After reading one of Nora Roberts paranormal romances (Face the Fire) and being distinctly underwhelmed, I felt it was only fair to give her a chance to redeem herself with a crime story, which is more to my taste as reading matter.
And I did enjoy this more, in that I was at least able to finish it. However, that said, the 'annoyances' factor was just as high for this effort as it was for her romance.
A short list includes her decision to shorten words into some kind of b*stard amalgam of cop show and futurism. I had to struggle with wits, vics and transpo throughout, with wit, in particular, producing some very strange misunderstandings as in "Find me the wit who..." What? Told me that joke about the three Irishmen in a bar, perhaps?
We also had to contend with the cast's constant drinking of "fizzies" and trips to "vending" and the "autochef". Quite why the world would have lost branding in the space of 50 years, when branding is paramount in our culture, I do not know. And, paradoxically, "autochef" sounds exactly like the brand name that would have been given to a food mixer in the fifties - a curiously dated anachronism. That said, other than some other uses of 'e', 'links' and 'comms', there was absolutely nothing that made this feel futuristic at all. I'm at a loss to understand why she bothered.
All that under our belts, this was exactly like watching any American cop show on TV. We had all the cop stereotypes, constant barked demands of "With me" and "On it" and the obligatory moralising of The Great American Right meets carbon-copy evildoer.
In this case, our evildoer was ringing as many bells as the cops. He liked opera, he listened to music while he tortured people, he stalked and killed women, he had a nasty relationship with his mother and a dodgy childhood, he was flabby, impotent and - unusually, for once - old.
It's apparent to me, after two books, that Nora's fans must enjoy the predictability of her work. There can be no other explanation for the popularity of such second-rate cookie-cutter writing. I am all for escapism and an 'easy read', but when the 'easy' becomes simple regurgitation of popular TV then I wonder Nora's readers don't just watch TV. At least TV pushes the envelope form time to time. All Nora does is run along behind it, licking up crumbs to spew out again in blander form.
Sad and depressing, and only recommended if originality and talent makes you feel threatened.
Dallas Rocks! (Rating 5 of 5)
» M. Hunter
As with the other books in this series, J D Robb has done it again. I think that with each new book written the characters develop more. This is a very good book, fast paced and keeping you gripped. I enjoyed it very much, butI have all of the books in the series and love each one and can re-read them all!! Enjoy this book but if you have not read J D Robb before start from Naked in Death and I guarantee you will be hooked.
Great read - yet again!! (Rating 5 of 5)
» Penny Harvey
Love this series, there's nothing like visiting old friends for a few hours of good company.
This time Eve and her team are tracking a killer they 'lost' the first time around. Many still working remember the first time and are determined to get him this time. More dynamics between Eve and her team this time with her personal life being relatively stable - though don't worry we still see lots of Roarke as a consultant on the case.
You can read these books as stand alones, but as noted by another reviewer you would miss a lot of character development particularly over the last 3-4 in the series.
Yes I suppose - as my friend says - they're a bit samey!!! But she just doesn't get it. They are so superbly written, with characters you love, or love to hate and as with all JD Robb/Nora Roberts books within the first couple of pages you feel as if you have known everyone your whole life and would like to meet with them on a regular basis.
More of the same (Rating 4 of 5)
» Helen Hancox
J D Robb has done a good job of keeping a series going over so many books - I think this is number 27 in the 'In Death' group. Even more surprising, the heroine, Eve Dallas, has stuck with the same man for the entire run; it's unusual for an author to try to portray a steady marriage in a novel as perhaps that's less interesting than the spikes and fireworks of unmarried characters or warring partners. In this particular book, however, the relationship between Eve and Roarke is less significant than the overall plot and, for me, that was an improvement over the more recent books in this series that I have read. Yes, Eve and Roarke still have a few scenes together, they still talk with the rather toe-curling phrases like "you centre me" and all that stuff, but a lot of that can be skim-read if it's a bit too gooey for you (as it is for me; let's face it, how many married people say that sort of thing to each other?)
The murder in this story is one that affects both Eve and Feeney very deeply. Of course in all the other books the murders affect Eve very deeply (for someone who appears quite cold and heartless towards living people she is surprisingly nice to dead ones) but this murder is perhaps more significant because it is the work of a serial killer who they weren't able to catch nine years ago. This killer, dubbed 'The Groom', killed four women in New York and then moved on to Europe, South America and elsewhere and so Eve and Feeney missed their chance. However when Eve's called to the site where a body is dumped and she sees the unique pattern of this killer's handiwork on the body, she knows it's all starting again and she knows that many more women will die.
This time, however, she's the Primary in the case and Feeney is helping her; also this time there seems to be a more personal element to it, with links between the dead woman and Roarke's world. Once again Roarke seems able to completely dump his entire workload (of apparently running half the businesses on the planet) to help Eve; I find this lack of realism annoying in J D Robb's writing. His ability to know all his staff, at least vaguely, is also vastly unrealistic. Anyway, they soon realise that it's not Roarke that The Groom is working towards but Eve. They couldn't catch him last time, he seemed to make no mistakes - can they get him this time?
Coincidence plays quite a part in this story; there are also a number of occasions where Eve makes a leap of logic that pays dividends (as always) and she doesn't seem to put a foot wrong. The story is fast-moving with the events taking place over just a couple of days and it was an interesting read but I did feel rather too much unreality was injected into the story in terms of solving the plot. Interestingly at the end Eve does something illegal (with Roarke's help) which involves her carrying out her own brand of justice; I wondered whether this is a new step in her character, someone who previously was completely moral is now setting herself up as some kind of judge to override someone's else's rights. Perhaps this will be explored further in future books as it's an interesting possibility although didn't add to her appeal to me at all - in fact, I don't find Eve a very appealing character at all. The usual subsidiary characters are in this book - Peabody, McNab, Mavis, Feeney, Trina, Baxter, Dr Mira etc, as well as Summerset (I enjoy the scenes with Summerset the most) but the focus of this story is much more on the murder and the desperate race to solve it than the characters and their lives. I found that an improvement although others might not. It was a good read but there is no novelty in this series any longer and I fear it's outlasted its natural life.
This is the 27th full length book in the series featuring Eve Dallas, futuristic NYPD cop and it still engages the reader in a furiously fast paced murder mystery thriller. I was throughly immersed in the storyline of the serial murderer setting a ticking clock of leaving his victims tortured to death with the time they lasted carved on their bodies. As one body is found, it is known that the killer has started work on the next victim. The killer originally started with a killing spree nine years earlier (predating the start of the series) and Eve and her then partner Feeney failing to capture the killer then. Now the killer is back and his ultimate challange is Eve herself.
For those who come into reading this series at this point, the story stands up as an excellent mystery thriller with adrenaline with some good sleuthing (although there are references to earlier novels in the series). For those who are fans of the Eve Dallas series, there is more focus on the relationship that Dallas has with her former partner and trainer, Feeney and how they work together, with the rest of their team to capture the killer. As ever, there is the presence of Eve's super rich billionare husband, Roarke and their relationship which has grown more comfortable and contented as the series has continued. There is less emphasis on romantic relationships in this book, though the developments between Peabody (Eve's current working partner) and her boyfriend McNab bring moments of lightness and comedy to a very dark novel.
This book is a great read and it has drawn me back to rereading previous books in the series. It is fortunate that Ms Robb is prolific there are only a few months to wait between episodes and the reader is eagerly anticipating the next novel in the series... Stranger in Death.
(Rating 2 of 5)
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