dragonfire88's Full Review: J. D. Robb - Remember When
Nora Roberts is a popular author who has written many books. She has also written books set in the future in the In Death series writing as J.D. Robb. In her new book, Remember When, she combined both. The book had two parts. The first part was set in the present day and the second half was set in the futuristic setting of the In Death series. Both halves of the book are connected because the plot continues. I really enjoyed the book.
Eve Dallas, a homicide detective in New York City is the main character in the In Death series. Those books take place almost sixty years in the future and contain a lot of futuristic gadgets. The last few books in the series, and the second half of Remember When, are set in the summer 2059. In each book, Eve investigates a different murder. Other officers, Feeney, Peabody and McNab help Eve on the cases. Parts of Eve’s life with her husband Roarke also turn up in the books. Eve’s part of Remember When takes place soon after the end of the last book in the series, Imitation in Death.
Remember When is a different book. It starts off in the present and then jumps forward more than fifty years. There was some resolution to the first half of the book, but there was something left to carry into the second half that tied the two together. In discussing the book, especially the second half, I will mention a few things that are minor spoilers. I just don’t know how to discuss the book without touching on a few of them. I will not be sharing anything major though.
Laine Tavish owned an antique store called Remember When in a small Maryland town. She was having a busy day when a nervous man turned up wanting to speak with her. She didn’t pay much attention to him because of the customers but he was able to give her a card with is number. It was important to him that they talk. He left the store and was hit by a car when he ran into the street. Laine went out to see what happened and when she checked on him she realized that she knew who he was. She had thought of him as her uncle Willy when she was a child.
Laine had a secret. Her father, Jack O’Hara, was a con man. He’d spend some time in jail. Laine’s mother decided to start a more stable life for her daughter when her husband went to jail. She eventually remarried and opened a restaurant with her husband. Laine went off to college and started a new life for herself. She did see Jack occasionally over the years.
Max Gannon followed Willy to town. Max worked for an insurance company that had insured millions in diamonds that had been stolen. Willy and Jack got mixed with another man to pull off the heist. A third man involved in the heist turned up dead. Max was trying to recover the diamonds. He figured out that Laine was Jack’s daughter. He wasn’t sure that Laine wasn’t involved in the theft at first. Laine did find out who Max was. They spent time together and fell in love. They were working together to recover the diamonds. Laine’s home was broken into. Max felt that she was in danger.
In the year 2059, Samantha Gannon returned home from her book tour to find her house in shambles. Her friend Andera had been house sitting. Samantha was upset because she thought that Andera had a wild party. Then she found Andera dead in the bedroom. Eve Dallas got the case. She worked the scene alone for the first time in a while because she didn’t want to mess up Peabody’s plans to celebrate becoming a detective with McNab.
Eve spent some time with Roarke that evening. Summerset, Roarke’s butler, was away again to finish recovering from a broken leg. Eve was happy he was gone again. Roarke enjoyed teasing her about Summerset. Eve discussed the case with Roarke, like she tended to do. He knew who Samantha was because one of his companies published her book. He knew what the book was about. Samantha wrote about a diamond heist that took place fifty-six years in the past. Samantha’s grandparents had been involved in recovering some of the diamonds. Some of the diamonds were still missing. Eve thought that the missing diamonds were connected to the murder. She started researching the diamond heist.
The burned body of a woman was discovered in an empty lot. Eve thought that the murder tied in with Andera’s murder. When the identity of the body was discovered, it was someone connected to Samantha. Eve and Peabody continued working on the case. Peabody was adjusting to being a detective and being Eve’s partner instead of her aide. Peabody was wearing some different outfits to work since she no long had to wear a uniform, which seemed to annoy Eve at times. Eve wasn’t use to having a partner instead of an aide. She had to do some adjusting as well.
I really enjoyed Remember When. It was well written and very descriptive, which is normal for this author. The book grabbed my attention as soon as I started reading and I couldn’t put it down. I thought that the plot was very interesting. The book was complicated, which many of her books are. The book was released in September of 2003 as a hard back.
Remember When was like two books in one. The first was like the other books the author has written as Nora Roberts and the second half was part of the In Death by J.D. Robb. Each book had a different plot with several things going on, but the diamond heist connected each. The book was 440 pages long, which is a normal length for Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb books. However, each part of the book was shorter than normal for her. Neither part was as developed or as complex as her books usually are. I did like how the book was set up, but it did seem like each part was a bit rushed so that everything could get resolved.
