dragonfire88's Full Review: J. D. Robb - Loyalty in Death: Library Edition
After reading and loving Naked in Death a few years ago, I went on to read the rest of the book in the In Death series. Over the last few months, I have been reading the books in the series again even though I have stacks of other books to read. I just read Loyalty in Death again, the ninth book in the series.
The In Death series is set in the future. Loyalty in Death took place in February of 2059, a year after the events in Naked in Death. Every book has had a different unique plot while still building on the previous books. These books should be read in order so that everything makes sense. That will also let the reader see the way the characters have grown and changed. Eve Dallas, a homicide detective in New York City, was the main character for the series. The books have each focused on a different investigation that she was working on. Some of each book also took time to show the relationship Eve had with her wealthy husband Roarke and her growing group of friends. Delia Peabody has been working as Eve’s aide for a while and the two women have become friends. Feeney and Ian McNab, detectives in the Electronic Detective Division, also worked with Eve on her cases. Ian has only been involved in a few of the cases so far. Some futuristic things, like flying cars, have been included in the books. I really enjoy reading about the futuristic gadgets.
Eve and Delia got a new case that seemed very open and shut. The case was technically closed, but they still had some questions and kept digging. Eve also found herself pulled into an investigation of bombings around New York that were committed by the terrorist group Cassandra. Most of the buildings that were bombed were owned by Roarke, which complicated things since Eve didn’t like it when he got pulled into her cases. Delia’s brother Zeke came to visit Delia and ended up tangled up in something he didn’t fully understand. Delia and Ian finally admitted there was an attraction between then and decided to act on it.
Loyalty in Death might be difficult for some people to read because of the plot. The terrorist group Cassandra was targeting well-known buildings around New York City. Eve managed to figure out which buildings were being targeted in time to get the bomb squad in. It wasn’t always in time to diffuse all of the bombs though. The aftermath was described a couple of times in detail that might be too graphic for some readers. Anyone that has seen the aftermath of a real bombing could be upset by this aspect of the book. I think that this would be a difficult book for anyone that had a connection to the events of 9/11. This book was originally published in 1999, so it wasn’t like Robb got the idea from the real events. The towers were mentioned as possible targets at one point. I originally got my copy of this book before the events of 9/11. I don’t know if the mention of the towers was removed in runs of the book after 9/11.
Eve and Delia still had a murder investigation even though the main focus of the book was the search for Cassandra and stopping the bombings. Eve and Delia were on the scene of the murder right away, which is usual for these books. It did seem like the case was very straightforward and wouldn’t require the more in depth investigations that have been in the other books in the series. Eve discovered more was involved as the book progressed. Later in the book, Eve had to deal with another murder investigation that was connected to other things. Cassandra decided to get Eve involved by targeting Roarke’s buildings and sending Eve packages with clues, daring her to find the bombs in time to stop them. The mystery in this book was complex without being so complicated that it was hard to keep track of what was going on.
Eve and Roarke met during the investigation Eve was working on in Naked in Death. Their relationship has grown and changed over the course of the series. It was mentioned a few times in Loyalty in Death how it had been a year since they first met. I’ve enjoyed reading about how their relationship has changed. They both had to adjust to being married, though Roarke seemed to do that faster than Eve. She was still adjusting to some things and dealing with the strength of her feelings for Roarke. She spent most of her life along before falling in love with Roarke, so it had been hard for her to deal with the changes in her life. There were a few sex scenes between Eve and Roarke in the book. The scenes were descriptive without getting too graphic. In the last few books, Delia and Ian were a bit grumpy with each other. I had suspected that they were really fighting an attraction for each other. They finally admitted the attraction and acted on it in this book. The sex between them wasn’t described as much as it was for the other sex scenes. More was left to the imaginations of the readers instead.
Eve and Roarke continue to be the main characters, with Eve being used in more of the book. Eve continued to be dedicated to her work, though she did now realize that her job wasn’t the most important thing in her life. Before she met Roarke, she had been completely wrapped up in her job and only had one friend. Her life had more balance after she met Roarke. She did still have a tendency to push herself too hard to solve cases at times. Roarke has taken things into his own hands a few times to take care of Eve. He could be just as stubborn as Eve at times. Summerset and Roarke had known each other for years, since they both lived in Ireland. Summerset worked as Roarke’s butler and was very loyal to him. Summerset hadn’t liked Eve, but he has changed his mind about her. He kept up the bickering with her even while subtly checking to see how she was at times.
Delia Peabody had been Eve’s aide for several months. Delia took her job seriously and was good at it. That didn’t stop her from saying and doing some things to irritate Eve at times though. The two women had developed a friendship. Ian dressed a bit wild for a detective, but he was very good at his job in the EDD, which was why Feeney had him work on Eve’s cases. Ian tended to joke around a lot, so some people didn’t think he could be serious about anything. Dr. Mira was a psychiatrist that worked for the police department preparing profiles of suspects. She also would work with officers and detectives about things related to their work when it was needed. Dr. Mira considered Eve a friend. Nadine was a reporter that Eve would give interviews sometimes. Nadine was always after the next big story, but she would hold off on reporting certain things when Eve asked her too. Nadine had also become Eve’s friend. For a long time, Mavis had been Eve’s only friend. Mavis was flamboyant, wearing wild outfits designed by her boyfriend Leonardo and changing her hair color more often than some people changed clothes. Mavis wasn’t around for much of this book because she was doing a tour for her recently launched singing career.
Loyalty in Death dealt with a subject that could be upsetting to some people. Despite that, the book was entertaining and a good addition to the In Death series. People that have enjoyed the first eight books in the series should also like this one.
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