Category: Futuristic

Abandoned In Death by J.D. Robb

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

Abandoned in Death (In Death, #54)7Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: In Death #54
Publication Date: 2/8/22
Period: Future – 2061 – New York
Number of Pages: 352

At fifty-four books, you’d think this series would tend to become repetitive and stale – but it doesn’t. This latest addition to the series is just as interesting as the first. I love how far all of the characters have grown – especially Eve – and I love how the author manages to add new characters without forgetting older, more established characters. Tracking down the culprit in this book is certainly not an easy task because he/she is very intelligent, cunning, sly, and seems to know how to bypass and elude the NYPSD at every turn.

In the early morning hours, Lieutenant Eve Dallas is called to the scene of a murder. The victim is twenty-six-year-old Lauren Elder. Lauren is lovely, well-liked at work, and well-loved by friends and family. Who could have done this to Lauren? Who would meticulously dress and stage Lauren’s body and then leave her in a children’s playground with a crayon sign saying ‘Bad Mommy’? Lauren had been reported missing ten days ago – where had she been all of that time?

As the team discovers more clues and discovers more missing young women who fit the same description as Lauren, they know it is only a matter of time before they find another body – if they don’t discover the killer first. Eve calls all-hands-on-deck and mounts a massive search in the area they have identified as the killer’s hunting grounds. Then, the body of Anna Hobe – one of their missing – is found at yet another children’s area. Her body has also been cleaned, styled, dressed, and includes a crayoned sign saying, ‘Bad Mommy’.

Twenty-five-year-old Mary Kate Covino is still missing and Eve knows MK’s time is running out. Can they find her alive before they discover her staged body in another children’s area? They are close – so very close – but are they close enough to apprehend the murderer and save MK?

To learn the history of the murderer, the author intersperses the current timeline (NOW) with past events (BEFORE) – so you’ll know the traumatic events in her/his life. The murderer’s identity will surprise you, but there are hints.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book and this series. Most of my favorite characters made an appearance and we got to see a bit more of Feeney’s godson, Jamie Lingstrom and I enjoyed getting to know him better. I’m sure he’ll make significant contributions in future books. The only thing missing was a scene where Roarke bought the bar Eve wanted him to purchase – perhaps that will be mentioned in the next book.

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

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Forgotten In Death by JD Robb

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Futuristic, Mystery2 Comments

Barbara’s Rating:  5 of 5 Stars

Series: In Death #53

Publication Date: 9/7/21

Period:  Future New York – May of 2061

Number of Pages:  384

I absolutely LOVE this series and this book is an outstanding addition to it.  We’re at book 53 and I truly hope we have another 53 books to go!  The writing is exceptional, the mysteries are plausible, and – goodness – the imagination it must take to come up with the very credible and believable inventions they have in the future.  It just boggles the mind.  Then, there are the characters – Roarke, the mysterious Irish billionaire; Lieutenant Eve Dallas, the New York City cop with a dark past (who just happens to be Roarke’s wife); Detective Peabody, the New Ager who is Eve’s partner and protégé; and a plethora of other supporting characters with whom you’ll wish to become friends. 

As May of 2061 is rapidly heading into June, Lieutenant Eve Dallas catches a call as she is heading to work during the early hours of the morning.  A witness has discovered a body in a dumpster at a construction site.  It appears that Eve’s first task of the day will be to climb into a construction dumpster, look for evidence, and remove the lifeless body of a woman.  Eve takes her job very seriously and this woman now belongs to her – she’ll find justice for this victim – just as she finds justice for all of her victims.

Eve has hardly gotten the rest of her team to the scene when she is approached by a young woman who insists Eve come with her to another construction site just a couple of blocks away.  It seems Eve has yet another case because the construction crew has found two sets of remains.  These are not fresh bodies, but skeletal remains of a woman and child – or a woman and an unborn fetus. 

When, a few days later, Eve finds yet another body – this one dying just as Eve finds him – she has to wonder if there is any way these four deaths can be related.  Surely not, because the remains at the second construction site have been there for close to 40 years.  There are some tenuous threads between the construction sites, but not the people.  Well, supposedly not the people because there is no clue who the woman and child are.

As Eve, Peabody, Roarke and the rest of the crew work through the clues, we meet some of the most self-centered, narcissistic, malignant, weak-willed suspects you can imagine.  Weeding through them and figuring out who among them is a killer will put Eve and her crew to the test. 

I can highly recommend this book!  The writing is exceptional, the characters are outstanding, the mystery will test your skills, and the solutions will have you doing a standing ovation for Eve and the crew.  Have you ever raised a fist and shouted “YES!” in a crowded waiting room?  Well, you might be in danger of doing that as Eve and the crew begins to solve the cases and bring the culprit(s) to justice.  Oh! Yes!  It is good.

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