Mystery was the main focus of both parts of Remember When. The missing diamonds were important to each part. In the first half, Laine and Max were working to recover the diamonds. People turned up dead, Laine’s home was broken into, and her life was in danger. In the second half, Eve was investigating two murders that turned out to be connected to the heist. The diamonds are what tied the two separate plots together. I thought that the mystery was very interesting. There were some suspenseful scenes throughout the book that kept me guessing. There were a few things that were predictable, but it wasn’t a predictable book overall.
There was some romance in Remember When, but I didn’t think that it detracted from the mystery. Laine and Max met and fell in love during the first half of the book. There were some sexual situations and acts described between them. In the second half of the book, the relationship that Eve and Roarke have was depicted. They have been married just over a year and are very much in love. There were sexual acts described between them. Some of the scenes were more descriptive and steamy than others. Some people could be offended by those scenes. Peabody and McNab, are also involved in a relationship. There were no sexual scenes between them, but Peabody did mention a few things that hinted at their sex life. Peabody enjoys irritating Eve by mentioning those things.
There was very little swearing in Remember When. I don’t remember the word that rhymes with luck turning up at all in the book. That word has turned up in some of her previous books, especially in the In Death series. Eve has been known to swear up a storm at times when she was really upset or irritated. It has seemed to me that the In Death books have usually had more swearing than the books written as Nora Roberts. In the last few In Death books there has been less. I don’t remember there being much at all in Imitation in Death. A few books before that one, there was a lot of swearing at times in a few of the books. Since then there has been much less. I have wondered if there had been some complaints.
There have been seventeen books and two short stories in the In Death series. There is a group of characters that return for each book. Some, like Eve and Roarke, have been in every one of the books. Others, like Eve’s friend Mavis, turn up every so often. Peabody and McNab are character who joined the series later and have been back ever since. There are new characters in each book and as well. Some of the new characters have returned briefly in later books. I really like that the same characters keep returning for each book. I love these characters. I have read all of the In Death books, and it feels like I’m visiting old friends when I read a new one.
Each book in the series has a different plot, but there are some continuing subplots that connect the books. Things from previous books are sometimes mentioned in the new books. I do think that the books should be read in order. That way the reader can see the characters change and grow over the course of the series. Readers shouldn’t be completely lost if Remember When is their first exposure to Eve’s world, but they won’t be as familiar with characters and how things are different. Remember When could be a good way for fans of Nora Roberts to read about Eve and her world for the first time, or for Robb fans to read their first Nora Roberts book. I started reading the In Death series and later moved onto Nora Roberts books. Fans of the series should read Remember When since it does pick up after the last book. It shows Peabody working on her first case as a detective and Eve’s partner.
CHARACTERS
Laine Tavish - A woman who worked hard to have a respectable life. She didn’t want to tell her new friends about her father because she was worried that they would turn away from her. She had a bit of a wild streak in her, but she rarely acted on impulse.
Max Gannon - A former police officer who worked as an investigator for an insurance company. He was good at his job. He was conflicted because of his job and his feelings for Laine. He was a strong, caring man.
Jake O’Hara - Laine’s father. He was a con man. He dreamed of making one big score. He loved his daughter and didn’t really understand the life she wanted for herself.
Willy - Jack’s best friend. He and Jack worked together for years. They were very close.
Eve Dallas - Homicide detective dedicated to her work. It was important to her to find justice for murdered people. She had ghosts in her past that haunted her at times. She had trouble dealing with friends at times, but she was getting more adjusted and use to it.
Roarke - Eve’s husband. He was very rich and powerful. He had a shady past before he made all his money. He was devoted to his wife and would do what was needed to help or protect her. He was a kind man. He seemed to deal with friends better than Eve did. He enjoyed buying his wife things.
Delia Peabody - She was now a detective and Eve’s partner. She had been Eve’s aide for a while. Peabody wasn’t use to her new position yet and she doubted herself at times.
Ian McNab - He was a detective in the electronic division. He worked with computers. He and Delia were involved.
Samantha Gannon - Friend of a murder victim. Samantha had written a book about an event in her family’s past. She had been fascinated by the stories since she was a child. She was a very kind, caring woman. She seemed to be close to her family.
I really enjoyed Remember When. It was a wonderful combination of Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb. I enjoyed having a new In Death story so soon after the last book, though I think since these two were so close together, I will get impatient for the next one sooner. Fans of Nora Roberts or J.D. Robb should read this book.
Blending present-day romance and futuristic suspense, this tale of deceit and secrets, of strong women and fascinating men is a brilliant combination ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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