Strangers In Death

Strangers in Death is J. D. Robb’s take-off on the movie “Strangers on a Train”. Eve and Peabody are assigned investigate the murder of a man who seems to be universally liked. He has no enemies. At first glance, his wife appears to be completely in the clear because she was in the Caribbean when the murder occurred in New York. Eve, however, becomes convinced that the wife is guilty and eventually uncovers the how of it all.

For the first time in this book, we get a sense of the fact that Eve is actually the head of the homicide division—the ranking officer under Commander Whitney. There is no equivalent to Captain Feeney—the head of the EDD division—so I’m surprised I haven’t wondered who has been running homicide before now. I don’t know how the duties are split between Commander Whitney and Eve, though, because Eve has never seemed to have any duties in this regard before this book.

Our old friend Detective Baxter and his faithful sidekick, Trueheart have been investigating a murder for more than two months and still have no real evidence or clues to lead them to the murderer. Baxter asks Eve (as his supervisor) to take a look at his murder book and the lines of investigation that he has followed to see if fresh eyes on the case can help break it open. Since getting this case, Baxter has been given and solved six or seven other cases. In fact, he has multiple open cases right now, which he is juggling. (I have to mention that just because it is what Eve used to have to do too, early in the series--but never seems to have to do anymore.)

Conveniently, while running a list of names looking for a possible conspirator in her murder, Eve sees the name of the wife of the victim in Baxter’s murder and puts the pieces together. Wife 1 murdered Husband 2 and vice versa.

This was a good book—with no high highs or low lows. It was a solidly interesting mystery. When the wife finally got nailed for the murder it was very satisfying. (The second conspirator is an abused wife who was just a sad woman. I felt badly that her children would be essentially orphaned.)

The fun personal part of the book was that Louise and Charles got engaged. Charles decided to change careers and will now be a sex therapist. He bought a big house and he’s ready to settle down. Now maybe Eve won’t show up at his house at 10:00 o’clock in the evening in order to question him because one of his gazillion clients has some connection or involvement in a murder. Hasn’t she ever heard of business hours? I give the book a solid four out of five stars—a good, solid book—not a great one.

Creation In Death

Creation in Death , the twenty-fifth book in the series, is a race against time. Through-out the book the reader is aware of the ticking of the clock, metaphorically speaking. It's a much easier read the second time since I knew the fate of the final victim already. I didn't have to spend my emotional energy worrying. Warning! This story is gruesome with some seriously graphic scenes of torture. Personally, I skip them. (I am happy to own the title wimp.)

The story in a nutshell--a whack job is abducting women. He tortures them and then kills them. When he arranges for their bodies to be found, he leaves the hours, minutes, and seconds that they lasted on their bodies. I didn't inquire to closely into how exactly he left this information--again, I have a very low tolerance for ick.

It turns out this serial killer, "The Groom" has previously killed women in New York. Nine years earlier, Feeney and Dallas worked the case as partners but were unsuccessful in stopping him. In this book, Feeney passes the leadership of the task force to Eve, when they realize The Groom has returned to New York. Although he clearly had some issues with giving up the leadership position since they have a big fight when she fails to give him a heads up about some new information that comes in on the case. Feeney acts like a jerk--Eve acts like a whipped puppy--they make up the next day.

This time around, "The Groom" changes some of his previous patterns. For starters, he uses products made by Roarke's companies. He also abducts women who work for Roarke. At first it appears he is motivated by Roarke somehow. Eventually, it becomes clear that Eve is the motivation for his actions. He intends to make Eve the apex of his serial killer career. Hah. No chance of that--apparently he's never met Eve.

There's very little time for personal story lines in this book because the team works around the clock on trying to catch this nutcake. Mavis and Treena do get pulled into the story and briefly spend time at Eve and Roarke's because it turns out only Treena's tendency to change her hair color frequently kept her from being one of The Groom's victims.

This is a tough story because the suffering of the victims is pretty terrible. The team work themselves into exhaustion trying to save the women kidnapped. The ending, however, is a big pay off. Not only is the last woman saved--but Eve turns the tables on the murderer and we have a satisfying conclusion all around. I give the story five stars out of five.

Innocent in Death

Innocent in Death is J. D. Robb’s version of the bad seed. Remember, The Bad Seed? A movie originally from the 50’s which was pretty controversial in its time because the movie was about a little girl who was a murderer. In the very last scene in the movie—after she’d gotten away with murdering several people, including her mother, lightening came out of the sky and struck her dead. It was a shocking topic—child killers not being something that people in the 50’s were familiar with at all. In subsequent versions of the film, they took out the lightening strike at the end and just had the little girl getting away with it. I’m not sure how that was “better” than having God dispense the ultimate justice but, there you go---Hollywood has skewed sensibilities.

But I digress, (what else is new, right?) in this latest story—Eve is called to a school where a nice, young enthusiastic teacher has suddenly and unexplainably died. She quickly discerns that he has been poisoned with ricin. As one might expect, given the extremely ordinary nature of the victim, motive is tricky to figure out. Soon, another murder takes place at the school, and well, it gets very complicated. Suffice to say—Teacher A shouldn’t have given little sociopath Rayleen an A- on her project.

The big secondary story line of the book is the reappearance of a former love of Roarke’s. Eve immediately senses that this chick is different. She handles it all wrong—focusing on the possibility that this woman will tempt Roarke back into crime rather than admitting that she's afraid that Roarke will compare the two of them and regret marrying Eve. The conflict between them ebbs and flows through the book and wrecks Eve’s concentration and her ability to eat. She is one emotional ball o’angst.

