August 17, 2009

Promises in Death by J.D. Robb

NYPD Lieutenant Eve Dallas always does her best to solve every one of her cases, but her latest assignment just might be her most difficult yet. Not only was the victim, Amarylis Coltraine, a cop who was killed with her own weapon, but the case also takes on an added personal dimension since Amarylis was Chief Medical Examiner Morris’ lover, and Morris is one of Eve’s best friends. When the killer sends Eve a package containing Coltraine’s badge, weapon, and a taunting note suggesting that she might be next on the list, Eve finds herself trying to untangle a case that may be linked to her own past. All of the familiar ingredients Robb’s millions of readers expect to fall neatly into place—a cleverly constructed plot, an intriguing cast of secondary characters, and a sexy romance between tough-as-nails Eve and her mysterious billionaire husband Roarke—do so in the 30th gritty, suspenseful addition to Robb’s best-selling, futuristic police-procedural series. I loved everything about this addition to the in Death series, including the coral cover which just screams...It's summer...read me! Whereas I was quite disappointed in the previous release, Salvation in Death, this one satisfied on all fronts. Eve seems much more comfortable being a wife, yet much still baffles her about life and relationships. The connection between Eve and Roarke was much more focused on with Eve experiencing a series of revelations or conclusions about herself and their relationship. I felt Eve really grew in this novel as a person and as a cop. In Salvation in Death I thought the book lacked on the emotional front. Well, Promises in Death more than makes up for it. Eve responds to a call and finds the body of murdered Detective Amarylis Coltraine, the woman that her friend Medical Examiner Morris had been dating for the past year. I reread the first 20 pages of the book a few times and it made me want to break out crying every time. Although the story focuses on a devastating event there were a lot of funny moments too. Especially Eve describing the goings on at Louise's bachelorette party. There seemed to be more snarling, witty, and snappy dialogue than usual too, a feature I have come to anticipate from every Robb novel. Promises in Death deals with a deeper and more complex crime involving a criminal from Eve and Roarke's past. Robb ponders the sins of the father and what a son or daughter make of their life with the family they have been dealt. I think "Promises" in Promises in Death means Eve's promise to Morris to find Coltraine's killer...Eve's and Roarke's promise to each to always communicate and for each to make the right decisions even when those decisions are difficult. I thought this was one of the best in Death books. Would have liked a final subconscious conversation from Eve between her and Coltraine after she brings down the murderer. I'm interested to see where Robb takes the series from here and plan to read the newest release Kindred in Death. My Rating: 4.0 Chapters Amazon Related Posts: Salvation in Death Naked in Death

2 comments:

  1. I have just recently started to read Roberts and have yet to move on her Death series under J.D. Robb. This woman doesn't seem to stop does she.
    I definitely want to look into the whole series, it sounds quite interesting.

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  2. I actually prefer the Robb books over the Nora Roberts ones oddly enough. I like the mystery/futuristic elements and the Eve/Roarke relationship. She keeps churning out the books for sure...although I think not all of her efforts are high quality.

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