"Missing in Death" (short story in The Lost Anthology book) "In Death"series book 29.5 by J.D. Robb

"Missing in Death" (short story in The Lost Anthology book)
"In Death"series book 29.5
by J.D. Robb
produced 2009 by brilliance audio
read by Susan Ericksen
approx 3.5 hours

I just can't help myself, I keep coming back to this sci-fi detective series by J.D. Robb, I know what it is, it is the characters. J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts from book one has created some solid characters to fill these books. They are solid, three dimensional, and intriguing. Robb has created characters the reader can care about and want to hear/read more about their adventures. Lt. Eve Dallas is a tough homicide detective in New York City in the mid 21st Century. She led a rough childhood thanks to the some dark workings of Homeland Security. Eve's Husband, Roarke, also had a rough childhood, living off the streets in Dublin, Ireland, but is now a multi-billionaire (or multi-gazillionaire, depending on who you ask) who loves to dabble in computers and technology. And a cast of many more that make the family of these books.

Another aspect of these books is that they are set in the distant future, not too far to keep the stories on Earth, but far enough, that with the cool gadgets and some space travel to bring in the sci-fi fan. In fact if a television series were ever made of this book series, I would place my bets on the Sci-Fi (SyFy) channel getting the rights.

This story is a nice short story set in Lt. Eve Dallas's world that provides a very interesting mystery with one of those sci-fi gadgets turning out to be the focus of the investigation.

Lt. Dallas and her assistant Detective Delia Peabody are called in to one of the Staten Island Ferries (named "Hilary Rodham Clinton," how's that for futuristic?) because a woman is missing but what really brings the Homicide detectives to the ferry is that where the woman was last seen is a large amount of blood splatter, enough so that if it is from one source that person did not live. The mystery is how did the killer remove the body from the ferry packed full of 3,000 plus tourists?

When the missing tourist shows up, not only does the question of who does all that blood belong to, come up, but also a new threat. That new threat is some sort of mind control/hypnosis device. Dallas and her team set out to solve the mystery and catch a criminal that could be a threat to National Security.

The reader, Susan Ericksen, is the reader for the entire series and does a excellent job voicing these books. She is able to apply different voices to each character that not only separates who is talking but even adds deeper to the characters created by J.D. Robb, in fact at times you may think you are listening to a multi-cast performance.

This series is definitely worth checking out, and this short story would be a great intro into the series, even though it occurs late in the series.

Fantasy in Death (In Death Series) by J. D. Robb

Fantasy in Death (In Death Series)
by J. D. Robb
Read by Susan Ericksen
Produced 2010 by Brilliance Audio
approx 12 Hours

I love a good mystery and I love sci-fi, when I first started reading these "...in Death" books by J.D. Robb (a.k.a. Nora Roberts) I knew I was gonna be hooked. Here it is the 30th book in the series and I haven't given up yet. I will admit in the earlier books I was almost ready to stop reading this series because of the nearly softcore porn sections. But Robb/Roberts has toned it down some and the skip feature on my iPod is ready for use, for this book I only had to skip ahead for about 10 minutes, in the earlier books I would have had to skip at least 30 minutes worth of the book to get back to the story. Yeah, I know Roberts is a romance writer first, but the sex scenes just don't fit in with these stories. She writes great mysteries, and throws in enough sci-fi (the books are set around the years 2050 - 2060) to keep them fun. Skipping over the sex scenes does not lose anything to do with the story. If only she would cut them out completely, they are completely uncalled for and do not add to the story in any way.

Okay, that being said let's talk about this book. This book should offer up a bit of fun for the cyber-geek, mystery fan and general sci-fi fan alike. Like I said with the stories in this series set in the near future, Robb/Roberts adds just enough tech stuff to enhance the stories. Here's a small example, flying cars, offworld prisons, offworld resorts & casinos, wrist unit communications (video & audio), serious computer hacking, laser type stunners and blasters, holodecks for gaming & fun and more. This story dives head first into future gaming via VR and holodecks. Bart Minnock is one of the founders of U-Play, a gaming corporation, he and his 3 partners have created a fairly successful gaming company and they are on the verge of releasing the latest in greatest in gaming. This new game will be the ultimate in gaming, allowing the user to create and control virtually every aspect of the game. Bart gets home from work and goes into the holoroom to test out the latest version of the game in preparation for the game, "Fantastical," release. The next day he is found decapitated in his holo room and that's where NYPSD homicide detective Lt. Eve Dallas comes in. She fights for the dead.

