Tag Archives: J.D. Robb

Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb

Posted on February 6, 2012 by TBRG| 2 Comments

Title: Celebrity in Death

Series: In Death bk

Author: J.D. Robb

Genre: Murder Mystery

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she’s managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating The Icove Agenda, a film based on one of her famous cases. It’s a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays Peabody drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director’s luxury building. Now she’s at the center of a crime scene-and Eve is more than ready to get out of her high heels and strap on her holster and step into the role she was born to play: cop.

When it comes to Police Mysteries no one does it better than J.D. Robb. Once again she has managed to sweep me into the life of Lt. Eve Dallas and her band of merry men, and her sexy as all get out husband Roarke. I had no expectations of this book, which I think is a good thing because when you have expectations of a book you can be disappointed.

This is one book that you do need to have read a specific book before reading this one. You need to have read Origin in Death to understand some of what is happening in the beginning of the book.

The Icove Agenda (Origin in Death) the book that Nadine wrote about what happened during that case is being made into a movie. The beginning of the book had me laughing out loud. There were some conversations that I have to share..

In the beat of a horrified silence, Eve studied K.T dpwn the length of the table. “Peabody?”

“Yes, sir,” Peabody said, shoulders hunched.

“You know how I occasionally mention the possibility of kicking your ass?”

“I’d term that as regulary, but yes, sir, I do.”

“You may get the chance to watch me kick your fake ass while you sit comfortably on your own. That’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around every day.”

There is another conversation that happens between Eve and Roarke about sex tapes that made me laugh out loud and had DH looking at me rather weird. I will however let you discover that conversation on your own.

This is one of those cases where Eve isn’t sure who committed the crime and sets about figuring it out. There isn’t  a lot of action in this book, but more humor and conversation which has was a nice change.

If you’re a fan of this series then you will like this book. I know I did.

Grade B+

Posted in Contemporary, Review

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TBRG Top 5 Reads of 2011

Posted on December 30, 2011 by TBRG| 3 Comments

Today we’re sharing our overall top reads of 2011. These are the books that we are still talking about and re-reading long after the first time we read them.

Angela’s Top 5

  1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  2. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
  3. The Sailor Moon Reissues by Naoko Takeuchi
  4. Fantasy In Death by J.D. Robb

Heather’s Top 5

  1. Archangel’s Kiss by Nalini Singh
  2. Serendipity by Carly Phillips
  3. Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh
  4. Head over Heels by Jill Shalvis
  5. After Dark with a Scoundrel by Alexandra Hawkins

Melanie’s Top 5

  1. Haunting Desire by Erin Quinn
  2. Until There was You by Kristin Higgins
  3. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn
  4. Warriors Redemption by Melissa Mayhue
  5. Shadowman by Erin Kellison

Janon’s Top 5

  1. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
  2. Pale Demon by Kim Harrison
  3. Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning
  4. Until There was You by Kristin Higgins
  5. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Posted in fun

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New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb

Posted on August 26, 2011 by TBRG| 4 Comments

Title: New York to Dallas
Series: In Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Genre: Mystrey


The number-one New York Times-bestselling author J. D. Robb presents an intense and terrifying new case for New York homicide cop Eve Dallas, one that will take her all the way to the city that gave her her name-and plunge her into the nightmares of her childhood.

When a monster named Isaac McQueen-taken down by Eve back in her uniform days-escapes from Rikers, he has two things in mind. One is to pick up where he left off, abducting young victims and leaving them scarred in both mind and body. The other is to get revenge on the woman who stopped him all those years ago.

I love this series, while admittedly there have been books that I thought were good, there have been others that I thought were excellent and have re-read several times. This is one of those books.

Isaac was Eve’s very first collar. She was a beat cop when she literally stumbled on him and his atrocities. It was at this case that she comes  into Feeney’s view and he see’s something in her. Setting her on the path that she was made for.

Issac has escaped from prison and is taunting Eve. If she doesn’t follow him to Dallas well then some really bad stuff is going to happen. She has no choice so she and her expert civilian consultant head there. It is in a word a cluster F*%$ for her.

Things that she thought that she’d dealt with come racing to the surface, the cop shop looks and smells nothing like hers, oh and the feds are involved as well. There are some tense moments with Roarke, but what else is new with these two right?

There is a secondary story line that I won’t reveal anything about that I thought was written the only way it could be and make complete sense for the people that are involved in it. If it had been written any other way it would have been false to these characters.

This is one of those books where I will tell you that if you like Eve and Roarke you HAVE to read this book. In fact I have placed it in the top 5 of my favorite books in this series.

