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Short reviews of five JD Robb books.
JD Robb is the name that romance author Nora Roberts uses for her In Death books, which are a mystery/romance/sci-fi series, in roughly that order of precedence. A summary of the series as a whole:
Eve Dallas is a police detective in a Poorly-Conceived-Future where there is intergalactic space travel, everyone has flying cars, people routinely live to 150, and widespread environmental devastation does not seem to have had much effect on New York City. Forensic technology appears to be stuck in the mid-90s, and the war on drugs continues, unexamined, to take up most of the justice system's time and money. Also, every two months on the dot there's a new serial killer who targets mainly attractive women, which suggests some possible slippage backwards.
Eve is ruthless, brilliant, and has an strong code of personal honor. She was also sexually abused as a child, and is suffering from PTSD, for which she refuses to go into treatment. She is always the one to investigate these serial killer cases, which I think demonstrates a certain lack of forethought on her superiors' parts. Fortunately, her relationship with Roarke (no last name), the handsomest ethically-challenged billionaire industrialist in the whole world, is helping her heal.
Eve and Roarke are an extremely cute couple, which is good, because there are a lot of scenes of the two of them bouncing off each other. These books are very enjoyable to read, frequently funny, and unbelievably predictable. You can usually identify the murderer from his or her first or second appearance, occasionally just his or her first vague mention. Half the time Eve does so, but she always ends up getting cornered and monologued at anyway.
Every investigation goes pretty much the same way - Eve reluctantly uses Roarke's unsavory technology or connections to solve the case; people sexually harass her and she mocks them in a hard-assed manner; Roarke and Eve render themselves vulnerable talking about their tragic pasts, and then have explicit sex; Roarke's butler shows up to act snobby, and Eve's reformed pickpocket friend shows up to act eccentric and lovable. Etc. So far this is still all pretty entertaining.
Book 1 - Naked in Death
Detective Eve Dallas's ruthlessness, brilliance, and strong code of personal honor have gained her a reputation for being the best detective in Poorly-Conceived-Future-New York. And that is why she is sleeping with Roarke, the primary suspect in the serial killer case. Robb makes this work on an emotional level, but it's not plausible on a plot level.
How Quickly Is The Murderer Identifiable?: (I'm not going to put names or anything in the "How Quickly?" part of these reviews, but I'm spoiler-cutting just in case.) The first time he/she is briefly mentioned in conversation by another character, which happens within the first ten or twenty pages.
Does The Murderer Corner Eve And Monologue At Her?: (This part actually will contain spoilers.) Yup. He's waiting for her in her apartment.
Book 2 - Glory in Death
Yet another serial killer is preying on attractive women. This time it's powerful women rather than prostitutes, like last time. Eve tries to use herself as bait. Roarke proposes.
This book has some of the most ham-handed feminism the world has ever seen. It also introduces Crack, a black pimp/club promoter/drug dealer whose dialog should not be read by pregnant women or nursing mothers, due to the risk of making the baby stupid. I have no idea why Robb thought this character was acceptable even as a one-off.
How Quickly Is The Murderer Identifiable?: The third time he/she appears, about a quarter of the way through. If you were reading the books out of order and this was your third, not your second, you'd probably catch it by the first or second appearance.
Does The Murderer Corner Eve And Monologue At Her?: Yes. He kidnaps her friend and holds her for ransom in Central Park. Because that's a great place to commit crimes in a private manner.
Book 3 - Immortal in Death
An (evil) attractive woman is murdered, and Eve's eccentric friend the reformed pickpocket/up-and-coming singer Mavis has been framed for it.
This books is basically about how it's pretty easy to frame artists for crimes, because they never have a good alibi. Next time I need to commit a crime, I'm definitely going to find a mediocre punk band to frame.
How Quickly Is The Murderer Identifiable?: I actually didn't catch on until the reveal this time.
Does The Murderer Corner Eve And Monologue At Her?: Yes. He drugs her and kidnaps her at her bachelorette party. He decides to leave her conscious so he can monologue at her.
Book 4 - Rapture in Death
Several people, seemingly with no connection to one another, have committed suicide without warning - and all are found smiling. The first couple are actually guys, but don't worry, soon a hot naked lady will jump off the roof. Eve suspects that some sort of mind control may be involved. The science is, as you might guess, even goofier than usual this time.
