Hopefully, by now, you’ve read Naked in Death, the first in the In Death series by J.D. Robb. If not, let me tell you about the main character, Eve Dallas.

Eve Dallas, is a Lieutenant in the Department of Homicide in the NYPSD. To those who know her, she’s a tough, determined cop who lives by the book in order to bring justice to those who have met violent deaths. On the outside, she’s a tough-as-nails, no-nonsense detective but on the inside, she’s a vulnerable young woman who is plagued by nightmares caused by a past she can’t fully remember.

Dallas always prided herself on being a “by-the-book” cop - but then she met Roarke a self-made multi-billionaire whose past is shadier than the ground covered by the sprawling branches of an elm tree.

Although they tried to ignore the attraction they felt for each other, one brush of a hand against another, one look into each other’s eyes and the walls came tumbling down.

In J.D. Robb’s book GLORY IN DEATH, Dallas is called to investigate the brutal murder of Cicely Towers, a prominent Prosecuting Attorney. Dallas and Towers weren’t personal friends but Dallas knew and admired Towers on a professional level. What Dallas found intriguing and adding to the mystery of the homicide was its location - a dirty, run-down part of town known for its drug users, sex joints, muggings and murders. Ms. Towers wasn’t robbed yet her throat was deeply slashed.

Eve Dallas wonders what she’d been doing in that miserable neighborhood. It’s not just her job that demands she find out and put behind bars the killer, it’s also her goal. Lt. Eve Dallas lives to defend the dead.

While Dallas is pouring herself in the death of Cicely Towers, she’s called to an upper class neighborhood to investigate another homicide - the death of an up-and-coming actress, Yvonne Metcalf. The MO was the same - no robbery but the throat was slashed and cut deep! Instinctively, Dallas puts two and two together.

She now has two bodies, two prominent women of society, lured to the streets in the early morning hours to be butchered. But why? And by whom?

To her frustration, with every murder, there seems to be some kind of link between them and Roarke - her mysterious lover - the man she’s beginning to have deep feelings for - the man who has already fallen in love with the hardened cop.

Dallas finds herself spending more and more time at Roarke’s place - his own private castle-like home and what scares her is that she’s beginning to enjoy it. She enjoys the space, the hot showers, the good food, Roarke’s company and yes, the sex! The only thing she doesn’t enjoy is Roarke’s butler and friend, Sommerset. He and Dallas clash at every meeting - it’s become a mutual dislike - much to Roarke’s dismay. He loves his woman and his friend and would like nothing better than for them to agree on something - anything! But finds he must be content to live with the only agreement they seem to share - the agreement to ignore each other as much as possible.

While at Roarke’s, he discovers Dallas’ almost nightly nightmares. He’s determined to find out what causes them but every time he mentions them to her, she clams up and changes the subject. He sees in her eyes the dreaded fear of something she doesn't understand. Rather than push, he bites his tongue, holds his temper and waits for her to trust him enough to let him help her.

Yet, with his mysterious and known dangerous past, Dallas fights with her own emotions on just how deeply she should let the relationship go. Roarke helps her decide when he insists on joining her investigation - on his own time - to help her nab the killer of the women whose bodies Dallas saw and who were also known personally by him.

The only part of Dallas’ life that she considers somewhat sane, is the relationship she has with her friend, Mavis. Mavis is an up-coming rock star in every sense of the phrase. She’s got rhythm, a great strong voice, good moves and the most outlandish wardrobe Dallas has ever seen. They are such a contrast to each other that their friendship compliments each other’s personality.

Dallas’ other friend-in-the-making is news reporter, Nadine Furst. Although she is a pain in the neck always shoving a microphone in Dallas’ face, they have come to a mutual agreement. Dallas gives her exclusive one-on-one interviews when Nadine supplies her with proven sources and information. Because of their working relationship, they have come to enjoy their mutual respect and friendship.

Like the other women Dallas has gotten to know and befriend, she’s beginning to form a close relationship with her partner, Officer Delia Peabody. Office Peabody is a free-ager who believes is home-baked cookies and free-thinking. While her parents live in the suburbs and enjoy and easy way of thinking life style, Delia chose to live in the city and fight crime. At the moment, her greatest enjoyment is her assignment to work with the very popular and knowledgeable Eve Dallas.

Dallas never thought it possible that she'd should have so many women close enough to call friends. Now that she has, she has to wonder if this latest serial killer might choose one of them for his next victim.

Dallas needs to find the murderer before he strikes again. Who will his next victim be? What Dallas doesn’t know yet is that the killer is, indeed, planning to make his next victim someone who is very close to the detective he wants to destroy.

Once again, JD Robb keeps you on the edge of your seat with slam-dunk action on every page. You’ll fall in love with Eve Dallas again and again, have your heart ripped out and stomped on every time she has a nightmare. Your eyes will mist every time she has a fight with Roarke. You’ll laugh every time she yells at herself.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is one of the most lovable characters to ever appear in a book. Put that character with Roarke, Mavis, Nadine and Sommerset and you have a winning book every time.

GLORY IN DEATH is a definite winner!


Recommended: Yes