, believe they have found their perfect partner, only to be pumped full of dangerous date rape drugs and murdered. Herself a victim of rape and child abuse, Eve is even more driven than usual to track down the murderer and stop the assaults. As the killer disguises his appearance on each of the dates, uses drugs that are not readily available and also seems to be rather good at hiding his electronic trail, it's quite a challenge to track him. Luckily her husband Roarke, who also owns most of the known world, is a computer genius, who happily lends his assistance.

As well as further glimpses into Eve's childhood through her nasty, recurring nightmare, there is further development for Eve's trusty aide, Delia Peabody and her on-off again flirt, Ian McNab, who works in the police computer division. There is the welcome return of Charles Monroe, a licenced companion who's very close friendship with Peabody caused McNab to dump her in a previous book. Doctor Louise Dimatto from Conspiracy in Death also returns, having witnessed the first victim plunging from her balcony to the sidewalk, and is able to use her medical knowledge to help Eve and her investigative team with their case. A fun installment, especially because McNab is forced to really examine his feelings for Peabody, and Eve is once again mortified at being asked about relationship advice by her assistant.

CBR2 Book 28: "Ceremony In Death" by J.D Robb

Publisher: Berkley
Page count: 336 pages
Rating: 3.5 stars
Date begun: February 12th, 2010
Date finished: February 14th, 2010

When one of her fellow cops dies of seemingly natural causes, Lt. Eve Dallas, is surprised that his granddaughter insists on meeting with her, claiming that her grandfather did not die of a heart attack, but was killed by occult means by an evil cult of Satan worshippers intent on getting back on Alice (the granddaughter). Eve is deeply pragmatic and does not believe in anything spiritual or occult. She believes Alice was drugged and manipulated, and sexually abused by said cultists, but refuses to contemplate anything supernatural. Shortly after, Alice turns up dead, and Officer Peabody, who'd been set to tail the girl, says that she ran into oncoming traffic after seeing a black cat.

Eve asked by her superior officer to investigate whether Frank had been involved in illegal drug trafficking, after it becomes clear that he had been witnessed purchasing something from Selina, the leader of the Satanist coven in a seedy club. Neither her superior, nor Eve, believe Frank was a dirty cop, but Eve is forbidden to tell anyone about her investigation, especially not Feeney, the cop who trained her, and who was Frank's old partner. During her investigation, Eve has to interview the self-styled sorceress Selina, who becomes very upset with her treatment, and Eve's obvious disdain for her. Soon after having questioned Selina, a corpse is left on the pavement outside her and Roarke's mansion, and the case takes on a much more personal note.

Ceremony in Death is different from several of the other Robb books in that the reader fairly early on is given an idea of who the murderer is. Eve is pretty sure she knows who the killer is, the problem is that she has to prove it. She also has to come to choose between her job and her friend, and deal with the ugly aftermath of Feeney discovering that she's been set to investigate his friend. While she completely disregards any belief in the occult or supernatural, she comes into contact with several witches, of both the dark and white persuasion, and discovers that while she is pragmatic and disbelieving, Roarke may have more spiritual beliefs.

CBR2 Book 11: "Immortal in Death" by J.D Robb

Publisher: Priakus Books
Page count: 336 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: December 6th, 2009
Date finished: December 7th, 2009

THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR OTHER BOOKS IN THE IN DEATH SERIES!

Pandora, world-famous fashion model and the ex-girlfriend of the man designing Lt. Eve Dallas' wedding dress, is found brutally battered to death in the designer's fashion studio. Mavis Freestone, on of Eve's only friends, and the designer's current girlfriend, is discovered next to the body, with the victim's blood covering her hands and body. Eve is only a few weeks away from her wedding to Roarke - but is absolutely convinced of her friend's innocence and promises to do everything in her power to clear her name.

