dragonfire88's Full Review: J. D. Robb - Reunion in Death
I was at the mall a few days ago before I had to go into work. I decided to stop by the bookstore for a few minutes. I was pleasantly surprised to find the new J.D. Robb book, Reunion in Death, on the shelves. I thought I would have to wait a few more weeks before the book was out. I quickly grabbed up a copy. I couldn't wait to start reading it, but unfortunately I had to since I was on my way to work. I managed to wait until the next day to read the book.
Before I get into specifics about Reunion in Death, I'm going to provide a little background information about the series to remind people what it is about - and to explain some things to people who don't know about the series. The In Death series is written by J.D. Robb, who is Nora Roberts. These books do share some traits with other Nora Roberts books. The series is set in New York City in the future. The first book in the series was set in the year 2058. It is 2059 in Reunion in Death. There are all kinds of futuristic gadgets in the books. I really like the gadgets.
There are several returning characters in the books. The main characters are Eve Dallas, a Lieutenant on the police force and her very rich husband Roarke. In each book of the series, Eve is working on a different case. Roarke usually ends up involved in her cases in some way. There is usually only a few weeks between the end of one book and the beginning of the next. There was a long amount of time between the events in the books in the first few books of the series. She is a homicide detective and very dedicated to her job. Each of the books can stand alone, so a person could start reading them in any order, but I think it is best to start with the first book, Naked in Death, and read the books in order. That way you will see how the characters and their relationships develop. Eve and Roarke meet for the first time in Naked in Death during one of her investigations. If the books in the series are read in order, then you can see how their relationship develops from just meeting to being lovers to getting married to celebrating their first anniversary in Reunion in Death. I really like that we get to see how their relationship has grown and changed throughout the series.
The book begins by describing a man, Walter Pettibone, who would die later that day. Someone was planning to kill him, but we don't know who at this point in the book. Then the book shows Eve getting ready to go to work. It is her first day back after a two week vacation with Roarke. She is grumbling to him about the new clothes that appeared in her closet while they were gone. It still irritates her a bit when he buys her things. When she gets to Cop Central, she finds that her office has been cleaned and repainted. Delia Peabody, the Officer that works with her, took care of all the paperwork that was left while Eve was away. That irritated her a little too because she had nothing to do. So she starts going through files of cases that are still open but considered cold. She and Peabody go out to do some investigating on one. Eve ends up turning the case over to Peabody. It is the first case she is handling herself.
Delia's parents arrive in town for a visit. Both of them are happy to finally meet Eve, who ends up inviting them to dinner at her house that night with Roarke. Eve is not really sure why she issued the invitation, but she thinks that Phoebe, Delia's mom, somehow got Eve to issue the invitation. Ian McNab, a detective in another division of the police force that specializes in electronics, comes to dinner too because he and Delia had a date for that night. Delia gets him invited too, thinking it will be a little easier for him to meet her parents in a group setting. Everything is going fine when Eve gets a call. Someone has been murdered. She takes Delia and Ian with her.
Walter Pettibone died at his surprise birthday party. He was murdered. Eve starts her investigation, questioning the other party guests to find out what happened. She gets a suspect, a woman who worked for the caterer. The next morning Eve identifies the woman as Julianna Dunne, a woman that Eve helped to send to prison several years before. Julianna married an older man, murdered him, changed her appearance in some way (hair style, color, etc) and moved on to her next victim. Julianna blamed Eve for being caught. Julianna felt she could have outsmarted men cops. Julianna was recently released from prison on parole and she was back to what she loved doing, killing men. She was doing things a little differently this time though.
More men were murdered. They were all older men like Julianna targeted before, but she hasn't had any sort of contact or relationship with them this time. She continues to change her appearance after each murder. Eve, Delia, Ian, and Feeney work on tracking down Julianna before she can kill again. They always seem to be one stop behind her though. Eve becomes convinced that Roarke is Julianna's ultimate target. Because of that, Eve wants to do some things to protect Roarke. He refuses to go along with many of those things, saying he can take care of himself. They clash a few different times over how Eve wants to protect him and how he wants to be involved in the investigation. They do manage to take out some time to celebrate their first anniversary. Eve even got him a present that he loved without all the worrying that went into her Christmas shopping for him.
Delia continues to work on the cold case that Eve gave her. She gathers some evidence and figures out who was the killer. She runs her thoughts by Eve on more than one occasion about the case. Eve is supportive of Delia handling the case. Delia also helps Eve on the Julianna Dunne case. During the course of the investigation, Eve travels to a few different locations. She has to go to Texas to follow up on a lead. After she does that, she and Roarke go into to Dallas and Eve confronts her past. Some very traumatic events happened to Eve in Dallas when she was a child. She still has nightmares about them. She finally felt like confronting her past, and Roarke went with her to support her. Many more things happen throughout the book, but I'm not telling what they are.