This book has strong opinions about consent, and unusually for a romance author, these opinions boil down to "consent is necessary."
How Quickly Is The Murderer Identifiable?: Second appearance, maybe a third of the way in.
Does The Murderer Corner Eve And Monologue At Her?: Yes. Eve is talking to her and accidentally reads over her shoulder, where she is cleverly reading something that ties her to the murders. Fortunately, she's good at improv - she gives a fairly high-quality mad scientist monologue, with two separate brainwashing devices armed and ready for added tension. I give her an A.
Book 5 - Ceremony in Death
Satanist witches are killing people with Satanic witchcraft! Oh noes!
I don't know what was going on with this book. Maybe Robb had recently had invasive surgery and was still on some stuff.
Psychic powers have been scientifically proven to exist in the Poorly-Conceived-Future, which is something you'd think might have gotten a brief mention in the first four books. Or at least a little earlier in this one, given that Eve spends a lot of the first bit insisting that magic doesn't exist while some people are demonstrably doing what appears to be magic at her. Despite psychics' new legitimacy, they still work mainly in the lucrative field of knick-knack retail, with some fortune-telling on the side. You'd think they'd have gotten into other industries by now.
This is a very good book to use as an example when explaining why you really shouldn't write about other people's religions without doing some research. At one point there's a Satanist who says, "There, there, my love. You mustn't unbalance your chakras." This was not intended as a joke - Robb apparently actually thought that chakras were something to do with Satan. I assume that the scene where the Satanists all put on yarmulkes and Hail Amida Buddha had to be cut due to space constraints.
Also, Roarke believes in giants, because he is Irish. Like I said, no idea.
How Quickly Is The Murderer Identifiable?: First appearance, a little under a quarter of the way in.
Does The Murderer Corner Eve And Monologue At Her?: Yes. He kidnaps her and is going to sacrifice her in a Satanic ritual.
(I really don't know why so many writers think it's a good idea to base books directly on SRA urban legends. I mean, either,
1) You believe that there are actually a significant number of Satanic cultists out there abusing children, in which case it's messed-up to be using real-life child-abusers as your froofy fictional bogeymen,
or
2) You're aware that these stories are harmful fictions used mainly by bigots and con artists, in which case you shouldn't really be retelling them uncritically.)
Eve Dallas is a police detective in a Poorly-Conceived-Future where there is intergalactic space travel, everyone has flying cars, people routinely live to 150, and widespread environmental devastation does not seem to have had much effect on New York City. Forensic technology appears to be stuck in the mid-90s, and the war on drugs continues, unexamined, to take up most of the justice system's time and money. Also, every two months on the dot there's a new serial killer who targets mainly attractive women, which suggests some possible slippage backwards.
Eve is ruthless, brilliant, and has an strong code of personal honor. She was also sexually abused as a child, and is suffering from PTSD, for which she refuses to go into treatment. She is always the one to investigate these serial killer cases, which I think demonstrates a certain lack of forethought on her superiors' parts. Fortunately, her relationship with Roarke (no last name), the handsomest ethically-challenged billionaire industrialist in the whole world, is helping her heal.
Eve and Roarke are an extremely cute couple, which is good, because there are a lot of scenes of the two of them bouncing off each other. These books are very enjoyable to read, frequently funny, and unbelievably predictable. You can usually identify the murderer from his or her first or second appearance, occasionally just his or her first vague mention. Half the time Eve does so, but she always ends up getting cornered and monologued at anyway.
Every investigation goes pretty much the same way - Eve reluctantly uses Roarke's unsavory technology or connections to solve the case; people sexually harass her and she mocks them in a hard-assed manner; Roarke and Eve render themselves vulnerable talking about their tragic pasts, and then have explicit sex; Roarke's butler shows up to act snobby, and Eve's reformed pickpocket friend shows up to act eccentric and lovable. Etc. So far this is still all pretty entertaining.
Book 1 - Naked in Death
Detective Eve Dallas's ruthlessness, brilliance, and strong code of personal honor have gained her a reputation for being the best detective in Poorly-Conceived-Future-New York. And that is why she is sleeping with Roarke, the primary suspect in the serial killer case. Robb makes this work on an emotional level, but it's not plausible on a plot level.
