Saturday, November 18, 2006

Haunted in Death by J. D. Robb

I'm a huge fan of this series and have read every one in a row. I listened to this book from the CD which was read by Susan Ericksen and was only 3 CD's long so it was basically a short story or a novella. I have asked myself why I keep sticking with this series through all 22 full length books, 2 novellas, and Remember When (I don't know what you'd classify that one).

In case you are one of the few people left who have never read this series before, let me give you an overview. The books are set in futuristic New York City beginning in the year 2058. Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas is one tough cookie with a lot of baggage left over from her sexual and physical abuse by her father when she was just a small child. In the first book, Naked in Death, she meets gazillionaire Roarke (a suspect in a murder case she is investigating) and they fall in love and they have lots of hot vigorous sex. Roarke also has his own baggage and throughout all these books I have enjoyed how their relationship develops and how their characters grow. Along the way we meet a bunch of other wonderful characters who appear in every book.

If you have read all of this series then be warned that HID does not add anything to Eve's character growth or her developing relationship with husband Roarke. Basically, what you have here is a murder mystery featuring a ghost but I felt a bit cheated because some of my favorite characters are missing (Summerset, Mavis, etc.)

I loved the mystery in this one but I don't read them for the mystery alone. I want Eve/Roarke relationship growth, I want the hot SEX, I want the characters. Well, there may have been one sex scene in this one but it flew by so fast it didn't leave an impression. Or maybe I was dreaming. So, sad to say, this one was a waste of time for me in some respects, but it was a good story.

My grade: C+

Upcoming books in this series:
Born in Death is just out Nov. 7th
Innocent in Death (2007)
Creation in Death (2007)

4 comments:

CindyS said...

I am one of the few who just wasn't sucked in after the first and then few chapters of the second. Too dry for me but I rarely read outside of romance and if I do, I need some funny ;)

Are you still going to read the series or is it starting to wane? I think this is the strongest series I have ever heard of!

CindyS

Kristie (J) said...

I don't know this one! How come I don't know this one! I have them all! Is it one of the books in one of her anthologies? Cause being an AVID fan of this series, I don't know how I missed one.

ReneeW said...

Cindy: I'm definitely going to keep reading the series. The next one features Eve's bestfriend Mavis (who's pregnant). I love this series, but the problem with this book was it was just too short for anything interesting to happen on the Eve/Roarke front. The mysteries are a big part of the series though so I can see why they are not your cuppa.

Kristie: I found out about this one when looking at Amazon. It's part of the anthology title Bump in the Night. But it was release as a single on CD and tape. It's really just a short story and follows Memory in Death. Next up is Born in Death and I'm really looking forward to that one.

Kristie (J) said...

Ah - mystery solved. I do have that anthology. And I'm reading Born in Death now - pretty good it is.

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