Rapture In Death is the fourth book in J.D. Robb's In Death series.  Like all books in the series, this one takes place in the future (2058) and features New York Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas. 

As always, Eve can't get very far away from yet another murder investigation.  In this case, she and her husband Roarke are on their honeymoon, enjoying those last few days of bliss, before returning to the real world.  This is quite literally the case as they are staying off-planet at a resort that Roarke is in the process of building.  But their joy is shattered when one of the workers commits suicide, for absolutely no apparent reason.

Then, when the honeymooners return home, they're faced with a second - and then a third - such suicide.  People are killing themselves, dying with a bizarre smile on their faces.  Eve, alone, doesn't buy the simple explanation that these people simply decided to end their lives.  Especially when x-rays reveal an irregularity on the brains of all of the victims.  Could something far more sinister be going on here?  Eve is going to find out.

As far as mysteries go, this one is not my favorite.  I found the clues leading up to the final reveal to be way too obvious.  All along, I felt I knew what was going happen, what was going to be revealed, and ultimately, who was responsible.  This is never a good thing, in a genre that's supposed to keep me guessing.

And I hated the amount of sex in this book.  Eve and Roarke are happily married.  I get that.  I don't need to be told of their many, many sexual encounters, detail by detail.  The author feels the need not only to tell us that the couple has made love, she tells us about every position, angle, and moan uttered.  It's completely unnecessary to the story, and frankly, a turn-off for me.  A little romance is fine in a story - especially when the couple is as loving and devoted to each other as these two are - but in this case, it's way too much information.

Not to say this entire book is bad - it isn't.  As always, the descriptions of the futuristic technologies were fascinating.  The stunner guns that have been used ever since bullets were banned, the drying tubes that you hop into after taking your shower, the cars that can fly, and best of all, the AutoChef into which you program your dinner choice... it's fun to read about these nifty things.

And it's nice to read about the characters that are staples in this series... Peebody, Dr. Mira, and Feeny all return.  Unfortunately, so does Eve's friend, Mavis, and in this book I didn't like her at all.  She was whiny, overly dramatic, and given to bouts of hysteria.  In other books, she's far less annoying.

So, overall, it wasn't my favorite of the In Death series.  But then again, they can't all be great, can they?  The series is pretty good, but this book can easily be skipped.

Divided In Death
Glory in Death
Haunted In Death
Indulgence In Death
Interlude In Death
Judgment In Death
Midnight In Death
Missing In Death
Origin In Death
Reunion In Death
Vengeance In Death

Recommended: No