Grade B+/A-

Posted in Contemporary, Review

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Treachery in Death

Posted on February 3, 2011 by TBRG| 1 Comment

Treachery in Death

In Death Series bk

J.d. Robb

Detective Eve Dallas and her partner, Peabody, are following up on a senseless crime-an elderly grocery owner killed by three stoned punks for nothing more than kicks and snacks. This is Peabody’s first case as primary detective-good thing she learned from the master.

But Peabody soon stumbles upon a trickier situation. After a hard workout, she’s all alone in the locker room when the gym door clatters open; and-while hiding inside a shower stall trying not to make a sound-she overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. It doesn’t take long to realize they’re both crooked-guilty not just of corruption but of murder. Now Peabody, Eve, and Eve’s husband, Roarke, are trying to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down-knowing all the while that the two are willing to kill to keep their secret.

In a series that has almost forty books you are bound to have books that you absolutely love and books that you are bleh. This book falls into the absolutely loved category.

This is one of the books were we know almost from the beginning who the murderers are, it is just a matter of putting together the evidence. One of the things I liked about this book was all the dialogue.  As Eve and company try to gather the evidence needed to take down a bunch of dirty cops, and make sure that they don’t figure out how Eve knew about their side business.

One of the things I like about this series is that we get to see the growth of Eve and members of her inner circle. In Treachery she begins to give Peabody her wings and has her on primary, and lets her lead on some of the info gathering to take down the dirty cops.

Over all another great addition to this series.

Grade B

You can purchase the book here.

Posted in Review

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Indulgence in Death

Posted on October 27, 2010 by TBRG| 4 Comments

Indulgence in Death

                                      In Death bk 37

JD Robb

You would think that with more than thirty something books in this series that they plot would become thin, the characters bleh and stale, but JD Robb somehow manages to keep the relationship between Eve and Roarke fresh and evolving (like all good marriages do) and the relationships between Eve and the close circle of friends she has from becoming bland and one dimensional.

First it was a limo driver shot through the neck with a crossbow. Then it was a high-priced escort found stabbed through the heart with a bayonet.

Random hits, thrill kills, murderers with a taste for the finer things in life-and death-are making NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas angry. And an angry Eve can be just as an efficient and dangerous predator as the killer.
 
As time runs out on another innocent victim’s life, Eve’s investigation will take her into the rarefied circle that her husband, Roarke, travels in-and into the perverted heart of madness…

The murderers in this book aren’t a mystery from about the halfway point in the book, and it becomes more about Eve and her gang of merry cops plus one former criminal being able to prove who did and gather all the evidence that they need.

The thing that keeps me coming back for more of Eve and the gang is the relationships that she has with everyone. One of my favorite parts of this book is the very beginning. If you haven’t read Origin in Death you may be a little lost in the beginning because of what happened with Eve and some of her new in-laws in that book that carry over into this book. There is also a lot if reference to that case in this book.

I was disappointed that there wasn’t as much of Mavis and Nadine in this book, especially Nadine considering who the murderers were.

There was however some great lines between Eve and Roarke my favorite one was “….As emporer of all you survey, do you know or have access to the codes and passwords to all your employees?”

“If you mean as head of Roarke Industries do I have full access to that data yes.”

“Because you can out hack the hackers, or because of your position?”

“Both. Isn’t this interesting?”

Don’t you just love their conversations?

If you are a fan of this series that you will enjoy it, at least I did.

Grade B+

You can purchase the book here and in kindle format here

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Fantasy in Death

Posted on July 2, 2010 by TBRG| Leave a comment
Fantasy in Death
In Death bk 30

J.D. Robb

Bart Minnock, founder of the computer gaming giant U-Play, enters his private playroom, and eagerly can’t wait to lose himself in an imaginary world, to play the role of a sword-wielding warrior king, in his company’s latest top-secret project, Fantastical.
The next morning, he is found in the same locked room, in a pool of blood, his head separated from his body. It is the most puzzling case Eve Dallas has ever faced, and it is not a game…

Lt. Eve Dallas is having as much trouble figuring out how Bart Minnock was murdered as who did the murdering. The victim’s girlfriend seems sincerely grief-stricken, and his quirky-but-brilliant partners at U-Play appear shocked as well. No one seemed to have a problem with the enthusiastic, high-spirited millionaire of course, success can attract jealousy, and gaming, like any business, has its fierce rivalries and dirty tricks—as Eve’s husband, Roarke, one of U-Play’s competitors, knows well. But Minnock was not naïve, and he knew how to fight back in the real world as well as the virtual one.

