Review: Thankless in Death

Thankless in Death
In Death, Book 37
J.D. Robb

Released: Feb 2014

Berkley, mass market paperback, 371 p.
ISBN: 978-0-515-15413-9


Lieutenant Eve Dallas has plenty to be grateful for, especially Roarke's big Irish family, which is a joyful improvement on her own dark childhood.

Other couples aren't as lucky.  The Reinholds, for example, are lying in their home stabbed and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition.  Those who knew them are stunned - and heartbroken by the evidenc that they were murdered by their own son.

Turns out that twenty-six-year-old Jerry is not only capable of brutality but has taken a liking to t.  With the money he's stolen from his parents and a long list of grievences, he intends to finally make his mark on the world.  Eve and her team already know the who, how, and why of these murders.  What they need to pinpoint is where Jerry's going to strike next.

I was fully prepared to dive right into Thankless in Death {TiD} and have a great time - as I usually do - in the world of Eve & Roarke.   However, I was surprisingly disappointed with TiD.  Having the antagonist served up on a silver platter - name, motive, and all - was actually quite boring.  I much prefer it when Eve, and team of course, have to push themselves to the last minute to uncover the identity of their unsub - as well as their motives.  With Jerry Reinhold as the murderer, it just fell flat!  You can't reveal his identity as a spoiler as this time its stated right there in the blurb!

The year that was 2012

Well my dears, Christmas has been and gone and as we come to the close of 2012 I find myself reflecting on the year that was.

 

So many of my favourite books have come from this year, and I even found a new author - or three - that I will follow in the future.  This year I time travelled my way through Shadow of Night with Diana and Matthew as they rubbed shoulders with Marlowe other Elizabethan celebrities, and mentally helped kick ass with Eve Dallas as she chased a madman with delusions of grandeur around NY.  Got caught up in a battle with Gods and Goddess' as I followed Atticus O'Sullivan, and flew with Jason and Princess Mahiya as they swept across the desert sands of India on angelic wings.  I eagerly awaited the hatching of Kaylin Neya's mysterious egg, and laughed at Stephanie Plum as she got into yet more trouble ... "but it wasn't my fault!".

 

So here's to the year that was, and the bright and shiny year that could be.  May all your books be fabulous in 2013!

Happy New Year to you all.

Delusion in Death

Coming soon to a bookstore near you September 11, 2012

Delusion in Death
'In Death' Book 35
J.D. Robb

Inside flap

What would cause someone to want so many people, surely many of them strangers, to slaughter each other?'

The scene that greets Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her team one terrible evening in New York is more shocking than any of them have ever witnessed. The usually comfortable downtown bar is strewn with bodies - office workers who have been sliced, bludgeoned or hacked to death with the nearest weapon available. It appears they all turned on each other in a desperate blinding rage.

As Eve and her husband Roarke - who owned the bar among his many properties - investigate the big-business workers of the city, they link the attacks back to the Urban Wars and the chemical warfare used all those years ago. With another slaughter imminent, Eve must turn to unexpected sources in order to stop a killer who is getting revenge by creating mass carnage...

Oh God, I want it now!  This sounds soooo good.  Eve Dallas is getting better by the book.

Is the 'In Death' series sinking?

The short answer is maybe? I got my hands on the newest offering from JD Robb yesterday and spent the next few hours devouring it. I was expecting more insight into Eve and her tortured past... the nightmares, the occasional fight with Roarke, and her ever increasing heartache at being a homicide cop.

But what did I find? A cop who wasn't too emotionally involved with this case, who was more interested in nailing the villain to the wall than in actually solving the case. It was one of the least dramatic/suspenseful stories in the saga of Lt. Eve Dallas.

To be fair, it is a good read. There are some truly funny moments, especially with Eve & Peabody....

"Marriage is mostly a sucker bet"

"Spoken by the woman with Dream Husband"

"You just said Dream Husband might tak a turn down the road and decide he wants to do threesomes or ___ "

"Me! Me!" Peabody shot up a hand. "Pick me!"

In all I would recommend it to all the In Death fans. Just be aware that if you are looking for a heartwrenching Eve story... forget it!