Highlights of the book—Nadine’s new show “Now” debuts with Eve as the first interview. Summerset and Eve are definitely on the same page regarding the evil blast from the past. Eve has heart-to- hearts with Mira and new mother Mavis which are very tender. The final scene where Roarke’s eyes have been opened to how his former lover has hurt Eve and tried to hurt their relationship is pretty satisfying since he unleashes the “wrath of Roarke”. Love that phrase.

Lowlights of the book—um…uh….well, I guess if one feels the need to be really nit-picky they did spend a long time on a murder that was not necessarily high profile. Of course, having Eve investigate an ordinary murder makes a nice change but---well—I might have mentioned this before, but one at a time? Nobody else in homicide is just carrying one case at a time. When the series started Eve didn’t either. I mean, is she the equivalent to Brenda in The Closer (love love LOVE that show)? Because if she is, then, she should only be assigned high profile cases. Is she the equivalent to Eames and Goren from Law & Order: Criminal Intent? Because if she is, then, she should only be assigned high profile cases. THEN, it would be okay that she only carries one case at a time. Otherwise she really needs to be juggling more cases. And while I’m on this riff—what’s with never taking a day off or ending shift on time? Peabody is working the same hours as Eve and who’s approving all this overtime? Even if Eve can afford to give up the $, Peabody can’t. What about those pesky details of life? Laundry, groceries, cleaning the house—Eve has somebody to do all that for her now. Peabody doesn’t. Even access to real coffee and occasional good breakfasts doesn’t make it all roses being the partner of a workaholic.

Still—even the lowlights are minor compared to the pleasure of reading a series of books that extends into the dozens of volumes and is filled with a cast of characters I adore and enjoy spending time with whenever I open a book. I’m going to have some serious book withdrawal when I hit the last in the series so far. I give this book four and a half stars out of five. ;O)

Born in Death

Born in Death is a great book. It starts with a hilarious scene, Eve and Roarke at birthing class with Mavis and Leonardo and races to a fabulous finish. In the middle you can't read fast enough because you are so worried about the characters who are in jeopardy. I think it's because this is the Mavis-has-a-baby book and we all have an instinctive need (well, those of us who are normal) to make sure that expectant mothers and their babies are safe and well.


Eve pulls a murder which turns into a double homicide, then a triple homicide and ultimately, a kidnapping, baby-selling operation. The first murder is an accountant (a very nice woman) who discovers that someone is cooking the books. She tells her fiance. Murder follows. Then a cover-up murder.

In a seemingly unrelated crime, one of Mavis' pregnant friends goes missing--failing to show up for Mavis' baby shower. When Mavis turns those tear-filled, best friend eyes on Eve and asks her to personally investigate Tandy's disappearance--what can Eve do? Well, mostly not sleep for the next three days or so while working herself to a collapse. I was so tired on Eve's behalf, that by the end of the book, I had to take a nap.

What's great about the book? Eve dealing with a birthing class, baby gift shopping, the baby shower, Leonardo and Mavis getting married, and the birth of Mavis' baby. Best idea, ever? Getting Mavis a tiara. Next best thing about the book--Tandy and her baby are safe at the end of the book.

Not so great things about the book--the too convenient intersection of the triple murder and the baby mom disappearance. This isn't the first time Eve's had a couple of cases just happen to intersect so that she 's able to solve them. Cassandra, anyone? Second annoying thing--the Commander calling Eve into his office to say that there is concern that Roarke will access private client information taken into her custody as part of the accountant's murder investigation and use it to enrich himself. Is Roarke considered a criminal by the NYPSD or not? If he is, why do top police officials come to parties at his house? I don't think the real chief of police in New York is going to Christmas parties at John Gotti's house, for crying out loud. I'm pretty sure the real New York police department isn't hiring criminals as their "expert" consultants. I'm pretty sure real criminals can't get top secret Defense Department contracts to supplies computer and security systems. All of which is true of Roarke in this fictional world. So, to me, the continued use of Roarke being havey-cavey to keep Eve from a promotion, and to cause Eve to have ethical issues, is just annoying.

In spite of that, I still loved this book. I was well satisfied with the time spend on Mavis's baby and having the two babies at the end of the book being named after Eve was sweet too (Quentin Dallas, and Bella Eve). I give this book four and a half stars out of five.

Memory in Death

Memory in Death by J. D. Robb is the twenty-second full length novel in the series. It continues the story of Eve and Roarke and we learn additional information about Eve’s history and what happened after Dallas. It is a Christmas time novel—and for once, we get to actually experience the holiday. If you will remember, last year’s Christmas story ended with Peabody’s attack by the Santa serial killer on Christmas Eve.

After Dallas, Eve went into the Child Protective Services system. She was placed in foster care with a woman named Trudy Lombard. Trudy shows up in New York in the wake of all the media coverage of the Icove case with the intention of blackmailing Eve and Roarke. Apparently, Trudy was an abusive nutcase with a bent against abused girls—she pretty much made Eve’s life a misery until she ran away.

