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Shadows in Death by J.D. Robb

Lt. Eve Dallas is about to walk into the shadows of her husband’s dangerous past.

Title: Shadows in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #51
Publish Date: September 8, 2020
Source: Purchased by reviewer

Publisher’s Description: Lt. Eve Dallas is about to walk into the shadows of her husband’s dangerous past.

As it often did since he’d married a cop, murder interrupted more pleasant activities. Then again, Roarke supposed, the woman lying in a pool of her own blood a few steps inside the arch in Washington Square Park had a heftier complaint.

When a night out at the theatre is interrupted by the murder of a young woman in Washington Square Park, it seems like an ordinary case for Detective Eve Dallas and her team. But when Roarke spots a shadow from his past in the crowd, Eve realizes that this case is far from business as usual.

Eve has two complex cases on her hands – the shocking murder of this wealthy young mother and tracking down the shadow before he can strike again, this time much closer to home. Eve is well used to being the hunter, but how will she cope when the tables are turned? As Eve and the team follow leads to Roarke’s hometown in Ireland, the race is on to stop the shadow making his next move . . .

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*

Nervous Nellie says…

All I can say about Lorkin Cobb is “What an effing idiot.” He thinks he’s gonna take Roarke down? Kill Dallas? Dude, you got some delusions of grandeur. Obviously, he has no idea who he’s messing with.

This was a story that did have a bit more gooey stuff between Roarke and Dallas (before the ultimate end) and it felt a little over the top. Other than that, it was golden. The initial case was a quick solver and I was gratified at how Eve got the defendant to cry. The arrogant nasty sociopathic jerk cried. That case didn’t exactly end right with that arrest. I got to go with the team on a fast paced, no holds barred manhunt of the bought and paid for assassin. I got to learn more about Roarke’s background. I got a good look at how Sommerset fathers Roarke (which was really awesome) and how cool it is to watch a team work together. Everyone. All of Eve’s people wanted in on catching this moron. They, every last one of them, are frosty to the ult. And the ending?!? It was a spectacular chase. I loved every minute of it. I can tell you I always get satisfaction at the end of these books. Eve and Delia do their “in the box” work and nail the sleazy, evil monster to the wall. It’s such a feeling to see the good guys win. This ending was no slouch either. It may be the best dramatic endings so far. No, no cliffhanger, just an awesome “nail that bastard” ending. I also loved, to the point of “nanner, nanner” NYPSD’s success in locating Cobb when InterPol hadn’t been able to in 20 years. It was marvelous.

My favorite alternate character in this book was the shopkeeper at the men’s store that Cobb shopped at. He was an absolute treasure. He was so excited to be a part of a police investigation that I just had to smile. I loved him. Watch for him when you read/listen to this book.

As always, these books get a 5 star.

Our reviews in this series in no particular order…

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Tags: Eve Dallas, J.D. Robb, Nervous Nell, review, Shadows In Death

Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb

Sep 9

Posted by Nervous Nell Justice

Killed inside a locked room. How? Who? It’s impossible they said, until they met Eve Dallas.

Title: Fantasy in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #30
Publish Date: January 6, 2010
Source: Purchased by reviewer

Publisher’s Description: Bart Minnock, founder of the computer gaming giant U-Play, is found in his locked private playroom, in a pool of blood, his head separated from his body. Despite his violent end, Eve can’t find anyone—girlfriend and business partners included—who seemed to have a problem with the enthusiastic, high-spirited millionaire.

Of course gaming, like any business, has its fierce rivalries and dirty tricks—as Eve’s husband, Roarke, one of U-Play’s competitors, knows well. But Minnock was not naïve, and he knew how to fight back in the real world as well as the virtual one.

Eve and her team are about to enter the next level of police work, in a world where fantasy is the ultimate seduction—and the price of defeat is death…

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*

Nervous Nellie says…

This was a difficult mystery to solve. I don’t think anyone but Eve Dallas could have solved it. Anyone else investigating this locked room death mystery would have put it on the cold case pile nearly right away.