When Lt. Dallas and her team of detectives begin looking into the case they can find no reason why Minnock would be murdered, let alone decapitated. He was a genius, likable and friendly. His company was run by him and 3 other friends who all met in college and put together the gaming braintrust that is U-Play. The partners all have equal parts in the biz. The only thing Eve can figure out is that it is jealousy, but at first go round everyone has nothing but respect for Minnock. As she digs deeper she realizes that one of the partners is the murderer, but how? The security records and videos all show Bart was alone until his body was discovered by his girlfriend and servant droid the next day.

So how does a murderer get into a secure building with extra security on the locked holoroom? Dallas searches for the possible murder weapon, a sword that can send electrical jolts. When this hits a dead end she then locks on to an idea that at first, seems to break the laws of physics. When she begins looking harder at the remaining three partners in the company another is murdered. This time Dallas has her suspect but the problem is to prove how the crime was committed. Non-stop action, mystery and suspense.

Robb/Roberts has had 30 books and numerous short stories to develop the characters in this series and from book one every single one of the characters are full of depth. Each one has a history and life goals and Robb/Roberts brings these to each character creating full four dimensional characters that the reader/listener can fully relate to and actually want to know. From Lt. Dallas all the way down to McNabb the Electronics division detective they are all fully formed and a critical part of every story, including this one.

The reader, Susan Ericksen, brings these characters to life by highlighting each characters depth with each one having their own voice. Ericksen vocally manipulates each character's voice to where these books sound as though they are a multi-cast performance. Ericksen is supremely talented in voice work and she brings it all to the table when voicing this series.

"Eternity In Death" (novella) book 29 of "...In Death" series by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)

"Eternity In Death" (novella)
book 29 of "...In Death" series
by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)
read by Susan Ericksen
Produced by Brilliance Audio
approx. 3.5 hours

Okay, I've been reading a huge batch of vampire, zombie and werewolf novels and thought I'd go back to listening to one of my favorite futuristic detective novels. Once again I visit the "...In Death" series by J.D. Robb and the thrilling world of Lt. Eve Dallas of the NYPSD as she solves another series of murders. Well guess what? This book, which I just picked out of the blue as one in the series I haven't read yet, has vampires. Either that is synchronicity at work or just luck, either way this book was great to hear.

To sum up Lt. Eve Dallas has escaped a childhood of torture only to become the best homicide detective on the New York Police and Securities Department in the mid 21st century. She is assisted by a wonderful cast of characters including her husband, Roarke, an Irish immigrant that now seems to own half the world and even a few planets and satellites, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not much of one. Other fun characters are here detective assistant Delia Peabody, Peabody's main squeeze Electronics Division Detective McNabb, the Chief of Electronics division, Feeney (her former partner in homicide) and Psychologist/Profiler Dr. Mira. The setting of these books is just far enough into the future to have some really cool sci-fi toys to work with or contend with, yet close enough where real detective work is still done.

The entire series is read by Susan Ericksen, who does a smashup job of capturing each and every character vocally. Sometimes I wonder if Ms. Ericksen doesn't suffer from some sort of personality disorder with all the voices that come out of her. Each character is distinct and acted vocally to perfection.

This book opens with a young, famous-for-being-famous, socialite anticipating the visit of a dark stranger that has promised she will keep her 23 year old youthful appearance, but first she has to die.

The next morning the socialite's body is discovered drained of blood and two punctures on the neck. Lt. Eve Dallas is called to the scene where the adventure into the darker side of New York City begins. Dallas, in no way believes in vampires, but her assistant, Peabody, does get the creeps on this one and starts wearing a cross.

The clues lead to a vampire themed club in New York's seedy underground. In Eve Dallas's time New York's Underground is a place where even the police have no jurisdiction. A club called "Bloodbath" is where the socialite recently frequented and the owner of the club seems to have some strange powers. Eve must pull in all her resources to ignore the supernatural beliefs trying to sneak into her thoughts and bring down a murderer masquerading as a vampire.

Once again J.D. Robb (a.k.a. Nora Roberts) creates an exciting detective thriller that you can't stop until the last word is spoken. Once again I will point out the single downfall of the entire series and that is the explicit sex scenes. I realize that J.D. Robb is a pseudonym for Nora Roberts, and Nora Roberts is a romance writer, but come on, enough is enough. The scenes are totally unnecessary. The story moves great without them and they add nothing to the story, plot or characters. The good side of this novella is that it is short and only one of these scenes is in the book. In audio format I just fast forward and lose nothing in the missed scene.

"Innocent in Death" by J.D. Robb

"Innocent in Death"
by J.D. Robb
Read by Susan Ericksen
Produced by Brilliance Audio 2007

I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse that the "...in Death" series of books are written by J.D. Robb, a pseudonym for Nora Roberts. I love the brilliant detective/mystery/thriller aspect of the writing, but Nora Robb creeps in the stories and you get that bodice busting romance type feel during moments of these books. I personally read them for the sci-fi detective novels aspect and just kind of skim inevitable romance and skip over the gratuitous sex, not that I'm a prude, it's just they seemed forced into the story. With that out of the way let's talk about what draws me to these books.

Lt. Eve Dallas is a take names / kick butt NYPSD homicide detective that always cracks the case. This series of books is set in the mid 21st Century around the year 2060. Dallas is married to the richest man on and off planet, Roarke. One of the things that makes this series interesting to me is the cast of characters. Dallas' assistant Detective Delia Peabody and Electronics Detective McNabb are just a couple of characters that make these books fun. I think Peabody is the queen of sarcasm.

The audio books in this series (including this book) are read by Susan Ericksen. Her voice work is phenomenal. She has a unique voice for each character and makes the listening to these books even more fun.

"Innocent in Death" begins with the death of a private school teacher. The teacher is found dead at his desk in his own filth. Obviously this leads to Lt. Dallas to suspect poisoning and the school becomes a crime scene. Who would want to kill this teacher. He was newly married and him and his wife were overwhelmingly in love, so rule out the spouse. He did however find out about another teacher making unwanted sexual advances on one of the school employees. Maybe it was a cover up. But soon the teacher that was suspected is found dead. Dallas must catch the killer before another dies.

With no known motives and various backgrounds of the victims this one has her stumped. But soon she comes to a suspect that surprises all. The problem with this case is not the lack of evidence, but, and here's where the Nora Roberts writing takes over, Lt. Dallas' husband, Roarke, is visited by one of his old flames that wants to relight that flame. This drives a wedge between Roarke and Dallas and between Dallas and her work.

With an ending to surprise all, I'd recommend this book for the detective story enthusiast, however, this is one of those books in the series that leans highly on the romance novel side of Nora Roberts.

"Portrait in Death" by J.D. Robb

"Portrait in Death"
by J.D. Robb
read by Susan Ericksen
produced by Brilliance Audio


I don't know what it is but I can't help but keep coming back to the "...in Death" series of books by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts.) Okay, I confess, i do know what it is, it's the little twist of science fiction that make these books something more than just a good detective novel. The series takes place in the near future, this book in particular in the year 2059. Just enough sci-fi gadgets to make it seem fun. But the real draw to these books is the no-holds-barred main character Lt. Eve Dallas. Lt. Dallas takes nothing from noone. And she can brawl with the best of them.

Another aspect of this series is the colorful, unique and richly written characters. Not only do they all have depth but it is easy to imagine what they are doing in their "off" time. While Lt. Dallas could take on the world by herself she doesn't need to and she's finding this out as each book pushes the series. Her husband the extremely rich Roarke who worked his way from being a street thug to a man who thrives on "making the deal" in the business world and has made his life extremely comfortable through the riches.

In this book however Roarke, usually the crutch holding Eve up in her tough times, is out of sorts. He finds that the woman who walked out of his life at the age of 5, whom he thought was his mother was not his mother, and that his real mother was murdered by his father. This could be disturbing enough but he now finds out he has family, his mother's twin sister is still alive as well as many cousins, uncles, aunts and even grandparents. This throws Roarke into an emotional roller-coaster ride that Eve takes time away from her murder case to help him cope with these emotions.

That side story or Roarke dwells on the side of the murder mystery in which Eve has to solve before a serial killer kills again. Someone is killing young college students and posing them for death portraits and claiming to take their "light" within himself so he may live forever. Each student is young, innocent and "full of light." The case builds to where Lt. Dallas and her aid Officer Peabody are tracking down photographers and kids in the techno-clubs.

Once again J.D. Robb writes a book that keeps you guess as to "whodunit" and at the same time takes you on a great story focusing on friends and family and support groups within. Also Susan Ericksen provides the voice for the audiobook and putting as much depth in the character's voices as J.D. Robb puts into the book.