Trudy shows up unannounced at the police station cooing love and “I’m your mama”. Eve doesn’t handle the first encounter with Trudy too well. It pretty much sends her into a familiar emotional meltdown. She races for home in a state of completely wierded-outness. She doesn’t connect all the dots right away as a result. Roarke, cynic that he is, recognizes right away that Trudy is looking to cash in on the connection. His encounter with Trudy was satisfying since he pretty much scared her silly before he sent her packing.

I’m sure you can see where this is going. Trudy is subsequently murdered and Eve and Roarke discover the body. Once again, Eve makes herself primary in an investigation in which she has a clear conflict of interest. It is quickly evident that Eve and Roarke couldn’t have killed Trudy since her TOD corresponds to when Eve and Roarke were having their big Christmas bash. Hey—that makes a change—a party where Eve doesn’t have to run out and save someone or interrogate someone or arrest someone. Woohoo! Eve proceeds to then pour department resources into what can only be described as a simple murder. She manages to get approval to have Baxter and Trueheart follow Trudy’s son and wife around New York. She has a rotation of uniforms on protection duty for two people about whom there is no evidence that they are even in any danger of being attacked. All this was with holiday overtime pay, too.

Eventually, our murderer is revealed to be another foster child who was abused by Trudy. A poor unfortunate who ended up a sociopath—there’s a slight implication that this is the result of abuse—but I offer in contradiction the millions of people who’ve been abused who don’t turn into conscience-less killers. Oh, the murderer is also Trudy’s daughter-in-law.

Highlights of the book include: Peabody and McNab have a big fight because they are going to visit McNab’s family in Scotland. Peabody is nervous they won’t like her. All is made better by receiving a Christmas present from Eve and Roarke—private shuttle to Scotland—mag car rental while in Scotland. Their make-up scene is both funny and sweet. Peabody wove a sweater for Eve and Roarke for their gifts. Even Eve appreciated that. Mavis checks in by phone after Christmas and that’s all we see of her but we do learn her baby is due around Valentine’s Day and that Eve and Roarke are going to have to begin taking classes to assist in the birth soon.

The best part of the book--Eve and Roarke actually spend Christmas together and we get to be there too. Remember the last book ended before Thanksgiving so we missed the whole visit from Roarke's family except for one scene. One book even ended right as Eve was walking down the aisle for their wedding--which I'm still aggravated about--holding a grudge here. So trust me when I say--it is unusual in an In Death book to get to enjoy time off with Eve and Roarke.

Memory is a good addition to the list of novels already written in the series. The love story between Eve and Roarke advances. Peabody and McNab's love story advances. Mira and Eve deepen their friendship, and we learn more about Eve's history after Dallas. Best book of the bunch? No. Enjoyable? Yes. I will rate this one with four out of five stars.

Origin In Death

As the observant reader will note, my planned reading program has kind of gone by the way-side. I started the year out alternating between re-reading an old book and reading a new book. I have had to abandon my course however, because Judy is chasing me with the J. D. Robb re-reads. I don't want her to lap me so I've been forced to read just In Deaths for the last little while. I also just realized that a brand new J. D. Robb, Promises In Death is coming out February 24th and I want to have finished the complete re-read before it comes out. So, now I have to book it or the whole scheme will go down the drain. (Pun unintentional but funny, imo, just the same.) I need to read five more--which is very do-able. Interestingly, (also, to me) I am now in the books that I have only read once. They actually read faster than the familiar ones because I don't really remember them and I feel an urgency to see what happens next which keeps me reading.

The latest book review is on Origin In Death. Two prominent plastic surgeons, with the reputations of saints, are murdered and it seems like there is just no possible motive. Philanthropists, who are loved by everyone, and have spent their lifetimes helping people in need don't seem like the type of people to be killed by a professional. Fortunately, Eve is a cynical woman and she doesn't believe that people who seem so snowy white pure are really that snowy white and pure. Turns out they aren't. They've been helping to run an illegal cloning operation whose goal is a post-evolutionary superior breed of human. The operation amounts to little more than the manufacture of female slaves. The girls are brainwashed from birth and have no say in their futures. Girls who don't measure up to the standards of the creators are terminated--ruthless creeps, indeed.

Highlights--It's Thanksgiving time in New York and Roarke invites his Irish family over for the holiday. They also invite Nadine and date, Mavis and Leonardo, Louise and Charles, and Crack and his date. Peabody and McNab were invited, as were Feeney and family but they had other obligations on the day. Sadly, we don't really get to experience the holiday since the book ends on the Wednesday. Robb did the same thing with the wedding so I'm used to it by now. I don't like it, but I'm used to it.

Low-lights--well, the second murder victim Icove, Jr. has a wife who is a clone. Turns out Icove father and son, cloned three versions of Avril (the wife.) Plot-wise I don't know why the men did that except for the need to have Avril in more than one place at once to establish an alibi. Why would you need three wives? One had to live in Italy and one had to live in France, while the third got to spend her year in New York with the children the three women shared. What purpose the three wives served never made any sense to me. Also, apparently the Icoves and thei other guy in on the scheme were cloning themselves. They viewed it as living "forever". Uh, not to be argumentative--but that's not YOU living forever, dude--just someone who looks like you living on after you. Even assuming that 80% of personality is genetic, the clones/replica would still not be YOU because it would have different life experiences that couldn't be duplicated. If you think too hard about the whole thing it just kind of falls apart on you.

All in all. Origin was a good book. I whizzed through it in one day. The ending is pretty exciting, you know Eve and Roarke are going to survive but it's a bit tricky for a while there. I'll give it four and a half out of five stars.

Survivor in Death

I've been simultaneously dreading and looking forward to Survivor In Death. If you are the type of person who likes a cathartic cry--this book is for you. It is the best J. D. Robb written, in my opinion, because it has some powerful scenes which tear your heart out. I was sniveling and crying like you would not believe as a read it. I also ended up staying up way too late to finish it because I couldn't put it down. Don't forget--I have read it before and I still couldn't put it down.

The book opens as nine-year-old Nixie Swisher sneaks downstairs to drink an Orange Fizzy at two a.m. She sees a shadow and follows it only to see an assassin murder the family housekeeper. She's smart and she's got guts--so she doesn't make a sound and she is able to call 9-1-1. Then she does what any nine year old would do--she heads upstairs to her Mom and Dad. Only to discover they've been murdered too. Her brother and best friend are also dead.

As you can imagine telling the book from Nixie's perspective is heart-wrenching. In the course of events, Eve Dallas takes Nixie home with her. Nixie is counting on Eve to catch the men who did this to her family. Every time she sees Eve she asks her if she has caught them yet. No pressure.

As a secondary storyline we also have the problem of what to do with Nixie now that she's an orphan. Her best friend Linney was killed (sort of in her place) and now Linney's parents don't feel they can become Nixie's guardians. I was rooting for Eve and Roarke to just keep her. It seemed like a great solution to me because then Eve wouldn't have to actually give birth. I can't figure out how she can do that because she's always getting hurt in the line.

Pros--the book gets you by the throat. The scene where Nixie goes to the morgue to see her family will make anyone cry. She lays her head on her mother's chest and realizes there is no heartbeat. (Frankly, I'm tearing up again just thinking about it.) The character of Nixie is memorable. I wish Robb would find a way to let us know how she is doing.

This book has everyone we like in it: Mira, Morris, Baxter, Trueheart, Webster, Mavis, Peabody, Feeney, Nadine, McNab, Whitney--you name 'em--they're in there. Much of the story takes place at the mansion as Eve works out of the home office. We see lots of Summerset, who takes on the majority of Nixie's care. Mira is in and out as she counsels Nixie. Mavis visits Nixie as a treat. Yeah, the gangs all here.

The plot is tight. At first, you can't figure out what this average family could have done or been mixed up in that would have resulted in this heinous murder. In the end--it was believable to me. Revenge and sociopaths--whacha gonna do?

Hinky-bits--Nobody sleeps like they should--especially Eve. I get that Eve is trying to solve a bad one. For crying out loud, at least give the girl six hours a night. Working on three hours sleep again and again is counter-productive to your mental health, plus, it makes you grouchy.

Next, after two cops are killed in the line--Eve announces that every detective will be working the case in addition to their current caseload and all personal time and vacation time is cancelled. Then the next thing I know, Internal Affairs is at her house because of suspicion about all the OT. Huh? I thought all resources were being devoted to this? None of the non-team member cops ever seem to do anything to help the case either, so why say they'll help?

Finally, Robb really likes her Eve fighting with technology character trait. Used to be Eve's car was always a barely functioning piece of @&^* but two books ago she got a brand new ride. (After her car chase scene in this book, I'm not sure it is still in great condition.) She also got a new computer three books ago. Now it's mis-functioning. In fact, I think Robb might have forgotten that she gave Eve a new computer altogether.

Despite, my minor nit-picks, this book is the best of all the In Death books. Nixie is a great character and her story will make you weep. I give the book FIVE stars out of Five.

Visions In Death

I've been waiting to get to this particular book, Visions In Death, for several books now. I knew that the book in which Peabody is attacked and brutally beaten was coming soon but I couldn't exactly remember which one it was. Well, this is it. And what a book it is.

Eve and team are on the hunt for a serial killer who is brutally beating and raping women, then ritually killing them and mutilating them. There are a number of very sad scenes as the relatives, friends, and lovers of victims are notified. In an attempt to catch the killer, Eve has to work with a psychic which as you can imagine, does not start or end well. After predictably trying to incite the killer to attack her, Peabody is badly injured. The scenes with McNab racing to Peabody's side---then the vigil at the hospital are tearjerkers. I kept the Kleenex handy the whole time. The ending is a complete surprise, blindside. I did not see it coming the first time I read the book and I will not spoil that for those who haven't read the book.

Pros of this book--Eve and Roarke are in perfect accord in this book. There are no annoying connections or conflicts of interest. Mavis makes an appearance. Summerset helps out with the case. And Eve finally gets a new vehicle which is brand-new and in perfect condition.

Cons--None. Nada. Zip.

The book from start to finish is great and then two-thirds on--from when Peabody is attacked the book rockets toward a great finish. It's a bit grim but great.

This is a five stars out of five book.

Divided In Death

Divided In Death; Eve Dallas and team investigate the murder of Caro's son-in-law and his mistress. Chief suspect? Caro's daughter Reva. (That name bothered me the whole book. I was either thinking of Reva Lewis from Guiding Light or Reva the deaf diplomatic negotiator from Star Trek: The Next Generation.) Caro is Roarke's faithful executive assistant for those not in the know about Dallas-world. Oh yeah, Reva also works for Roarke. Could there be any MORE inappropriate connections here? And yet, Eve will be the primary investigator and will utilize Roarke as a civilian expert.

