Category: Futuristic

Passions in Death by J.D. Robb

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Futuristic, Mystery, Part of a Series2 Comments

Passions in Death (In Death, #59)

Barbara’s rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Series: In Death #59
Publication Date: 9/3/24
Period: Future – August 2061, New York
Number of Pages: 363

In some book series, you are tired of the characters and stories long before the series is done. That is not the case with J.D. Robb’s long-running In Death series. This is book fifty-nine and I have been awaiting its release just as anxiously as I did the first books. The characters have grown and broadened, the relationships have matured, and the cases have remained engrossing and complex. By the end of each book, you know the victim personally – and that is often sad, and you know the murderer personally – and that is often horrifying. I have wondered what it would be like to wander around inside this prolific author’s head. Where does she come up with so many varied plots and people – not to mention the wit and humor that softens the stories?

Near the midnight hour of a slow Monday night, New York City homicide’s Lieutenant Eve Dallas receives a call from dispatch. There has been a murder at the Down and Dirty club and the club owner, Crack, has requested Eve to investigate. Crack and Eve have a long history going back to her early days in Homicide – not to mention her own attack at the Down and Dirty Club. The garroted body of lovely young bride-to-be, Erin Albright, is lying in a pool of her own blood in the very room in which Eve herself was attacked. Eve survived to take down her own attacker, but this young woman did not – so Eve will do it for her. Eve always stands for the dead.

As we move through the investigation, we get to know Erin, her bride-to-be Shauna Hunnicut, and the close loving friends surrounding them. Could the murderer be a random stranger who just happened to be at the club? Or, could it be someone who was in her close inner circle? You’ll just have to read the book to find out!

The fun, loving, joyful pre-wedding girl party will engage your emotions and pull you into the story while the solid investigation, twists, turns, red herrings, and drama will hold you through the very last page. The plot is excellently crafted and pulls you along step-by-step. The author uses wit and humor to temper the strong emotions elicited by the murder investigation and to help showcase some of the interpersonal relationships among the ongoing characters.

This very engaging book can be read as a standalone, however, as someone who has read the entire series, I would strongly suggest reading all the books in order. If that seems a daunting task, then at least read the first 3-5 books as those give you a feel for the characters, their personalities, what brought Eve and Roarke together, and what made Eve into who she is.

If you enjoy a good whodunit with compelling plots, engaging characters, wit, humor, and a glimpse into the future – this is the book and series for you.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Random in Death by J.D. Robb

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Futuristic, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

Random in Death (In Death, #58)

Barbara’s rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Series: In Death #58
Publication Date: 1/23/24
Period: Future (2061) New York City
Number of Pages: 362

It is all-hands-on-deck in this exciting, action-packed, edge of your chair, can’t put it down, 58th addition to the In Death series by J.D. Robb. One might think that a series with that many books would begin to drop in quality and excitement – but one would be wrong. This author has the ability to elicit strong emotions and reactions from the reader, yet she also uses bits of humor to dampen down some of those really intense moments. We always come to know both the victim(s) and the villain(s) – sometimes, we admire the victims (as in this book) and sometimes we wonder why someone didn’t kill them earlier. We also always know that whether the victim is admirable or not, Lt. Eve Dallas will give her all to finding who took their lives.

This story’s victims are girls just on the cusp of womanhood – in the 15-16-year-old range. Lovely, happy, young women with their whole lives before them. Yet, that life has come to an abrupt and very painful end. The first victim, Jenna, had a life planned. She knew what she wanted and she had the talent and intelligence to make it happen. Then, she died in her hero’s arms in an alley behind the club where she wanted desperately to get a copy of her demo tape to Jake from the band, Avenue A.

Dallas, Roarke, Peabody, McNab, and the rest of the crew begin their investigation wondering if Jenna was specifically targeted or if she was just a random choice. When there is a second murder – same method, same signature – they become more and more sure the victims are chosen randomly. Evidence is scarce – the villain is extremely intelligent (yet somehow naïve) – and there is no way for Eve and the crew to predict who the next victim might be. They do know there will be a next victim – and soon.

I believe everyone from the ‘Dallas’ ensemble makes an appearance and contributes to either the solution /or consoling the grieving parents. Every small clue adds to what they know – and the villain’s profile emerges – but – who would believe it? Yet, Eve is sure of the profile, she just has to find some clues leading to the identity before yet another young lady is victimized. They’ve weeded through thousands of random clues and have little to go on – until – the right clue at the right time brings it together.

Can they apprehend the villain before he claims another victim? Will he escape capture? You’ll have to read this excellent book to find out.

I have recommended this series to a multitude of friends, acquaintances, and even strangers with whom I’ve chatted, and all of them have tried it – and all of them have loved it. I know it is a long series, but I sincerely recommend reading the books from the first one. The relationships are built and developed from one book to the next, and you can certainly better identify with all of the relationships between the characters – and the characters themselves – much better if you read them in order. I hope you’ll choose to read this book and this series and love it as much as I do.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

View all my reviews