"Salvation in Death" by J.D. Robb

Salvation in Death
by J.D. Robb
Read by Susan Ericksen
Produced by Brilliance Audio
13 hours 23 minutes

Once again I get to visit the kick-butt New York cop of the Future, Lt. Eve Dallas. This time around it was less sci-fi and more simple detective work...there was of course a bit with recreating a portion of New York city in a hologram, that was cool, but not enough to grab the sci-fi part of my brain.

However the main thing that keeps the whole "...in Death" series by J.D. Robb interesting is the characters. Robb (aka Nora Roberts), has created a cast of some wonderful characters, and no matter what the crime these characters are fun, interesting and even seem like old friends, especially after reading a couple of the books. So I stayed interested regardless of the lack of cool gadgets.

You've got Eve Dallas a tough cop with great detective smarts who is haunted by a terrifying past. Her husband Roarke, the Irish street thug turned entrepeneur who now owns most everything on or off Planet. Some great side characters are also thrown into the mix with Eve's assistant Detective Peabody and her love interest, the colorful electronics division Detective McNabb, and a score of others that have a past, a present and you become interested in their future.

I go back and forth in this series between the audiobooks and the physical books. The one thing that keeps me coming back is the reader, Susan Ericksen. Ms. Ericksen's vocal abilities run the gamut in every book in this series. She captures with ease the Irish lilt in Roarke's voice, the entire character of Detective Peabody is encapsulated in the voice used. Not a single character is missed each with his/her own voice summing up their character. In this novel she even captures the accent of residents of Spanish Harlem with ease and as always is very convincing.

In "Salvation in Death," poisoned wine kills a priest at the Catholic funeral mass, Eve Dallas is called in as primary investigator. She pieces together disturbing clues that suggest identity theft, gang connections, and a deeply personal act of revenge. Then a second murder knocks the whole investigation sideways. With another poisoning of a religious figure, this time a televangelist with a world following. Something about the second killing doesn't seem to jibe with Eve. And soon she's investigating 2 separate but similar murders.

The murders of the two religious figures sends Eve on a crime-solving adventure that creates a bit of a morality tale that seems to say not all in the world is black and white, the gray areas are what are becoming more and more clear to Lt. Eve Dallas, NYPSD.

"Judgment in Death" by J.D. Robb (2000)

"Judgment in Death"
by J.D. Robb
published byBerkley (2000)


It's been a while since I read one of the "...in Death" series of books by J.D. Robb (a.k.a. Nora Roberts) so I picked up this book from earlier in the series. It was like visiting an old friend. NYPSD Lt. Eve Dallas and her rich and powerful husband Roarke make a great crime solving team. Lt. Dallas works homicide and has a reputation for kicking butt and always solving the case. Roark owns pretty much everything on and off-planet. I say off planet because these books throw in the sci-fi twist to what are great detective novels. This book takes place in the Spring of 2059, which being that close in the future you still get real cop work being done, yet being far enough in the future that there are some real cool gadgets (automated cars, lasers, super cool computer systems and 'droid maid service).

Now, on with the story. Lt. Dallas is called to a murder scene in a strip club called "Purgatory" to find the place trashed and a dead body lying in a pool of blood. The victim was bludgeoned to death and the scene was made to look like a robbery gone bad. But Eve doesn't buy that. Roarke doesn't either looking around he notices that the expensive liquors were smashed rather than stolen and fenced, and surrounding the body are several credits, 30 to be exact. Roarke is on scene to Eve's dismay because, as usual, this is a property he owns. Eve turns the body over to discover that the victim was lying on his badge. The badge is intentionally covered in blood. With these symbols; blood on the badge, and 30 "pieces of silver", Eve realizes this was no robbery but that a statement is being made.

On her way home from the scene she is confronted by former lover now Internal Affairs officer Webster. Webster drops hints for Eve to follow the money. Looking in to the victim's financials, it appears as though he was receiving large somes of money. The money seems to be coming from Ricker, a crime boss in New York that once had a shady relationship with Roarke.

After another cop's body is found Eve now has two crimes to close, finding the cop-killer and bringing down the crime boss that is funding these bad cops. The problem is that the first victim was a plant by Internal Affairs to find all the cops on the take and that the IAB was trying to make him look bad to cover themselves. Eve discovers that another precinct seems to be the breeding ground for corrupt cops and one of their own is killing off the bad cops. So before anymore bodies show up Eve and Roarke (who also becomes a target of Ricker) use pure instinct, cop know how, and great gadgets to catch a cop-killer and bring down Ricker.