What seems to be a simple crime of passion quickly evolves into more as we learn that the whole double murder is a frame up. The victims, it turns out, were employees of the future Department of Homeland Security. Now we're up to our neck in spy-stuff. Needless to say, eventually bad guys are caught and justice prevails.

Biggest con of the book--already mentioned it. The constant, never-ending inter-connections where Eve is primary investigator in cases where she has a clear conflict of interest. Second, another occasion when Eve is nearly blown up but yet never seems to require hospitalization like a mortal person would.

On the personal front, Peabody and McNab practically move into the house for the duration. So does Feeney. There's an hysterically funny scene early in the book when Eve attempts to get fingerprints off a candy wrapper left behind by the thief who keeps stealing her candy stash. The other major story line is the revelation that Homeland Security had Eve's father under surveillance as part of an operation and knew he was abusing Eve. They had listening devices in the hotel room in Dallas. They knew when he hurt her and when she killed him. In fact, they cleaned up the scene after the fact.

This news--that Eve could have been saved--sets her reeling and enrages Roarke. He basically vows to kill the guys who did it. Since Eve hates murder that causes a deep rift between the two. I got kind of fed up with the whole story line because to my thinking if Roarke loves Eve SO much--he ought to not want to hurt her. He knows that murdering these men who left her in hell would be the exact opposite thing she would want. Who does he want to make happy here, himself or Eve? Ultimately, Roarke figures that out and gives up his plan but not before leaving her alone at night and not taking care of her during one of her nightmares. The other problem with the story line was that it showed a lack of originality. Roarke is a powerful man with political and financial connections. The only way to ruin these jerks is to kill them? I don't think so. How 'bout something imaginative like ruining their careers or wiping out their investments or something? Not to obsess or anything. :O)

Overall, like all In Death books--Divided is worth reading and when Eve and Roarke finally make up I had to wipe my eyes a couple of times. It gets a four out of five stars rating.

Remember When by Nora Roberts/J. D. Robb

The latest in my re-read of the In Death series by J. D. Robb is the one that broke the pattern of In Death titles, Remember When. It’s a twofer. Part one is a contemporary romantic suspense written by Nora Roberts and part two is the futuristic romantic suspense with our heroine Eve Dallas written by Nora's alter ego, J. D. Robb. It is also the book that bridged the In Death series from paperback publishing to hardcover. Since I am not currently re=reading the entire backlist of Nora Roberts, (I can’t even calculate how long THAT would take) I refreshed my memory of the plot of part one by re-reading just the ending. I then read part two in its entirety. Taken together the set is excellent—each part alone holds up fine—but together the story arc has good depth.

The continuing thematic question of the In Death series is the exploration of nature versus nurture. Are the children of evil parents doomed to be evil? Since both Eve and Roarke are the children of criminals, abusers, and all around skanks—and since they see the continuing havoc such people wreak—we’re used to the question coming up. Eighty percent of personality is genetic, you know. Can you overcome your nature and choose a better path? Eve and Roarke are proof that you can. As characters they are non-religious—but, they each found something that gave them its equivalent. For Roarke, it is making money and acquiring power and control so that he won't be in need or abused ever again. For Eve, it is being a cop and standing for the dead—making sure that justice is done. Money and police work are their religions, I guess you could say. Perhaps inadvertently, Roberts/Robb makes the case that we all need “other”, something outside ourselves to have purpose and meaning in life and to overcome adversity.

In Remember When, someone is killing people in an attempt to find a fortune in stolen diamonds. It turns out that, that person is the grandson of the man who originally helped to steal the diamonds fifty years previously (outlined in part one). In this case, evil skipped a generation. The murders are solved fairly quickly—Eve Dallas' part is really just half a book, after all.

The best parts of the book, for me, are the Peabody scenes. She’s just gotten her Detective badge and she spends the case trying out new looks for her non-uniform detective persona. The girl shoes that she wears the first day are like torture devices after Eve walks her all over New York City. Peabody’s delight at being a detective and Eve’s partner add a whole new level of enjoyment to the series.

This was a fun little read and I enjoyed it—I would have finished it days ago but for the fact that I put my back out and reading was not really do-able when I couldn't sit, lay, or stand without pain. I’m improving after four days—so happily, I was finally able to keep rocking along in my re-reading quest and the book challenge. (I’m about to pass 5000 pages for the month, woohoo!) To finish my “review”, I give Remember When four stars for the Eve Dallas part---if only because Mavis and Summerset are completely absent from the story. ;o )

Imitation In Death by J. D. Robb

Imitation In Death by J. D. Robb is a pivotal book in the series. It is the last book published in paperback alone, and it marks the end of Peabody’s tenure as Eve Dallas’ aide. It is also a gruesome book.

Someone is imitating infamous serial killers. He starts out as Jack the Ripper, segues into the Boston Strangler, unsuccessfully attempts Ted Bundy and is finally caught attempting to imitate a fictional serial murderer. The amazing thing about Nora Roberts writing under the name J. D. Robb, is that she can really make you feel bad for the victims. She tells you just a little about the doomed character, but with such vividness that you cannot feel detached from their murder. I’ve ready many (many, many, many) mysteries from Agatha Christie to Dorothy L. Sayers to Joan Pickart. Usually the victim is just not that well-fleshed out, imo. I can keep a reader’s distance. Not with an In Death book though, which is why I skipped a few of the pages that detail the Boston Strangler Murder. It’s very upsetting.