Once a dead informer turns up dead with a new, mysterious drug in his possession, and the body count keeps rising, it's up to Eve to figure out how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. At the same time, her gruelling nightmares occur more and more frequently, she has a wedding to the world's richest man to plan, an aide to train and an unwanted admirer to fend off.

The resolution of the mystery dragged a little in this one, and yet again, I figured out the killer's identity, but not until shortly before Eve herself did. Eve's continued emotional development, and her deepening relationship with Roarke was again very well written, and this book also shows Eve's friendship with Mavis and her starting camaraderie with Officer Peabody.

CBR2 Book 10: "Glory in Death" by J.D Robb

Publisher: Priakus Books
Page count: 336 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: December 5th, 2009
Date finished: December 6th, 2009

WARNING! REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR OTHER BOOKS IN THE IN DEATH SERIES!

Lt. Eve Dallas has another complicated murder case on her hands. Prosecuting Attorney Cicely Towers has had her throat viciously slashed in a back alley. All her money, jewelry, as well as her expensive handbag and shoes were left at the scene, nothing is missing except her umbrella. No one can figure out why the victim was in the alley. Eve's boss was a close personal friend of the victim, and needs his best detective's help to solve the case.

Eve's job is complicated by her increased celebrity status, as Roarke's lover is a prized target for the journalists. That Roarke had a personal connection with the victim and her family makes the media even more eager - and when the second victim turns out to have a connection to him as well, the media circus is guaranteed.

Eve is also having trouble adjusting herself to her new romance, and is not entirely comfortable with Roarke's ability to express his strong feelings for her. She insists on keeping her own apartment, and refuses to acknowledge his affection to the point where he presents her with an ultimatum.

The second In Death book was better on some levels than the first, but I also had the murderer pegged about halfway through the book. Still, the character development continues in this book, and we find out more about both Eve and Roarke, as well as some of the many supporting characters. Eve's difficulites with juggling her private and professional life, especially when flashes of her traumatic past keep coming to the surface, are very well described. A very entertaining read.

CBR2 Book 9: "Naked in Death" by J.D. Robb

Publisher: Piatkus Books
Page count: 336 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Date begun: December 5th, 2009
Date finished: December 5th, 2009

Naked in Death is the first in an ongoing series of so far 30 books (and some novellas and short stories) by J.D. Robb, a pseudonym for the already ridiculously prolific romance novelist Nora Roberts. The books are futuristic police procedurals with a core of romance at the centre. Lt. Eve Dallas is a driven and dedicated homicide detective who is called in when a young and beautiful licenced companion (read: prostitute - in the 2050s, prostitution is legalized and licenced) is brutally murdered. Her superiors are keen to have the case solved quickly and quietly, as the victim was also the granddaughter of a powerful US senator.

Under the murdered woman, there is also a note, suggesting that this murder is just the first of six. Lt. Dallas may be dealing with a serial killer. Her main suspect is the gorgeous, obscenely wealthy and extremely powerful Roarke, a self-made bazillionaire, and a friend of the murdered young woman's family. Normally, Eve has no problems staying focused on a case and utterly professional, but every time she and Roarke meet, sparks fly, and she is having trouble convincing herself that Roarke is bad news and should be best left alone.

I may be spoiling an important part of the book here - but anyone who bothers to find out about the series, will soon learn that Roarke is of course not the killer, and that he and Eve become one hell of an awesome couple, despite the many difficulties in their path, not the least of which is Eve's troubled past.

Reading Roberts/Robb's In Death books is a bit like watching an episode of Castle, if Castle was a bazillionare businessman instead of a crime writer, Beckett had an even more messed up past, and they were actually dating, instead of just flirting all the time. The actual mystery is not always the most interesting part (in 2 of the 3 books I've read so far, I've figured out who the killer quite some time before it is revealed), it's the way the mystery is solved, and the interplay of the characters and what they learn about each other along the way.

Stay tuned for my reviews of books 2 and 3 (yes, I'm a bit hooked on these at the moment).