Betrayal in Death - Eve Was Searching for an Assassin
Written: Feb 28 '07 (Updated Nov 06 '09)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Returning characters in an interesting story.
Cons: A subplot irritated me.
The Bottom Line: Betrayal in Death is my least favorite book in the In Death series. It is still worth reading for fans of the series.
|
|
|
| dragonfire88's Full Review: J. D. Robb - Betrayal in Death Books |
Several years ago I picked up Naked in Death by J.D. Robb after hearing a lot of good things about the book and the In Death series. I loved the book and quickly became hooked on the series. I have been reading all the books in the series again and just finished with the twelfth book, Betrayal in Death.
The In Death series is a futuristic romantic suspense series. Betrayal in Death was set in the spring of 2059, just about a year after the first book took place. The books feature a group of returning characters led by Eve Dallas, a homicide detective in New York City. Each book has dealt with a different investigation that Eve was working on. Some time was also taken to deal with her personal life and relationship with her very wealthy husband Roarke. Other police officers like Feeney, Delia Peabody, and Ian McNab have also been involved in the investigations. Ian and Delia had started a relationship which sometimes added some complications. All of the characters used futuristic gadgets in every book.
A young maid was brutally murdered when she entered a suite to do the nightly turn down in a luxury hotel that Roarke owned. Eve was actually at the hotel with Roarke for an event. Eve quickly identified the killer as Sly Yost, a very expensive assassin. Eve had more trouble figuring out where Sly currently was and it didn’t help when two FBI agents turned up wanting to take over the case. A second victim, who had a connection to Roarke, was discovered. As Eve uncovered more, she became convinced that Roarke was the true intended target.
In most of the previous books in the series, it was very late in the book before the murder’s identity was shared. Eve managed to connect Sly to the murder very early. That was a bit unusual for a mystery but it didn’t make the book less entertaining or weaker. There was still a lot of things that Eve had to figure out, like if Sly was going after someone else and who was paying him. I thought that the mystery was entertaining even though it wasn’t as suspenseful as some of the other books. One murder was described with enough detail to be upsetting to some readers. That wasn’t a pleasant section to read. There was violence in some scenes, so people that don’t like to read books with violence may want to pick something else. There was also some swearing throughout the book, including uses of the word that rhymes with luck.
Eve and Roarke met during the first book and their evolving relationship has been important to the series ever since. Their relationship hasn’t detracted from the mystery in any of the book. Betrayal in Death took place about a year after Eve and Roarke first met. They had both had to do some adjusting after they had gotten married. Eve still seemed to be adjusting to certain things. I have really enjoyed reading about how their relationship has grown and changed over the course of the books. There were a few sex scenes featuring Eve and Roarke. The scenes were descriptive without getting too graphic. There were also a few sexual situations involving Delia and Ian. People that don’t like to read those types of scenes should probably pick a different book.
***Possible Spoiler***
I want to briefly discuss the subplot that irritated me in Betrayal in Death and why this is my least favorite book in the series. Some of what I mention will be spoilers for people who haven’t read this book yet.
During the last few books, Ian and Delia have started a relationship. I was enjoying that subplot and like those two together. However, I was bugged by how Delia continued to also go out with Charles, a male licensed companion after she got involved with Ian. She wasn’t sleeping with Charles, but she let Ian think she was. I never liked that. At one point in this book, she and Ian were making out when she stopped to take a phone call from Charles. It was related to the case, but she was flirting some and even made a date with him in front of Ian. She was then surprised when Ian was upset. They had an argument and some ugly things were said. Most of what Ian said was directly tied to the fact that Delia had let him think, and even implied, that she was sleeping with Charles. Delia seemed to think it was fine for her to juggle Ian and Charles but she had a fit when Ian talked about going on a date after their fight. I know this was a minor thing, but it really irked me that Delia was so stupid about this. The first time I read this book, this incident just ruined the entire book for me and I lost interest in reading the rest of it. I just sort of scanned through the book to see if the mess was fixed. When it wasn’t, I didn’t read anymore. I even stood in the bookstore flipping through Seduction in Death, the next book, to see if the mess was fixed before I bought the book. I had to gear myself up for reading the book again this time because I just didn’t want to read that again. It didn’t bother me as much this time though.
***End of Possible Spoiler***
Eve and Roarke were once again the main characters in the book, with Eve been more developed than he was. There were still certain things connected to their pasts that remained mysteries for both of them. A little bit more related to Roarke’s past was shared when one of his old friends from Ireland arrived for a visit. Both characters can be stubborn, but they are still likable. Summerset, Roarke’s butler, has been around at least briefly in every book. The two men had known each other in Ireland long before Roarke became the rich and powerful man he was. Summerset was very loyal to Roarke and hadn’t approved of Eve. The two tended to bicker and pick at each other at every opportunity. A few things had happened that made each of them change their opinions even though they wouldn’t admit it.
Delia had been working as Eve’s aide for almost a year. The two women had developed a friendship. Delia was a good cop and smart, though she was stupid about certain things in her personal relationships. She let herself be dazzled by certain things, which caused her to do a few things that created a mess. Ian McNab was a somewhat flamboyant detective that worked in the Electronic Detective Division. He was good at his job which is how he first ended up working on one of Eve’s cases. He and Delia had developed a relationship.
Feeney was now in charge of the EDD. He had trained Eve several years before and the two had remained friends after she became a detective. Dr. Mira was a psychiatrist that worked for the police department developing profiles of suspects. She considered Eve a friend. Nadine Furst was a reporter that Eve had a history of giving information to. Nadine would hold on a story when Eve asked. Mavis was Eve’s best friend. Mavis had become a famous entertainer after Eve and Roarke met and was frequently working on things related to her career.
J.D. Robb is the name that author Nora Roberts decided to use when she started writing the In Death series. I had heard about that before I started reading the books. I read all of the In Death books and then moved on to the books she wrote with her own name. I have enjoyed both groups of books and think that others could as well. All of the books are descriptive and feature likable, well developed main characters. The In Death books tend to have more violence and stronger mysteries while her other books have more focus on the relationships. The biggest difference is that the In Death books are set in the future. One of her books, Remember When, was started in current times and concluded in Eve’s time. The two halves of the books were connected by a mystery. Eve’s part in Remember When took place between Imitation in Death and Divided in Death.
Betrayal in Death was an entertaining book in the In Death series. I didn’t care for certain developments, but still think the book is worth reading for fans of the series.
www.noraroberts.com
In Death Series
Naked in Death ~ Glory in Death ~ Immortal in Death ~ Rapture in Death ~ Ceremony in Death ~ Vengeance in Death ~ Holiday in Death ~ Midnight in Death (Short Story) ~ Conspiracy in Death ~ Loyalty in Death ~ Witness in Death ~ Judgment in Death ~ Betrayal in Death ~ Interlude in Death (Short Story) ~ Seduction in Death ~ Reunion in Death ~ Purity in Death ~ Portrait in Death ~ Imitation in Death ~ Divided in Death ~ Visions in Death ~ Survivor in Death ~ Origin in Death ~ Memory in Death ~ Haunted in Death (Short Story) ~ Born in Death ~ Innocent in Death ~ Creation in Death ~ Eternity in Death (Short Story) ~ Strangers in Death ~ Salvation in Death ~ Ritual in Death (Short Story) ~ Promises in Death ~ Kindred in Death ~
J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts
Remember When ~
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.