J.D. Robb created a very entertaining futuristic series with her In Death series. I had heard that the series was very good for a while before I finally picked up the first book, Naked in Death. I was quickly hooked on the series and have since picked up the rest of the books. I recently decided to read the books in the series again even though I still have many other books around here to read. I just read Holiday in Death, the seventh book in the series.

The books in the In Death series are all set in the future. Holiday in Death took place late in December of 2058. Robb created different futuristic items for the characters to use, like the AutoChef that would produce fully cooked food at the touch of a button. The books followed detective Eve Dallas and the homicide investigations she worked on. Delia Peabody, Eve’s aide, and Feeney, the detective in charge of the Electronic Detective Division (EDD), worked on the cases with Eve. Ian McNab, another detective in the EDD was starting to work on Eve’s cases as well. Some of each book also took the time to explore Eve’s personal life, like her relationships with her wealthy husband Roarke or her best friend Mavis. Every book has a unique plot and can stand on its own. I do think it would be better to read the books in order. Certain things would make more sense then and the reader would be able to see how some characters have changed.

Eve hadn’t been back on the job after her sick leave for very long when she ended up with a new murder to investigate. Security videos showed that the killer had dressed up like Santa Claus. He’d left behind a small item that was connected to the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. The murders continued, with new items left behind for each one. Eve was working long hours, pushing herself too hard since the killer wasn’t waiting long between each murder. She had very few clues, but did manage to connect the victims to a dating service. Feeney and Ian were working on the investigation which irritated Delia because she didn’t like Ian. In addition to the investigation, Eve was facing her first Christmas with Roarke and struggling to figure out just what to get the man that already basically had everything. She’d also come to the realization that she had to shop for several other people in her life and that ticked her off because she hated shopping.

Not a lot of time had passed after the end of Vengeance in Death since Eve hadn’t been back to work that long after being on sick leave because of an injury she’d received. Eve didn’t like being away from the job and she’d pushed to get back to work faster than she really should have. Eve had always worked hard, but it harder during this case because she hadn’t been at her best to begin with. Roarke was very worried about her which caused him to do a few things in an attempt to take care of her that upset Eve. She still had some trouble dealing with Roarke’s concern for her safety.

Eve started working on the investigation very early in the book. Eve had been on her way to work when she responded to a call, not knowing exactly what she was getting herself into. She was just anxious to have a case and not just be sitting around doing paperwork. The killer was moving fast, waiting a very short time between murders. That caused there to be more victims than Eve has had to deal with in one investigation before. For most of them, the murder wasn’t described as it happened though the bodies of the victims were described. The bodies were found in good shape and those descriptions could be too graphic to some readers. There was some violence in the book even though it didn’t seem as violent as a few of the other books in this series.

Eve was trying to figure out what to get Roarke for Christmas while working on the investigation. She ended up getting some help from Summerset on that which really annoyed her. Summerset did seem to like that she was putting a lot of thought in what she was going to get him. For the first time in her life, Eve had several people to buy gifts for and she was freaking out about it a bit. It was interesting to see Eve dealing with all the new Christmas experiences. Roarke didn’t really have any happy Christmas memories either and he was determined to make the holiday special for both of them. He jumped into the preparations with both feet, going a bit overboard with all the decorating around the house. The Christmas element was a minor element of the book that I did really enjoy. Reading about Eve’s struggle to figure out what to get people for Christmas added a lot of entertainment to the book for me. It also added to the development of both Eve and Roarke.

Eve and Roarke’s relationship faced several complications since they first met. They both had to adjust to married life and Eve still seemed to be adjusting to it. They had problems at times that they managed to work through. That made their relationship seem more believable because married people do have disagreements and problems to work through. I’ve really enjoyed reading about how their relationship has grown and changed since they first met without detracting from the mysteries. There were several sexual situations and scenes between Eve and Roarke in this book. The scenes were descriptive and could be too graphic and explicit for some readers. The scenes weren’t any more descriptive than they have been in previous books of the series, so people that have read the first books and not had a problem with the sexual content should be fine with this book.

I love that the same group of characters returns in every book in this series. Reading a new book with these characters is like getting to visit with friends. Eve and Roarke continue to be the main characters. Eve has been in more of all the books, so she is a little more developed than Roarke. Eve was a very dedicated cop that pushed herself hard to solve cases. She was getting to the point where she would take some time for her personal life. She still struggled to deal with married life at times as well as having more friends. Roarke knew that Eve could take care of herself but that didn’t keep him from worrying about her. He would do whatever he could to help her and make sure that she took time to rest, even if that meant having her angry at him later. Roarke owned property all around New York and even some off planet. Much of his past still remained a mystery even though more was shared in the last book. Summerset had been Roarke’s butler for years and the two men were friends. Summerset hadn’t thought that Eve was good enough for Roarke, but he was slowing coming around.

Mavis had been Eve’s only real friend for a long time. Mavis was a singer and had a very unique sense of style. She wore wild outfits and was constantly changing her hair color. She was living with Leonardo, a fashion designer that was becoming very popular. Mavis wasn’t in a lot of the book. Delia quickly became an important character after she worked on a case with Eve. Delia worked hard and hoped to become a detective. She enjoyed saying things that freaked Eve out at times. Delia was a very nice, likable woman. Ian McNab was good at his job in the EDD though he didn’t look or act like a typical cop. He was a bit cocky and tended to irritate Delia. Feeney and Eve had known each other for several years. He had trained Eve before transferring to the EDD.

Dr. Mira was a psychiatrist that worked for the police department. She developed profiles of killers and once there was a suspect, Dr. Mira would talk to them and make a determination on if she felt the person was capable of the crime. She would also talk with officers after incidents on the job. Eve frequently consulted with her. Dr. Mira thought a lot of Eve and frequently worried about her. The two women had become friends. Nadine was an on air reporter that would show up at the station, many times already in Eve’s office, wanting interviews about Eve’s current case. Nadine was always on the look out for a huge story that would help her career though she would hold back on reporting some things if Eve asked her to. The two women had become friends. Charles was a male licensed companion that Eve had met during a previous investigation. He had a connection to one of the victims. Delia was dazzled when she met him even though she knew what he did for a living. Charles was nice enough. I just didn’t like him and Delia dating.

J.D. Robb is the name that author Nora Roberts decided to use when she started the In Death series. I first read the books in the In Death series and then started reading the books she wrote under her own name. I have really enjoyed both groups of books. Fans of one group of books may also like the other since they were really written by the same woman and share some characteristics. Really the only difference between the two groups of books is that the In Death books take place in the future and have more focus on the mystery. She wrote one book, Remember When, that was credited as being written by both Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb. The first half of the book took place in current times while the second part concluded in Eve’s time. The two parts were connected by a mystery. There was a fairly significant development for one character in Eve’s part of the book, so I do think that people that read the In Death series should read the book. The In Death series had three short stories as well. No major developments for any of the characters happened in the short stories, so people won’t really miss much if they don’t read those. Remember When took place between Imitation in Death and Divided in Death.

Holiday in Death was another wonderful addition to the In Death series. People have read and enjoyed the first six books in the series should also like this one.

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 ~ Missing in Death (Short Story) ~ Fantasy in Death ~ Indulgence in Death ~ Treachery in Death ~ New York to Dallas ~ Celebrity in Death ~

J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts
Remember When

Recommended: Yes