These brainiac gamers built their little company with a lot of sweat and encouragement from Roarke. They were all super smart and incredibly tuned in to the gamer world. They were set to be on top. They weren’t there yet, but they were getting there. Then one is killed. It puts all the others in a tailspin.

The de facto leader, Bart Minnock, has got the world by the tail. He is the driving force behind U-play and he was the one that approached Roarke and got him to help start the business. He was liked and incredibly smart. He was really the super brain behind the whole company. Bart went home one day to test play U-play’s new game in development. The next morning he was found dead.

Eve, of course, has a nose for murder and figures out not just who and why, but how. How’d she figure it out? By digging. And pushing. And researching. Relentless, that’s her middle name. I am so sure that no one else could have figured it out. Even the E-geeks said it was impossible.

On the personal front, Nadine publishes The Icove Agenda. The book that blows the publishing scene to smithereens. Everyone is there. Mavis, Trina, Leonardo, Nadine. It was great to see how things were going with the fam. Good times.

As always, these books get a 5 star.

Our reviews in this series in no particular order…

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Tags: Eve Dallas, J.D. Robb, Kindred in Death, Nervous Nell, review

Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb

Jan 7

Posted by Nervous Nell Justice

Set against the background of the youth-obsessed, drug-using fashion industry, this suspenseful tale sweeps from the glitzy to the seamy with all the flair and panache one has come to expect from Robb.

Title:Immortal in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #3
Publish Date: July 1, 1996
Genre: Fantasy suspense romance
Narrator: Susan Erickson
Publisher’s Description: When Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas investigates the murder of a top model, she is putting her career on the line, because the prime suspect is her best friend. Eve’s investigations lead her into the glamorous world of high fashion.

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*

Nervous Nellie says…

Next on my re-read journey is Immortal in Death.

This book spotlights Mavis and hooks her with Leonardo. Mavis is such a great person to be around. Even though a grifter by trade, until meeting Dallas of course, she has the most up beat vision of life. Eve loves her and is the first real friend Eve can count among her posse.

Mavis is accused of killing a bad tempered, vindictive and jealous model. No possible way. None. Now, Mavis is scared out of her mind and Eve will prove her innocence come hell or high water. This is also the book where Roarke meets Mavis and starts the long road to stardom for her. What would we do without Roarke?

This is a good story, but it’s not as riveting as the ones before. That doesn’t mean that it’s not worth it’s salt, though. I enjoyed it and it created the link between Roarke and Mavis. All of Eve’s friends will someday be Roarke’s friends too. All these people that Eve brings with her into her relationship with Roarke makes him a happier man because none of them are after his money. They love him because they love Eve. I am fascinated at how the links are created and a family is built.

Our reviews in this series…

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Tags: Eve Dallas, futuristic romance, Immortal in Death, In Death, mystery, Roarke, urban fantasy

Glory in Death by J.D. Robb

Dec 26

Posted by Nervous Nell Justice

It is 2058, New York City. In a world where technology can reveal the darkest of secrets, there’s only one place to hide a crime of passion-in the heart.

Title: Glory in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #2
Publish Date: December 28, 1995
Genre: Fantasy suspense romance
Narrator: Susan Erickson
Publisher’s Description: It is 2058, New York City. In a world where technology can reveal the darkest of secrets, there’s only one place to hide a crime of passion-in the heart.

Even in the mid-twenty-first century, during a time when genetic testing usually weeds out any violent hereditary traits before they can take over, murder still happens. The first victim is found lying on a sidewalk in the rain. The second is murdered in her own apartment building. Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas has no problem finding connections between the two crimes. Both victims were beautiful and highly successful women. Their glamorous lives and loves were the talk of the city. And their intimate relations with men of great power and wealth provide Eve with a long list of suspects — including her own lover, Roarke.

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*

Nervous Nellie says…

I’m still on my journey of re-reading or in my case, re-listening, to the In Death series by J. D. Robb. Normally, my first choice is an Indie author, but J.D. Robb hooked me from the first mention of Roarke.

If you are familiar with Eve and Roarke, you know what I am talking about. If you are not, please, for your own swoon worthy imagination, please partake. Roarke charishes Eve like no other man I have every read about (and I am positive that no man living does). This relationship is not perfect, but it’s one that makes me sigh.