Nitpicks: Eve interrogates one suspect pretty brutally. I mean, she has the guy sitting in the puddle of his ruined life and destroyed illusions at the end of the interview. Why? As she later tells Roarke, she knew in her gut who the murderer was from the get. So was a writer’s ploy to keep us guessing about the murderer? Is that why Eve had to rip the non-murderer guy to shreds in interview? It doesn’t make Eve likeable when she does stuff like that. At least Eve kinda, sorta explains that she has to investigate everyone—I just don’t know why she couldn’t investigate the guy she thought did first.

Fun Facts: There’s lots of Peabody in this story as she is preparing to take her Detective’s exam. And when she passes and Eve puts on her actual uniform---something I never dreamed she even had—it’s a great moment! The ending when she fakes Peabody out that they aren’t going to work together anymore only for Peabody to realize that she and Eve will now be Partners—is hilarious too. Other fun moment in an otherwise rather grim book—Eve and Roarke attend a family barbeque at Dr. Mira’s house. It’s pretty funny to see Eve reacting to toddlers. After the bbq, Roarke decides he has to have the ultimate guy-toy; an outdoor grill. His attempt to cook on it the first time is pretty funny. Usually Roarke is uber-competent at everything so his befuddlement is nice.

The theme over the last couple books has been mothers. Last book, Roarke’s world was rocked by the knowledge that his mother wasn’t the nasty old hag he thought, but rather a wonderful loving woman who was murdered by his father. In this book, Eve has another recovered memory during a dream. This time the dream is about her own mother. What she learns is very sad. There’s no happy ending for Eve—her mother was a prostitute and a junkie who didn’t want her and hated her. Fortunately, Eve has the sense to go to Mira about it. The result is sweet. When Roarke realizes that Eve has kept the dream/memory from him in order to protect him--what seems to be a headed for a fight moment--becomes a moment when the two grow closer.

As I said at the start, Imitation In Death has some gruesome murders. The capture of the murderer is a satisfying moment. There’s nothing like a woman bringing down a woman-hating serial killer. They never seem to like that too much, but I always do. The personal side of this book is what makes it a must read. It was really hard making myself keep to my book reading schedule after I finished it because I wanted to head right into the next one. I award the book four and a half stars out of five.

Portrait In Death

Portrait In Death is the sixteenth book in the Eve & Roarke saga. It is a interesting mix of personal and professional. The mystery, while complex and multi-faceted, is not the sole focus of the book. We get an interesting up-close and personal view of Roarke from inside his head. I don’t remember spending so much time following Roarke around in any previous book. (Admittedly my memory isn’t what it used to be.)

The professional focus for Eve is a serial killer who murders three innocent young adults and takes their portraits after they are dead. He communicates with the public via Nadine Furst. The murders while not “brutal”, are sad because the victims are college age and seem to be those most noble of individuals—well-liked, dedicated, popular, talented, hardworking...well, you get the idea. Their families are devastated and it’s painful to read about their devastation and grief. The third murder is the worst because it turns out that the victim is the sister of Crack—a bouncer at the D& D who is known to Dallas and Peabody. He’s been a very minor recurring character since the second book. His reaction to his baby sister’s murder made me cry. It was very well written.

The murderer turns out to be an insane young man who has somehow come to believe that by killing these people he can preserve their “light” forever by taking it into himself through his camera. He’s completely insane and at the end of the book, I felt sorry for him. Still wanted him locked up, mind you, but I felt bad for him.

On the personal side of things, the book starts with a bang when Summerset falls down the stairs and breaks his leg. We have a whole lotta upset on the home front as a result. Then Roarke goes bonko when he finds out that the abusive old besom he thought was his mother---wasn’t his real, actual mother. His real mother turns out to have been a sweet country lass who was killed by Roarke’s horrible father. She loved him like crazy and wanted to give him a family. Roarke goes off the deep end with this discovery. It’s the first time we see a big chink in his armor, I think. He and Eve have a major breakdown in communication. Eve ends up trying to figure out how to handle the marital meltdown by calling Mavis (her only appearance in the book), talking to Dr. Mira, Summerset, Peabody and Nadine! She got around. I was happy with the way Eve handled the problem—she finally put Roarke first. Whew. Sometimes you get the impression she thinks she’s the only one who can catch a murderer, but Feeney sets her straight. She left the case in the middle to fly to Ireland and help Roarke through his personal crisis. It was nice and their relationship became a little less lop-sided as a result.

Other fun tidbits—Eve recommends Peabody for Detective. Peabody freaks out a little and begins to start studying for the exam. Trueheart and Baxter have a role in the big finish and Trueheart finds himself in jeopardy again. Baxter’s reaction was pretty neat. He was just wigging out with guilt since he and Trueheart have partnered up (sorta).

All in all, Portrait is a great book. I am willing to award it five out of five stars. My reasons were, first, because I was surprised by the identity of the murderer. I didn’t see it coming the first time I read the book. Secondly, because the personal stuff with Roarke was so good. And thirdly, because Crack’s reaction to losing his sister made me cry.

Purity in Death

Book 15 of the In Death series by J. D. Robb, is Purity in Death. The plot presents the arguments for and against the premise that evil exists and must be stopped by whatever means possible. An terrorist organization calling themselves The Purity Seekers is executing bad guys—drug dealers, pedophiles, all-around nasties. They use a “computer” virus to explode the bad guys’ brains. The plan is to drive the bad guys crazy with pain until they off themselves. Unfortunately, some innocents get taken out in the process. Eve and her team must figure out how the computer is being used to kill people and who is sending the virus.