Once again this book is full of the great characters that are prominent in these novels. You've got the trusty, although sometimes sarcastic aide to Lt. Dallas, Officer Peabody, Electronics Division Captain Feeney, and NYPSD psychologist/profiler Dr. Meara. A great team of great personalities are what make these books worth the read.

"Reunion in Death" by J. D. Robb Published by Berkley, 2002

"Reunion in Death"
by J. D. Robb
Published by Berkley, 2002 

Once again Nora Roberts, er...ummm...I mean J.D. Robb has created a exciting futuristic detective novel in the "...in Death" series.  This book, like most of the other books in this series, starts out running and never lets up until the villain is caught.  (Not much of a spoilere there, really, because Lt. Eve Dallas, NYPSD always gets her man, or in this case woman.)
 
Before I get to the meat of the story of this book I would like to point out a few things.  The characters in this series of books are awesome!  They are so realistic and their relationships are very human and work well to show the human side to drama.  The action in these books usually is up and down but with this one it never lets up. 

I really only have one complaint with these books but really it's not much of one.  It has to do with the graphic sex scenes throughout all the books in this series.  I understand Eve and Roarke really love each other and are a very physical married couple and I understand that Nora Roberts is a romance writer, but jeez, enough already.  These books are perfect science-fiction detective novels with great character development but I feel the books are cheapened by the bodice-ripping sex scenes.  I keep looking for Fabio on the cover.  I have a hard time convincing people to keep reading these books when they get to the sex scenes.  Some of the scenes described could make a Licensed Companion (LC) blush.  In the future prostitution is legal as long as they are licensed.  It really is for me an abrupt stop in the story when Eve and Roarke start having sex and the details of such scene is drawn out in explicit detail.  Okay yeah I know now after reading most of the series to skip ahead about 10 pages, but .....c'mon!
 
One other thing but this is on the cool side of stuff.  For anyone who has read any of the novels or my reviews, you know that Lt. Eve Dallas' husband Roarke owns nearly everything on and off planet.  But in this novel we learn he has  a holodeck.   How cool is that?  A holodeck!  I love this guy.

Okay, here's the story. In this book Lt. Eve Dallas and her husband Roarke return to New York rested from a vacation. Eve is eager to get back to work in the madness and mayhem that is homicide in NYPSD. When she returns to her desk she finds her office has been cleaned and painted and all her paperwork filed. Is it pixies? Nope, Officer Peabody took initiative and finished all pending paperwork and cleaned Eve's office while she was away, but only after Peabody and EDD Detective McNabb came back from a vacation funded by Roarke.

Since there are no pending cases or paperwork, Eve opens up the cold case file and finds one that seems solvable, and proceeds to give Peabody her first case to fly solo on. But just as they return from interview a dead woman's husband there's a ruckus in the bull pen in homicide division and a faint smell of baked goods....hey, cops and doughnuts, even in the future they go hand in hand. Anyway, the baked good culprits are Officer Peabody's parents dropping in for a surprise visit. The visiting Peabodys wrangle their way in to staying in Eve's & Roarke's mansion. Now Eve has to do the one thing she detests most, entertain guests.

Luckily she becomes busy when a man is murdered and Eve is called on the case. The man was poisoned at his birthday party in plain sight of all the guests. Eve soon learns that one of the catering staff left the scene. The staff member is identified as Julianne Dunn, a woman who Eve had put in prison for murdering her three husbands, a black widow who likes to poison her husbands and take off with their riches.

This time Julianne Dunn is seeking revenge on Eve, the only woman that ever bested her. To do so she targets Roarke but before she takes away Eve's man she sends the Eve and her staff chasing red herrings, other murdered men that fit no pattern.

What turns out to be a global romp with great action and great detective work "Reunion in Death" is another superb sci-fi cop thriller that can get you hooked on this series. So if you like/don't mind the sex scenes go ahead and read them but if you think they are just fluff and serve little purpose (like i do) skip over them and enjoy an action packed thriller.


 
 

Betrayal in Death by J. D. Robb (pub. 2001)

Betrayal in Death
by J. D. Robb
Published by Berkley Publishing Group 2001


Once again we head into the future for another Nora Roberts...er...umm, I mean JD Robb, action packed, futuristic, crime thriller featuring the super-bad, super-tough NYPSD homicide detective, Lt. Eve Dallas. This time Eve is on the trail of an elite killer for hire, who after brutally assaulting his victims he strangles them with sterling silver wire. To top that off he makes it a point to be seen and almost dares the cops to catch him.