I loved Reunion in Death. Of course, I have loved all the books in the In Death series. Well, except for one that managed to really irritate me. But that is another review. Reunion in Death is a great addition to a wonderful series. It is extremely descriptive and well written, like all the books in the series have been. Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I hated to see it end and now I'm impatient for the next book to come out. Books in the In Death series come out every six months, in March and September. The next book, the fifteenth in the series, is Purity in Death.
Reunion in Death is a romantic thriller, like all the books in the In Death series. The main focus of the book is Eve's investigation, and there are several developments in it throughout the book. The main focus of each book is whatever case Eve is working on at that time. There is some romance in each book, but it isn't the main focus. The romance aspect of this book, and every book in the series, deals with the relationship between Eve and Roarke. They have been married for a year now and are very much in love. They are still adjusting to different aspects of married life and they have some disagreements, but they work through them. I really like that this series shows the relationship between a married couple and how they adjust to married life. Some things that happen in Reunion in Death are predictable, but there are unpredictable things too.
Since this is a romance, there are some sexual scenes in the book. The scenes are between a married couple that love each other very much, but they may be too descriptive for some people. The scenes may be too explicit for some readers. If you are offended by reading scenes like this, or you just don't like to read about those things, then you shouldn't read this book. There is some swearing in throughout the book, but it didn't seem excessive. The word that rhymes with luck does show up several times, but not constantly like in some books and movies. If that word offends or upsets you, you may want to skip this book.
J.D. Robb is the name that Nora Roberts uses to write the In Death series. I have read all the books in the series and many of the books she's written under her own name. I have really enjoyed all the books. The books in the In Death series tend to have stronger mysteries. The most obvious difference is that the books are set in the future. She has written one book, Remember When, that is listed as being written by both authors. The first part of the book took place in current time and the second half of the book took place in Eve's time. The two parts of the book were connected by a mystery. Remember When took place between Imitation in Death and Divided in Death.
I love that the characters return in books. I really love the characters of Eve, Roarke, Delia, and Ian. After reading so many books with these characters, I feel like I know them. It is like visiting with friends when I read a new book in the series. These characters, especially Eve and Roarke, are extremely well developed. Each books builds on the character development from earlier books. Eve has really grown and evolved throughout the series. Robb continues to develop the characters in each book. In Reunion in Death, Eve confronts some things related to her childhood. When she does confront her past, she remembers some more details about what had happened to her. Eve and Roarke go from just meeting in the first book in the series, to celebrating their first anniversary in this book. Their relationship continues to grow and develop in each book. Delia and Ian continue their relationship in this book as well, but there wasn't as much about them as I had hoped for. Also, they are not as well developed as Eve and Roarke are.
CHARACTERS
Eve Dallas - She is a Lieutenant on the police force, homicide division. She is dedicated to her job. She is married to Roarke. She is investigation a series of murders and she believes that Roarke is the ultimate target for the killer. Eve is stubborn and wants to do things her way. She hates doctors, hospitals, and pain killers. She hates to ask for help. She is still adjusting to being married, and having more friends.
Roarke - Eve's husband of one year. He is a very rich man. He is one of the richest men on the planet. He owns several businesses and buildings all around the world and off planet. He has a huge mansion where he lives with Eve. He is very much in love with his wife and protective of her. He enjoys buying things for her. He ends up involved in Eve's case again.
Delia Peabody - Officer who works with Eve. She has been working with Eve for a while now, assisting on cases and learning. She gets her own case to work on. She considers Eve to be a friend. She is also dedicated to her job. She is dating another cop, Ian McNab.
Ian McNab - He is a detective in the division that specializes in electronics. He works on a lot of cases with Eve and Delia, checking computer records, security discs, and things like that. He is a bit goofy at times, but he is good at his job. He is dating Delia.
Summerset - Roarke's butler. Summerset has worked for Roarke for years. The men knew each other in Ireland. Summerset and Eve don't get along well. They are always snipping at each other over something, but deep down, they like each other. They just refuse to admit it.
Julianna Dunne - Eve helped to send her to prison several years before. She was recently released on parole. In the past, she would marry older men, kill them, change her looks and move on to her next target. Now that she is out of prison, she is killing again, but she is doing things a little differently this time. She is not marrying the men before she kills them. She sees Eve as a challenge. She feels that it is Eve's fault she was convicted because she could have outsmarted male cops. She wants revenge.
Reunion in Death is a wonderful book. I loved it. Anyone who is a fan of the series has to read it. Also, fans of Nora Roberts and people who like thrillers with some romance in them should check out the In Death series.
Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths Fiction - At exactly 7 30 p.m., Walter Pettibone arrived home to over a hundred friends and family shouting, surpr...More at Barnes and Noble
In the 14th installment of Robb's (aka Nora Roberts) futuristic In Death series, Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke, celebrate their first ...More at Alibris
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