Eve is put in the position of having to stand for the dead in a case where most everybody thinks it’s a good thing they are dead. She and Roarke disagree about it. This rocks Eve’s world. She has trouble getting her head around the idea that she and Roarke aren’t on the same page. Robb cleverly includes among the collateral damage a young cop, a teenage runaway, and McNab. (There were two other victims but they aren’t mentioned after their assault and murder—don’t know if Robb forgot about ‘em or what.)

There is quite a lot of politics in the book. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor of New York, Chief Tibble, and Commander Whitney all have prominent roles in the story. We learn for the first time that Eve would have received a promotion to Captain by now, but for the fact that she doesn’t play the politics and she married Roarke who has a havey-cavey reputation among the higher ups. (I’m not exactly sure who the higher ups are, in this case, I mean she was talking to Whitney and Tibble—who else would be involved in her promotion. Last I heard promotions weren’t decided by committee but by your ranking officer.)

Notable moments in the book—Trueheart deals with his first use of force which results in the death of the perp. Eve arranges for Baxter to take on the training of Trueheart. Mavis announces her pregnancy. (I didn’t’ realize that it took so many books for her to actually deliver the baby.) McNab, dealing with his injury and paralysis, tells Peabody that he loves her. Jamie Lingstrom reappears and works on the team to solve the computer problems. (I can’t wait till he actually becomes a cop.)

All in all, Purity in Death delivers on the personal and professional front. The ending rocks because I always enjoy seeing the bad guy get their just desserts in a big embarrassing way. I give this one a four and one half stars.

Reunion in Death

It's been a busy week, but I am finally ready to post my review of Reunion in Death by J. D. Robb. I'm surprised this one took me the whole week to finish since it's has the feel of a quick read. I blame Judy's constant unmuting of the television. It's distracting. She blames my addiction to Zuma. Without a third party opinion we'll have to call this argument a draw. (But I'm right.)

Back to the review--this latest outing by Eve and Roarke features a serial killer who has a grudge against Eve. Back when Eve was first promoted to Detective, she put Julianna Dunne in prison. She was one of those black widow types--marry an old rich guy, kill him, inherit beaucoup bucks. She played on the sympathy of the judicial system and claimed she'd been abused so she was only given a ten year sentence. Now with good behavior she's out and she wants revenge.

Notable events of this book include a visit by Peabody's Free-Ager parents, Peabody's first solo outing solving a cold case homicide, and Eve's return to Dallas the city where she was found after she escaped from her father. I think these alternate story lines are the reason why the book feels like such a quick read. The book ends with a spectacular multi-room fist-fight, let's cause as much destruction as possible, take-down by Eve of Julianna Dunne after she makes the mistake of trying to poison Roarke. You do not want to try to hurt Roarke if you are planning to live long and prosper in Eve Dallas' world.

Nit Picks and other comments--No Mavis in the story--which is always too bad since she is a colorful character. No Nadine in the story--which is not a problem because she's pretty one dimensional---wait a minute, I'm wrong Nadine does appear in the story but clearly not in any memorable way since I forgot about it. Nice little appearance by Louise Dimatto--who has morphed into Eve's personal physician. Handy since Eve is always getting beaten up and Louise will treat her at home in return for big donations to her pet projects. I did think that Eve and Roarke should have told Louise that they were using her charity fundraiser as a vehicle to draw out a killer at the end of the book. I'm all about informed consent.

In the ranking of the Eve Dallas chronicles, I would put Reunion up there in the top five. As I said it is a quick read, it has some really funny bits, and Eve's personal story moves forward. I rank it a four and one half stars out of five. I kind of want to start the next book, Purity in Death right away, but I'm going to stick to my schedule of read a new book, re-read an Eve so I can continue to be competitive in the 2009 Book Challenge.

Seduction in Death by J. D. Robb

My latest re-read of the Robb oeuvre is Seduction in Death. It's number thirteen, I believe. Although the murder storyline is unpleasant (to say the least) the story is one of my favorites because of a number of advancements in story lines. Really--when I think about it--my least favorite part of any J. D. Robb is the mystery. Ironic, really. Which is not to say I don't love them, just that I like the relationships best. Peabody and Dallas, Dallas and Roarke, Peabody and McNab, Dallas and the Commander...well, you get the idea.

The basic story is this--two rich and spoiled boy/men with a whole bunch of issues from their childhood begin a game of seduction using date rape drugs. They seduce women over the internet, stalk them, and eventually drug them for points in the 'game'. The very first time out one off the fellows accidentally kills his date. This leads to an escalation in the game, since for our sociopaths the accidental death leads to deliberate murder.

Nit picks 1: Even in 2009, women who meet men from the Internet are surely not so stupid as to drink from a glass that was poured by a stranger before they arrived at the scene of the meet. Yet these woman from fifty years in the future apparently don't notice anything weird about a drink being poured for them before they get there. (And it's champagne--which goes flat, so your really don't want to pour it early. ) Isn't it SOP in bars and such to never leave your drink unattended? Nit pick 2: It just happens that Roarke owns the drug laboratory where the date rape drugs where developed twenty-three years earlier--thus allowing him to access information that would likely never have come to Eve's attention until the end of the case. Frankly, it was an unnecessary step in the solution of the murders since Eve identified the murderers through other evidentiary clues.