It all starts at luxurious Roarke Palace Hotel, a maid walks into a suite for the nightly turndown - and steps into her worst nightmare. A killer leaves her dead, strangled by a thin silver wire. The second victim is an editor for one of Roarke's publishing companies and a personal friend of Roarke. Each victim getting closer to Roarke.

The killer is wanted by the FBI and Interpol and has not been hunted by them for a couple of decades. He's Sly Yost, a virtuoso of music and murder. A hit man for the elite. Lieutenant Eve Dallas gets to know him well. But in this twisted case, knowing the killer doesn't help solve the crime. Because there's someone else involved. Someone with a more personal motive. Eve must face a terrifying possibility, that the real target may, in fact, be her husband Roarke.

The FBI agents on the case catch wind of Dallas tracking down Yost and interfere when Eve has him cornered, thus allowing Yost to escape.

While all this is happening Roarke is in the middle of handling a multi-billion dollar auction to raise money for an actress from his past. Then another of Roarke's past shows up in the form of one of his best pals from Dublin, Mick Connelly. Mick is amazed that Roarke has gone on the straight and narrow, but once meeting Eve, he understands why.

Since the crimes hit so close to Roarke, Eve brings him on as a civilian consultant and the team of Eve and Roarke are ready to take on thieves and murderers. Also along for the ride are the great characters created by Robb; Electronics division Detectives Feeney and McNabb, Dallas's aid Officer Peabody...Peabody & McNabb are getting closer in their relationship...Commander Whitney even kicks some booty in this excellent installment of the "...in Death" series.

Everytime I read one of these books I get anxious and just want to let the Sci-Fi television network to get on the ball and start producing this series of science fiction cop shows. But after reading this one, I think there's another step we could take...COMIC BOOKS. Eve and Roarke fighting crime together are better than Batman & Robin, Captain America & Bucky, and even Scooby & Shaggy. These guys make a great team and with all the cool gadgets and the eccentricities of all the surrounding cast this would also be one heck of a comic book series. Yes these books are just that good.

Witness in Death written by J.D. Robb

Witness in Death
written by J.D. Robb
read by Susan Ericksen
audiobookPublisher: Brilliance Audio 2007
Original novel published by Berkeley 2000

We return once again to the world of Lt. Eve Dallas the best homicide detective in New York in the year 2059. This time the book starts out as Eve and Roarke are enjoying a play at Roarke's newly built "New Globe Theatre." The play is a stage version of the classic movie "Witness for the Prosecution." Dallas is enjoying the play because she is solving the crime while watching the play. The climactic scene in the play is at the end when the lead actor is stabbed by his wife onstage. The problem is that someone has switched the prop knife for a real one and the actor, Richard Draco, is murdered onstage in front of a couple thousand witnesses including Lt. Eve Dallas. Now Dallas has a homicide to solve.

"Witness in Death" is Book 10 in the "...in Death" series written by Nora Roberts' pseudonym J.D. Robb. It is the 10th book but the 11th story (one story appeared in an anthology) in the series that to date has 27 books (32 stories) in total. The books in this series are some really fun to read sci-fi crime thrillers, and this book is no exception.

While the crime itself took place right in front of Dallas, that doesn't make it cut and dry. After all who switched the prop knife for the real one, when did they do it and why? These are the questions that Eve and her crack team of NYPSD's finest have to solve. This time her team consists of electronics division detectives Feeney and McNabb, her aide, Officer Peabody (who has recently been exploring a love interest with McNabb), Officer Truehart, Dr. Mira - police psychologist, and Roarke (only because Roarke owns pretty much everything on and off planet and loves to dabble in his wife's work).

When it comes to who did it and why, that leads on a confusing trail, because everyone that knew the arrogant Richard Draco hated him and wanted him dead. All of them have a different reason for wanting him dead but it pretty much comes down to Draco being an arrogant jerk. (that's putting it pretty mildly).

When a stage hand is later found dead by hanging, the team rolls into overtime, because the stage hand had just booked a trip to Tahiti so probably didn't kill himself.

If you're wishing to check this book out in audio form, be prepared for a real treat. Susan Ericksen is the reader for all the "...in Death" books and has the vocal characterizations down perfect. My favorite is how she captures the entire character of Peabody in her voice. I'm afraid that if this is ever made into a movie, if they don't cast Holly Hunter as Peabody, I may have a hard time believing the actress. Listen to the audiobook and you'll see what I mean. Each of the character's voices created by Ms. Erickson are unique and you may feel you are hearing a multi-cast performance.

