dragonfire88's Full Review: J. D. Robb - Haunted in Death: Library Edition
I have been reading the books in J.D. Robb’s In Death series for several years since I read and loved Naked in Death, the first book in the series. There are now more than twenty books in the series as well as a few short stories. I just read Haunted in Death, the third short story written for the series, again. The story was released in a collection with three other short stories by other authors. Haunted in Death was also released alone in what I’ve seen described as a library edition. Midnight in Death and Interlude in Death were released in similar formats.
The In Death series is set in the future in New York City. Haunted in Death was set in January of 2060. I believe this short story started about two weeks after the end of Memory in Death. The same group of characters, led by homicide detective Eve Dallas, has returned in most if not all of the books and short stories. Eve and her husband Roarke, a wealthy business man, have been in all of the books and short stories while some of the supporting characters haven’t been around in some of the books. Every book and short story has focused on a different murder investigation that Eve was working on. Things about life in the future have also been discussed in the books, including some interesting gadgets that I would like to have myself.
Eve and her partner Delia Peabody had a new murder to investigate that took place in a building that has been rumored to be haunted for years. The victim, Randall Hopkins, had been shot with a gun, something that Delia has never seen before and Eve has only seen once. The building had actually been owned by Randall’s grandfather Hop before it was sold to someone outside the family. The rumors about the building being haunted had started after Hop’s wife Bobbie Bray, a singer, had vanished. Eve was trying to remain logical about the case while people around her, even Roarke, seemed to believe the building was haunted.
Since Haunted in Death was a short story, it was much shorter than the books. Because of that, the mystery wasn’t as developed or complicated as it usually is in the full length books. I did expect that before reading the story so I really wasn’t that disappointed. The story was still well written like I expect from Robb. Even though the mystery wasn’t as complex, there was still at least one surprise. I didn’t feel like it was easy to figure out and the conclusion worked for the story. I felt that the story was very entertaining and made a good addition to the series. There weren’t any major new developments for any of the characters, so fans of the series won’t miss anything important if they don’t read this story.
Eve and Delia hadn’t been working on the case that long when they discovered something that was a major connection back to things that had happened eighty-five years before with the building. Bobbie Bray was still very popular despite the fact that she had vanished and was presumed dead. Since there was that connection, things about Randall’s grandfather and his relationship to Bobbie were shared which did help to flesh out the plot of the story. It was interesting to see what items connected to Bobbie were considered antiques.
Eve tended to be very logical about her investigations and she was very level headed for the most part. She didn’t believe in ghosts or hauntings, so it was interesting to see her deal with a crime scene that was rumored to be haunted. She was surprised when Roarke didn’t immediately dismiss the possibility of a haunting. Eve tried to have an open mind about things and had even worked with a psychic on one of her previous cases. She was still very skeptical about what might be going on in the building and kept looking for logical explanations. I liked that Robb added a bit of the supernatural to Eve’s world and thought it was interesting to see her deal with a potentially haunted crime scene.
Eve and Roarke’s relationship has been important to the series since they met during an investigation in the first book. Their relationship has been changing and growing since then. I’ve really enjoyed reading how their relationship has progressed over the course of the series. Their relationship has never detracted from the investigations which have been the main focus of each book. There was a sex scene between Eve and Roarke that was descriptive without getting too graphic. The scene wasn’t as detailed as similar scenes in the books have been. People that don’t like reading those type of scenes may not want to read this story.
Most of the characters in Haunted in Death had actually been introduced and developed earlier in the series. There really wasn’t any new or additional development for any of the returning characters. With how short the story was, there just wasn’t time to spend adding development to the returning characters. There was a decent amount of information shared about Randall, Hop, and Bobbie. The few new characters, who were someone connected to Randall, really didn’t get much in the way of development, but that worked out all right.
Well known author Nora Roberts decided to use a different name, J.D. Robb, when she started the In Death series. I think it was kept quiet for a while so the new series would have a chance to succeed on its own. I did know that Robb was actually Roberts when I started reading the books. I first read all the In Death books out at the time and then moved on to books that Roberts wrote under her own name. I’ve enjoyed all of her books that I’ve read. The In Death books tend to have stronger, more complex mysteries and more violence. Relationships and romance receive more attention in the other books. Since Roberts and Robb are actually the same author, fans of one of them may also enjoy the other books. She wrote one book, Remember When, that started in current times and concluded in Eve’s time. The two parts of the book were connected by a mystery. Eve’s portion of Remember When - which did include a somewhat important development for one character - took place between Imitation in Death and Divided in Death.
Haunted in Death was an entertaining addition to the In Death series. Nothing important to the series overall happened, but it was still enjoyable and worth reading.
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