On to the good stuff--notable moments in this book. First, Louise Dimatto meets Charles and they begin their romance. Secondly, Peabody's fight with McNab is resolved when he goes to punch out Charles for supposedly dumping Peabody and disrespecting her. They end up agreeing to an exclusive dating relationship. Yea! Thirdly, Eve has some great opportunities to interact with the Commander. Finally, Eve voluntarily agrees to go on a two week vacation with Roarke which represents a big step forward in their relationship. She is learning to put their relationship first, slowly but surely.

As I said at the beginning of the post--Seduction is one of my favorite J. D. Robb books. I give it a four and one half out of five stars. What does it take to get five stars? I generally need to cry at some point in the story. There's definitely a five come up in one of the remaining re-reads. Trust me.

Betrayal In Death by J. D. Robb

Betrayal in Death by J. D. Robb is the twelfth book in the In Death series. It is a particularly brutal entry as the two murders are presented as they happen and are extremely graphic. My empathy level for the victims was very high. I confess, when re-reading it, I skipped those pages. I just don't need to experience the trauma of the attack from the victim's point of view. I prefer my murders after the fact, with limited detail, and a little distance. Call me a wimp, I'll own it.

The premise of this story is that a professional killer is knocking off people with a connection to Roarke in order to distract him from a huge auction of millions of dollars worth of jewelry and memorabilia being sold by a legendary screen actress. Of course, Eve et. al., don't realize that's the motive for the murders for a good while. Once again our murders have a connection to Roarke. The first murder occurs while Eve and Roarke are at the opening of the display of the goods to be auctioned. Eve is decked to the nines in an evening gown and diamonds. If Eve is dressed up, you can almost guarantee that she's going to be called to a crime scene or end up chasing a criminal. Her outfits frequently do not survive her job--good thing that Roarke's a billionaire. Weirdly, Eve travels to New Jersey in this same outfit to inform the next of kin about the murder. I'm thinking even devastated by my grief I would wonder about it, if the cop delivering the bad news was wearing a couture gown and diamonds sprinkled in her hair.

Have I mentioned lately that I write my book "reviews" in a stream of consciousness kind of way? I'm not pretending to be a professional here--this is just my reaction to the book. The next thing that struck me as hinky; the contract killer, the professional killer is...well, a sociopath. As a result, he can't just kill the victims in a business-like way. He's gotta have a whole serial killer m.o. That's what makes the murders so awful--the torture and other stuff. Now I don't claim to be an expert on killers, but it just seems to me you either kill as a job or as a hobby if you fall into one of those two types of killers. (I can't believe I'm explaining my thinking here...) It seems to me a true contract killer has to be cold and dispassionate and have a get in and get out mentality. You don't want to get caught, right? Also, since it's a business you don't want to be spending anymore time on it than necessary. A job that is done quickly is more profitable than a job that takes more time. Our contract killer does extra stuff which takes longer and increases his risk.

In this offering, McNab and Peabody's relationship hits a speed bump. McNab has reached his tipping point regarding sharing Peabody with Charles. Mavis has a minor walk-on when she helps to identify some make-up and we have the obligatory scene where Trina gives Eve a beauty treatment.

Taken altogether, Betrayal is not my favorite book in the In Death series. That said, I still recommend it as an essential read if you are a Eve and Roarke fan. I rate it a three out of five starts mainly due to the extreme violence.

Judgement in Death by J.D. Robb

In my continuing quest to re-read all of the In Death series by J. D. Robb, I just finished Judgement in Death, which is book number 11 of the 27 (so far) books. Like so many of the first books in the series, the murder of bad cops somehow manages to be connected to Roarke. This annoying plot "twist" has been used way too frequently for plausibility. Robb connects the murder to Roarke in two ways: first, when the first victim works as a bartender in a business he owns, and secondly, because of a connection to the evil organized crime boss who has his fingers into all the bad cops. Roarke knew him and did business with him once upon a time. A third odd connection springs up when Eve has a flashback about her father and realizes he did some errands for this same crime boss. The murderer was a bit of a surprise the first time I read the story back in...hmmm, lemme check the copyright...2000.

What makes this a nice entry into the series is the fight that Eve and Roarke have. First she lies to him--a big mistake--then she pulls a weapon on him--also not a bright move. After the first fight when she lies, Eve amusingly goes to confide in Mavis about the fight and ends up having a girl's night out and getting smashed on screamers, while hearing typically hilarious guy-advice from Mavis. After the girl's night, she has an encounter with an old "boyfriend" who makes a pass at her which is interrupted by Roarke. Not surprisingly, this is followed by a fist fight between the two males. Eve draws her weapon and actually shoots it, in order to break up the fight. Roarke naturally objects to his wife pulling a weapon on him. I laughed every time this incident was discussed because Eve couldn't' understand what the fuss was about it. She had it set on stun after all. The capper of the book is a scene in which Eve confides in Dr. Mira in a sweet interaction where Mira confides that she feels maternal towards Eve. When Dr. Mira hears the full story with gloriously private and personal details, her reaction is a hoot. The Peabody and McNab story gets little advancement in the book which is disappointing but you can't have room for everything. All in all, an excellent entry in the series and a great little comfort read. I give in four and one half stars out of five. I do love Eve & Roarke. (Oh yes, and my page count is 396 in part three of the book challenge.)