Conspiracy in Death by J. D. Robb (The Penguin Group 1999)

I'm continuing in my quest to read all the novels in this great series by J.D. Robb aka Nora Roberts. I've read several and jumped back and forth from the first few to the last few. This is number 9 in the series (if I have my books correct) and it delivers the same punch all the others in the series do. I can say this about the series; There is not a single bad book in it. Each book can be read independent of the series, but if I had it to do over again I think I would like to read them in order. At times it's fun to see what happens to the characters and then go back and revisit where they were introduced in the series, but J.D. Robb not only creates great characters from the start but knows how to develop them through the series and make them seem more than real.

In this book for instance we are introduced to the NYPSD Officer Troy Trueheart, in my interpretation he's a bit of a Jimmy Olsen type character, young, eager and good at his job. Later in the series he comes to the detective division and works under Detective Baxter and with this intro we get more of an understanding in his character. Basically any character in the series will come back as long as they are not killed. We are also introduced to Dr. Louise Dimatto who will later run a clinic/home for women that is funded by Roarke.

In this book Lt. Eve Dallas and her assistant Delia Peabody, are called to a crime scene by Officer Ellen Bowers, and Officer Troy Trueheart. A homeless man, that goes by the name "Snooks" is killed, his heart removed. The heart is removed with the skill of an extremely talented surgeon. Dallas and Peabody both know a serial killer is preying on the city sidewalk sleepers. With all of the cities resources, and Eve's billionaire husband Roarke, Eve develops solid leads, but the puzzle is a free clinic run by a saintly doctor, Dr. Louise Dimatto. Soon though, three are dead, and Eve is running out of time.

Unfortunately for Eve, trouble is also coming from within the police force. Officer Ellen Bowers is deranged, and obsessed with Eve. She obsessively writes a journal about all the terrible things that, she believes, Eve has done. One night, going home to her apartment, still obsessing, Bowers is attacked, and killed. The blame is quickly placed on Eve, who is stripped of her badge, and goes into a deep depression because her badge and her job define who she is. Only her husband Roarke can bring her back, and help her figure out why four people are dead, why someone wanted her off the force, and why this is all being done.

"Born In Death" by JD Robb (pub 2006)

If you have read any of the books in the "...in Death" series, you pretty well know how busy Lt. Eve Dallas, homice, NYPSD, can be. In this book the author decides that's not enough and really lays it on Eve Dallas, but on top of being busy this book is fun, especially at the end. I will warn you there is a bit of a spoiler in this review so you may not want to read the end. The spoiler will not be about the case(s) Dallas is working on but about her friend Mavis Freestone, the rockstar.

In the sci-fi world of Lt. Eve Dallas, cop work still comes down to talking to folks and in this case tracing the money. However, being the future and being married to Roarke (the wealthiest man on or off planet) there are some neat tools to help with the money trail. That is just what is needed here. Two accountants are found murdered and Dallas is primary detective on the cases. It seems as though the accountants found something big that could get someone in serious trouble, they were going to try to expose the criminals before going to the police. But that's what got them killed. Now Lt. Dallas has to find what they found.

On top of this Eve and Roarke are attending birthing coach classes, not because Eve is pregnant, but because her best friend Mavis Freestone, rockstar, vidstar and party animal is about to pop and wants Eve and Roarke to be there at the birthing, along with Mavis' cohab partner , fashion designer Leonardo. Eve and Roarke are horrified by the idea of being present at the birth, but will do this favor for their friend.

One of the women Mavis met at the coaching classes is a single woman who is also about to pop. Tandy has just moved to New York from London and is Mavis' pregnant pal. When Tandy doesn't show up to Mavis' baby shower, Mavis gets worried and as victim of hormones falls apart worrying about Tandy. She makes Dallas promise to find her. So now Dallas has 2 cases to work a double homicide case which turns up a third homicide, to find a missing person, and to be prepared to be Mavis' coach for the birth.

As it turns out the missing persons and the homicides seem to tie together. So strap yourself in for this thrill-a-second sci-fi detective novel by JD Robb.

Now for the somewhat of a spoiler portion of the review. One of the many things I've come to appreciate about this series of books is that they are well rounded in action, suspense, thrills, mystery and even some comedy. The comedy aspect really comes in to play at the end of this book when Mavis gives birth. The scene described with Dallas, Roarke, Somerset, Mavis, Leonard, et. al. is just some really good comedy that almost falls in the slapstick category. This scene alone made the entire book worth the read. There are some serious emotional highs in the finale of this book.

