When I read Naked in Death, the first book in the series, I enjoyed it so much I just thought the second wouldn’t be as good. How wrong I was! Now, here, I’m writing a review on the tenth book, WITNESS IN DEATH, and I can honestly say, it’s just as good if not better.

I always believed it’s important to enjoy your job or why else do it. If I can’t find any humor with the job or the people I work with, my thoughts turn to looking elsewhere for employment. I also know several people who think like I do but that’s another story.

In Witness in Death, it’s apparent that Detective Eve Dallas enjoys her job. So much so that when her husband Roarke tells her he’s taking her to a Broadway play – a “murder mystery”, she’s more than eager to go. After all, she can watch as the “detective” examines the evidence and catches the killer from her comfortable seat in the audience. For once, she won’t have to get her hands in someone else’s blood.

As Roarke sits back and enjoys the play and Eve speculates who the murderer is, the murder scene unfolds. The actress picks up a knife and lunges at her actor husband. Only something dreadful goes wrong. The blade of the knife doesn’t collapse like it’s supposed to. The actor, Richard Draco is dead.

With chaos on the stage and people in the audience screaming, as Roarke orders the doors sealed so no one can leave, Eve races to the stage to examine to body and the evidence. Not once does she look down at her elegant heels as they get covered in someone else’s blood – again.

While her mind slides into detective mode, she is fully aware that she, herself, is a witness and must make a statement to the police – but first, she must secure the area and call in for her aide, Officer Delia Peabody.

For most, this would seem like an open and shut case since the murder was committed in front of hundreds of witnesses but Dallas isn’t so sure. It’s not normal to be so obvious so what happened?

When Eve begins the investigation, she finds out that the actor, Richard Draco had not friends. In fact, no one liked him at all. Through his acting career, he made enemies of everyone he met. He seemed to make it a habit to upstage and humiliate those around him – even those in his personal life. He used and abused every relationship he “almost” had with women.

As Eve investigates, she finds that one woman in particular had reason for hating him – his daughter. As soon as she was born, she’d been given up for adoption. Although she didn’t know Draco was her father, he did and took advantage of her innocence and ignorance. After all, she was beautiful and he wanted beautiful women around him.

Although this disgusts Eve to no end and would personally admit his daughter was justified in her actions, Eve doesn’t believe the daughter is guilty. She’s too emotionally open about her revulsion. Nonetheless, Eve can’t help feeling frustrated. Dealing with actors is no easy task. During her interviews, she’s not sure if they’re lying, being truthful or just plain acting.

One woman she’s sure isn’t acting but must be added to the list of potential suspects is Eve’s friend, Nadine Furst.

Nadine is a reporter for a local TV news station. When she and Dallas first met, she became the most immediate and largest pain in Dallas’ – well, Dallas’ life. But quickly, they struck up a working relationship. Nadine wouldn’t air anything until she ran it by Dallas first. Dallas, would in turn, give Nadine exclusive one-on-one interviews and when needed, would “leak” certain details of the crimes she investigates. This working relationship soon became a personal friendship. Unfortunately, Nadine dined with Richard Draco the night before the performance. Because of this one recent dinner and the fact that at one time, she dated the actor, Eve has no choice but to place her friend’s name with the other suspects.

Dallas wants nothing more than to find the killer and clear her friend and stay out of the spotlight this murder has thrown her into. Not only is this a high profile murder because of the victim and suspects but also because of the location. The media is having a field day with the fact that the theater where the murder took place is owned by – none other than Dallas’ husband, Roarke.

Not only does she want to find the killer and clear her friend, but now, she wants to do both especially fast. In fact, the faster the better. But every investigation takes time and while she and Peabody work their way through the evidence, Dallas can’t help but notice that things are really beginning to heat up between Peabody and McNab – both of whom are beginning to recognize that their relationship has a lot more going for than sex. They actually enjoy each others company – much to the confusion of Dallas and the enjoyment of the reader.

While each book in the In Death series deals with a different murder and different suspects, what remains the same is Dallas and the love she shares with Roarke. Dallas still suffers from horrendous nightmares which is a constant worry for Roarke. Each nightmare reveals a bit more of Dallas past but she doesn’t want to put the pieces together and find out what they mean. The dreams are enough to terrify her; she not sure she’d be able to handle whatever reality they mean. Meanwhile, Roarke is always there to comfort her and listen to her should she feel the need to talk them out.

Peabody is still the lovable free-ager whose parents believe in a much simpler way of life and McNab is always figuring out new and better ways to fix Dallas’ office computer which is always breaking down.

There are so many more characters who are repeated in these books but compared to Dallas, Roarke, Peabody and McNab, they take back seats. Still and all, they are all worth readying about as I’m sure you’d agree once you get hooked on the In Death series.

Once again, with Witness In Death, J.D. Robb has done an excellent job mixing and mingling her characters and their personalities. As always, this is a book you can truly enjoy reading.

I did.


Thank you for reading.



Please, don’t forget to read my other reviews on the In Death series: