Now that I've started reading J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts's 'in death' series, a friend of mine has started loaning me the series from the beginning. Thus I finally got to read Naked in Death, the book that started it all.
Our series begins in the future---the 2050s to be precise, when cops carry laser guns, computers respond to voice commands and control everything from the AutoChef to the shower, and yes, cars finally fly. It's a setting I think of as 'science fantasy,' where technology rules, but it's a slick sort of technology meant merely to serve as a convenient backdrop for our story.
Eve Dallas is a tough, ambitious cop determined to find justice for the dead. Right now, that means finding the killer of a high-priced 'licensed companion' with a high-profile political family, despite the interference of everyone from the dead woman's powerful grandfather to the chief of police. She's running out of time, however, because the killer has promised that this is only the first of six murders, and he's resourceful, cunning, and all-too-focused on Eve as the primary investigator.
Complicating Eve's investigation is the mysterious Roarke, a charismatic and fabulously wealthy businessman who also takes an intense interest in her, and Eve's own past, which seems indelibly tangled in the events surrounding her.
Robb is unapologetically melodramatic in this series, and it works. She mixes together the stylishness of an over-the-top detective novel with the slickness of science fantasy and the heat of a good erotic romance, and blends it all into a heady cocktail of excitement, emotion, and anticipation. There are a few awkward point-of-view switches here and there, but the pace is quick enough to drag you past them.
The mystery itself is enjoyable; I thought I had guessed the killer's identity by the middle of the book, but I wasn't sure, and there was enough detail and uncertainty left to be explored that this in no way lessened the adrenaline or the page-turning tension. If you enjoy the sparks-flying heat of a good passionate romance (with a couple of fun, emotional sex scenes), there's definitely some of that in here as Eve and Roarke---both headstrong, independent people---clash and dance around each other in delightful ways. The setting isn't the focus of the book, but it certainly adds to the slick stylishness of it all, and again contributes to the pure, simple fun of the series.
The bloodiness of the killings and the explicitness of the sex scenes definitely makes this a series for adults, but that's probably obvious. While I've found so far that the books in this series stand alone surprisingly well, it's obviously more fun to take them in order so you can follow the developing relationships of the characters. If you haven't experienced this series yet and are tempted to give it a shot, do try to track down a copy of Naked in Death.
As NYPD Lt. Eve Dallas races to find a serial killer, she becomes very involved with one of the suspects. Her overpowering feelings for a man she bare...More at HotBookSale
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