"Divided in Death" by JD Robb (aka Nora Roberts) (pub. 2004)

Once again JD Robb brings us to the "near" future to investigate a crime with NYPSD's toughest cop, Lt. Eve Dallas. This time, as has happened to Eve before this homicide investigation leads to Roarke, Eve's extremely wealthy husband. This time however the victim is the husband of one of Roarke's Security geek employees, Reva Ewing, and the scene is set up to look like Reva killed her husband and best friend after finding they were sleeping with each other.

Before I get to the crime of passion that is a poorly set up frame job, let me tell you about these books. The "...In Death" series of book all revolve around Lt. Eve Dallas and are set about 50+ years from now. Just far enough into the future for some really cool gadgets that I as a sci-fi geek love. This book especially brings out the geek in me because the crime turns out to involve a government agency that evolved out of Homeland Security, and the operatives are now referred to as spies or spooks. One of the reasons Reva Ewing is targeted for the fram is that she is working for Roarke on a "Code Red" Project. This project is to create a shield for a computer worm that would possibly bring down every network in the world. Roarke's company along with many others are contracted through several world governments to create the shield. Roarke's is the one that seems close to cracking the code and blocking the worm.

Through some serious technology and some good old fashioned cop-work Lt. Eve Dallas and her team of Electronics Division Detectives Feeney & McNabb and her assistant the new Detective Peabody and Civilians from Roarke's company the true killer is brought down. But the fun doesn't end there.

Another aspect of these books I've found interesting is that the title of the book is usually a great clue as to how the crime started or will be solved. In this one, however, that is not the case. In this book, the title refers to a subplot created that puts a wedge between Eve and Roarke and has the potential to destroy their marriage. Keep in mind that JD Robb is actually Nora Roberts and Nora Roberts is a romance/thriller writer. Well the romance comes out in this one in the form of Roarke and Eve working out their problems.

From reading previous "...In Death" books it is learned that Eve Dallas, as a child, was a victim of beatings and rapes by her father before she stabbed him to death and became a ward of the state. In this book it is found out that Homeland Security had her father under surveillance and knew what was going on in the home and to the child now known as Eve Dallas. But the kicker is that Homeland Security allowed it to continue, and even cleaned up after Eve killed her father. Here is where the wedge comes in. Roarke, wants revenge and finds the names of the folks that allowed this to happen and threatens to "make them pay." Eve cannot allow this to happen and the two start avoiding each other. Very interesting subplot here.

As I've always said these books are great sci-fi cop thrillers with some romance thrown in...so a little something for everyone. Do yourself a favor and pick up one in the series...if not this one...and get hooked.

"Vengeance in Death" by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts)(pub. 1997)

Just when Lt. Eve Dallas is done for the day, she and her aide, Officer Peabody, are preparing to go home to spend some well deserved down time. But crime doesn't rest and when Lt. Dallas gets a personal call on her comm-link a murderer has tagged her to be the primary on the murders he's about to perform. The murderer gives Eve a puzzle to solve but, by the time she solves it and arrives on the scene the victim is already dead.

Soon Eve gets another communication, another puzzle and another victim. In a series of murders that has Lt. Eve Dallas chasing after her number one suspect, Summerset, her husband Roarke's major domo and best friend. Also it would probably make Eve so very happy to arrest Summerset, after all they hate each other, but she knows he didn't do the crime and is being set up.

The crimes seem to start to dig in Roarke's dark criminal past. All are people Roarke once used or friends that helped him to find the murderer's of Summerset's daughter over a dozen years in the past in the year 2043. The chase is on and the clock is ticking. Not only does Eve have to catch the murderer before any more murders occur, she also needs to catch him before Roarke does, knowing what he is capable of when his friends or family are threatened.

This book takes us a bit deeper into the dark history and mystery that is Roarke. The reader of this series of books by J.D. Robb is rewarded in this installment by finding more about the relationship between Roarke and Summerset and their dark pasts. A fun aspect of the book is that in learning of Roarke's past, Roarke and Eve go to Ireland. On the Emerald Isle Eve finds the beauty in the land but also finds why a dark past is possible. Roarke visits the site where his father was killed and seems to get a little more closure.

Once again J.D. Robba (Nora Roberts) has created another fun sci-fi murder thriller. If you haven't read any of the books in this series give them a try, it really doesn't matter which book you start with, the great writing, characterization and great dialogue makes these books fun to read and easy to get lost in.