"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.