How Quickly Is The Murderer Identifiable?: (I'm not going to put names or anything in the "How Quickly?" part of these reviews, but I'm spoiler-cutting just in case.) The first time he/she is briefly mentioned in conversation by another character, which happens within the first ten or twenty pages.
Does The Murderer Corner Eve And Monologue At Her?: (This part actually will contain spoilers.) Yup. He's waiting for her in her apartment.
Book 2 - Glory in Death
Yet another serial killer is preying on attractive women. This time it's powerful women rather than prostitutes, like last time. Eve tries to use herself as bait. Roarke proposes.
This book has some of the most ham-handed feminism the world has ever seen. It also introduces Crack, a black pimp/club promoter/drug dealer whose dialog should not be read by pregnant women or nursing mothers, due to the risk of making the baby stupid. I have no idea why Robb thought this character was acceptable even as a one-off.
How Quickly Is The Murderer Identifiable?: The third time he/she appears, about a quarter of the way through. If you were reading the books out of order and this was your third, not your second, you'd probably catch it by the first or second appearance.
Does The Murderer Corner Eve And Monologue At Her?: Yes. He kidnaps her friend and holds her for ransom in Central Park. Because that's a great place to commit crimes in a private manner.
Book 3 - Immortal in Death
An (evil) attractive woman is murdered, and Eve's eccentric friend the reformed pickpocket/up-and-coming singer Mavis has been framed for it.
This books is basically about how it's pretty easy to frame artists for crimes, because they never have a good alibi. Next time I need to commit a crime, I'm definitely going to find a mediocre punk band to frame.
How Quickly Is The Murderer Identifiable?: I actually didn't catch on until the reveal this time.
Does The Murderer Corner Eve And Monologue At Her?: Yes. He drugs her and kidnaps her at her bachelorette party. He decides to leave her conscious so he can monologue at her.
Book 4 - Rapture in Death
Several people, seemingly with no connection to one another, have committed suicide without warning - and all are found smiling. The first couple are actually guys, but don't worry, soon a hot naked lady will jump off the roof. Eve suspects that some sort of mind control may be involved. The science is, as you might guess, even goofier than usual this time.
This book has strong opinions about consent, and unusually for a romance author, these opinions boil down to "consent is necessary."
How Quickly Is The Murderer Identifiable?: Second appearance, maybe a third of the way in.
Does The Murderer Corner Eve And Monologue At Her?: Yes. Eve is talking to her and accidentally reads over her shoulder, where she is cleverly reading something that ties her to the murders. Fortunately, she's good at improv - she gives a fairly high-quality mad scientist monologue, with two separate brainwashing devices armed and ready for added tension. I give her an A.
Book 5 - Ceremony in Death
Satanist witches are killing people with Satanic witchcraft! Oh noes!
I don't know what was going on with this book. Maybe Robb had recently had invasive surgery and was still on some stuff.
Psychic powers have been scientifically proven to exist in the Poorly-Conceived-Future, which is something you'd think might have gotten a brief mention in the first four books. Or at least a little earlier in this one, given that Eve spends a lot of the first bit insisting that magic doesn't exist while some people are demonstrably doing what appears to be magic at her. Despite psychics' new legitimacy, they still work mainly in the lucrative field of knick-knack retail, with some fortune-telling on the side. You'd think they'd have gotten into other industries by now.
This is a very good book to use as an example when explaining why you really shouldn't write about other people's religions without doing some research. At one point there's a Satanist who says, "There, there, my love. You mustn't unbalance your chakras." This was not intended as a joke - Robb apparently actually thought that chakras were something to do with Satan. I assume that the scene where the Satanists all put on yarmulkes and Hail Amida Buddha had to be cut due to space constraints.
Also, Roarke believes in giants, because he is Irish. Like I said, no idea.
How Quickly Is The Murderer Identifiable?: First appearance, a little under a quarter of the way in.
Does The Murderer Corner Eve And Monologue At Her?: Yes. He kidnaps her and is going to sacrifice her in a Satanic ritual.
(I really don't know why so many writers think it's a good idea to base books directly on SRA urban legends. I mean, either,
1) You believe that there are actually a significant number of Satanic cultists out there abusing children, in which case it's messed-up to be using real-life child-abusers as your froofy fictional bogeymen,
or
2) You're aware that these stories are harmful fictions used mainly by bigots and con artists, in which case you shouldn't really be retelling them uncritically.)