After really enjoying Naked in Death, I picked up the rest of the books in the In Death series by J.D. Robb that were out at that time. I now pick up the new books as soon as they are published. Midnight in Death was actually a short story that picked up right after the end of Holiday in Death. Midnight in Death was first published as part of a collection of short stories connected to Christmas. In the fall of 2005, it was released alone as a very short book.

All the books in the In Death series have been set in the future. Midnight in Death started on Christmas Day, 2058. The books have all featured Eve Dallas, a homicide detective in New York City, and her very wealthy husband Roarke. They actually met for the first time in the first book and their relationship has developed over the course of the books. Several other characters, like Roarke’s butler Summerset, have also returned in most or all of the books. Each book focused on a specific investigation that Eve was working on. Since the books were set in the future, there were some futuristic gadgets mentioned in all the books. I have really enjoyed the fact that the books are set in the future and find the things related to life in the future interesting.

Eve and Roarke barely had time for their first Christmas morning when Eve was called to a murder scene. Judge Harold Wainger had been killed and his body dumped at Rockefeller Center. There was a list of names with the body that included Dr. Mira and Eve. A killer that Eve had arrested three years before had escaped and wanted to get revenge on the people he felt were to blame for him being sent to prison with Eve being his main target.

Midnight in Death was a very short story, having only ninety pages. That’s less than half the length of the shortest of the books in the series. The plot wasn’t as developed or complicated as the books because of the shorter length. I expected that, so I wasn’t disappointed by the simpler story. I still enjoyed it and felt it was an interesting addition to the In Death series. The story did share more details about Eve and Roarke’s first Christmas together. That wasn’t anything vitally important, but it was still something I enjoyed reading about.

There wasn’t as much mystery in Midnight in Death as there has been in the books. That was mostly because Eve was sure right away who she was dealing with. That didn’t bother me since there wasn’t enough time in the story for a stronger mystery to be developed. Even with knowing who the killer was, there were still some surprises. The killer did some very disturbing things that weren’t pleasant to read about. The descriptions weren’t overly graphic, though they might bother some readers. There was a little bit of violence included as well. The books tend to have more violence in them.

Eve and Roarke’s relationship has been important to all of the books in the In Death series without detracting from the mysteries. Their relationship was also important in Midnight in Death. Roarke was determined to stick close to Eve and do whatever was necessary to protect her even if it made her mad. They did spend a lot of time together since Roarke was assisting Eve with her investigation. There was a sex scene featuring them in the story. I expected there to be at least once since the books tend to have a few. The scene was descriptive without getting really graphic. Anyone who has read some of the books and not been bothered by the sex scenes wouldn’t have a problem with the one in this story.

Most of the characters in Midnight in Death were returning from previous books. The main characters and even supporting characters had already been well developed, so the story was able to focus on the mystery instead of building several new characters. The killer was a new character and I felt like he was developed enough considering the short length of the story. There really much new added for Eve and Roarke, though it did discuss one of her previous cases. There was a little bit of new information shared about Dr. Mira which was nice.

When she started the In Death series, Nora Roberts decided to use the name J.D. Robb for those books. When I first started reading the In Death books, I knew then that Robb was Roberts. After I read all the books that were available in the series at that time, I moved on to the books she wrote with her own name. I’ve enjoyed both groups of books and other people might as well since they were really written by the same person. The main difference in the two groups was that the In Death books were set in the future and tend to have stronger mysteries. She has written one book, Remember When, that started in current times and concluded in Eve’s time. I thought it was very interesting how the two parts of the book were connected by a mystery. Eve’s part of Remember When took place between Imitation in Death and Divided in Death.

Midnight in Death was a very short addition to the In Death series. Nothing really important to any of the characters happened in it so people won’t be missing vital information if they don’t read this one. I did think it was entertaining and interesting even though it was so much shorter than the books.

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