Review - Naked in Death

 J. D. Robb is the pseudonym for a #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including the bestselling In Death series. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.  

     

When other bestselling authors praise this series like this: "“Anchored by terrific characters, sudden twists that spin the whole narrative on a dime, and a thrills-to-chills ration that will raise the neck hairs of even the most jaded reader, the J. D. Robb books are the epitome of great popular fiction.”—New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane" I finally caved and dove into this world.

     

There are 63 titles at this point in the series and I chose to start at book one.  I wanted to know about this Science Fiction Detective series and see if it was my cup of tea.  Read on to find out more.

     

Author: J.D. Robb

Copyright: July 1995 (Berkley) 381 pgs

Series: 1st of In Death (Eve Dallas) series

Sensuality: Some sex scenes, some violence, some cursing. Gritty.

Mystery Sub-genre: SciFi Police Procedural, SciFi Police Thriller

Main Character: Detective Eve Dallas of the NYPD

Setting: Year 2058, New York City

Obtained Through: Library

     

Book Blurb: "In the year 2058, technology completely rules the world. But for New York City Detective Eve Dallas, one irresistible impulse still rules the heart: passion…

     

Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In over ten years on the force, she's seen it all—and knows her survival depends on her instincts. And she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire—and a suspect in Eve's murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it's up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about—except the addictive hunger of needing his touch."

     

My Thoughts:

I find it interesting that when this was written the book was only 63 years in the future and the level of technological advances seemed possible at that point.  It could still happen, but the social advances in the book seem further away than ever.  Thus, the technology aspects are advanced and other than interplanetary business don't seem too far out-of-reach. 

     

Eve Dallas is a hard-core bad-ass thirty year-old police lieutenant who keeps her emotions locked up tight, especially trust. She had a bad childhood.  Mavis is Eve's best friend and couldn't be more opposite to Eve, but somehow their friendship works.  Captain Ryan Feeney of the NYPDs Electronics Division is her former police partner, trainer, and her first adult male friend who cares about her almost like a father figure.  Roarke (just Roarke) is a suspect and ticks all the boxes. He is handsome, rich, powerful, and on the surface seems nothing like a killer. Unfortunately, Eve feels intensely attracted to him.

     

I appreciated that Eve is shown with the emotional baggage from her last case where she had to shoot a killer but kicks herself for not being in time to save a young girl. The reader gets the vulnerable Eve, the Eve nobody else gets to see. We also get to see just how good she is and how she reasons through the evidence and does get emotionally involved as she bulldozes through lies and deceptions.

     

Surprisingly, the futuristic elements aren't what I remember because it is window dressing in most cases thus far. The setting of New York is a big city where wealthy and powerful think they don't have to live by the same rules, where people are to be used and how you let all that define you is the story. Not much different from our era now. Nora Roberts (aka, J.D. Robb) is masterful at bringing a setting alive whether it's a grimy back alley or a penthouse, her subtle use of details makes it feel real.

     

The Sci-Fi elements take a back seat to a solid police procedural. There are suspects, clues and red herrings, danger, subplots, fleshed out characters, deep sense of place and a tense killer confrontation. The pacing kept me turning the pages and the magic of loosing track of time took over.  It is immersive.  The writing is like a Hitchcock film, building layers of tension until the killer confrontation.

     

Such a gritty homicide detective story usually falls into the common trap of a dismal and hopeless feel of crime and violence galore. But not in this book, and I daresay the same for the entire series. Rather it has hope and a sense of shared humanity, even romance and connection. Don't get me wrong, this is not a romance novel, but it certainly has a romantic element in it which I think is crucial since Eve is rather shut off towards men.

     

I was completely surprised by how much I came away loving this world and characters. I don't often rave about a book, but I'm already reading the second and can see myself making my way through all of the series. I love this gift of great genre writing. Thank you Nora Roberts!

Here is Nora Roberts discussing the series:

     

Rating: Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend. 

     

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