Anyway, this story is incredible. Again, these stories may be written in 1995, but they are still strong front runners even in comparison of books written now. I feel that after I finished reading the story, I would have thought the plot was fairly simple. While I was reading it, however, the plot was fed to me just as it would have been fed to Eve Dallas making it the puzzle. The best part is that while reading the story, readers are treated to the inside day to day feelings and headaches Eve Dallas. The reader is drawn in and becomes part of her family.

There is sex, swearing, murder, anxiety, flashbacks and adult situations involving the motivations of the murder. These books are well written and will pull a reader in so far that it will be difficult to pause the book or put the book down.

One last warning: try really hard to remember prior stories because they will come back as references in current stories. For instance, the folks in this story will be referenced in book #6. They aren’t integral in the story, but they are referenced and that is kind of cool.

Our reviews in this series…

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Tags: Eve Dallas, futuristic romance, Glory in Death, In Death, mystery, Roarke, urban fantasy

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb

Mar 27

Posted by Nervous Nell Justice

The first book in the IN DEATH series by J.D. Robb. The book that started the phenomenon of at least 48 books with several novellas thrown in. Eve Dallas meets billionaire Roarke and he slowly ingratiates himself into her life and her love.

Title: Naked in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #1
Publish Date: July 1, 1995
Genre: Fantasy suspense romance
Narrator: Susan Erickson
Publisher’s Description: Here is the novel that started it all- the first book in J.D. Robb’s number-one New York Times-bestselling In Death series, featuring New York homicide detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas and Roarke.

It is the year 2058, and technology now completely rules the world. But New York City Detective Eve Dallas knows that the irresistible impulses of the human heart are still ruled by just one thing: passion.

When a senator’s daughter is killed, the secret life of prostitution she’d been leading is revealed. The high-profile case takes Lieutenant Eve Dallas into the rarefied circles of Washington politics and society. Further complicating matters is Eve’s growing attraction to Roarke, who is one of the wealthiest and most influential men on the planet, devilishly handsome… and the leading suspect in the investigation.

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*

Nervous Nellie says…

I have always had the stubborn opinion that I don’t need to read a book if I’ve already read it once. My partner in crime here in the blog world has been slowly changing my mind about that. Ivana re-reads series just because a new book is joining the ranks. I always thought that was a silly thing to do, but I’m coming around to her way of thinking.

If you’ve followed my posts of late, I read the In Death series book #46, #47 and #48. Dark in Death, Leverage in Death, and Connections in Death are the last three releases with Vendetta in Death coming soon. Now, a person that is not enthralled with the In Death series may say something like: “48 books? How can a series go on for 48 books?” I don’t know and I don’t care. I love this series. What I think I love about it the most is that the mystery plot is the basis for the book and the characters are not the center of the story. Basically, the mystery happens, Eve Dallas has to investigate and from there I am led through the procedure of finding the killer with the secondary characters hopping in to help. There is also the bonus of living Eve’s off-time life as a secondary story too which is an over arch of the whole series. This series has a lot of characters, but they aren’t all thrown at the reader right away. The infusion of the characters is slow so it’s kind of like meeting the family one by one.

Naked in Death is the very first Eve Dallas book. She is an incredibly tough woman with the uncanny ability to fit the murder puzzle together. She isn’t the only hero in the book which gives credit of teamwork where credit is due. The plot of the story involves a murder of a prostitute. It’s a high profile prostitute with a lot of political land mines to navigate. Eve could easily open and close the case by citing some lame reasoning or another, but, like a dog with a bone, she will not give up. Her tenacity and incredible feeling for each and every victim is what keeps her chipping away until she uncovers what is more than just a little shocking. She meets her future husband, Roarke and fights valiantly against her attraction to him, which we all know is a moot point.

I read this book the first time around nearly 20 years ago. It holds up today and could easily follow any of the newer books. The writing is very professional, which it would be because of the author and best selling level of quality. I don’t feel like I need to plug this author because she is world renown but I do feel I need to plug the series. Come on and join us cult followers of Eve Dallas and Roarke. I do not think you’ll be sorry.

Our reviews in this series…

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