Eve and her team are about to enter the next level of police work, in a world where fantasy is the ultimate seduction—and the price of defeat is death…

I love a good mystery and this is one that kept my guessing all the way up to the end.

One of the things that I love about this series is that we get to see the development of all the relationships in Eve’s life.

As Eve investigates a truly bizarre murder, we get to see as she doesn’t bitch as much about Roarke helping with the investigation as an e-man, which is some of my favorite parts considering that he is a former criminal. She also looks at friendships, and how they influence and impact peoples lives, as this case looks to be all about friendship.

As I was talking with my sister about this book, we discussed the murderer and who we initially thought it was, and she said that she thought she knew who did, but as the book went on she wasn’t sure, but decided to stick with who she thought, and was really glad that she had as she was right. I told her that I had my suspicions but wasn’t a 100% sure. We both agreed that our favorite part aside from Peabody and McNab at comiccon like convention for videogames undercover, was when Eve set her trap, and knew that she had the murdered even though she doesn’t say who it is, until later, but the look on her face, and her attitude were great.

Yet another great installment in this series, I personally can’t wait to read the next one and neither can Kim (maybe I can get her to write that review).

I give this book a 4.5 out of 5

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Kindred in Death

Posted on April 13, 2010 by TBRG| 3 Comments
Kindred in Death
In Death bk 37

J.D. Robb

When the newly promoted captain of the NYPSD and his wife returned a day early from their vacation, they were looking forward to spending time with their bright and vivacious sixteen-year-old daughter who had stayed behind.

Not even their worst nightmares could have prepared them for the crime scene that awaited them instead. Brutally murdered in her bedroom, Deena’s body showed signs of trauma that horrified even the toughest of cops—including Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who was specifically requested by the captain to investigate.

When the evidence starts to pile up, Dallas and her team think they are about to arrest the perpetrator. Little do they know that someone has gone to great lengths to tease and taunt them by using a variety of identities. Overconfidence can lead to careless mistakes. But for Dallas, one mistake might be all she needs for justice.

REVIEW: I have had this book since it came out in hardback and have just now been able to read it, not because I didn’t want to but because my sister has had the book.

Eve and Roarke continue to be one of my favorite couples. I love how they have a very real and normal marriage, at least normal for them. I enjoy reading how Eve has come to accept all those that are now in her life, and the family that they have made for themselves, well except for Trina, but hey Trina would scare me.

Coming on the heels of Promise in Death where it is a cop that is killed this one, has the daughter of a cop killed, and all signs point to it having to do with the job. This was a just a little rough, however what I liked about it was that it made sense, you could see how this case on the heels of the last big case worked. What I really liked was the moment between Morris and Eve as they went over the body.

One of the best parts of this book is a character that shows up towards the end of the book, she is just amazing and made me think I want to be her when I grow up. Can I please be her.

The side story in this book, or rather what is going in Eve’s personal life is Charles and Louise’s wedding. The scenes where Eve interacts with Charles and Louise were great.

Over all I have to say that because of all the personal stuff in this book, it is probably one of my favorite books in the series. I have to say that once again J.D. Robb delivers an amazing story, that kept me entertained an so engrossed that I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting.

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Naked in Death

Posted on March 8, 2010 by TBRG| 3 Comments
Naked in Death
In Death bk 1

J.D. Robb

As NYPD Lt. Eve Dallas races to find a serial killer, she becomes very involved with one of the suspects. Her overpowering feelings for a man she barely knows could jeopardize her investigation, her faith in herself–and her life.

REVIEW: I can’t tell you how many times I have read this book over the years, but no matter how many times I read it, it remains on of my favorite books.

It has been at least 3 years since the last time I read this book, but having decided to an In Death reading challenge I thought that I had better start with the first book.
Eve Dallas is a homicide Lt. in NYC in the year 2057 and she is damn good at her job. Her job is her life, she has one friend Mavis and her mentor Feeney, they are the only ones that she allows to be close to her, even though there are those that want to be there for her.
Eve lands a case that changes her life, it pits her up against a U.S. Senator and in the path of Roarke.
Roarke what more needs to be said about this man.

Here is a man that has made himself into on the richest men on and off the planet. He has power, money and a past shrouded in mystery, and his name is at the top of Eve’s suspect list. It’s not the first time that the cops have looked at him for a crime, however it is the first time that a cop has gotten to him.

I loved everything about getting to know these two characters. I really liked watching them circle and dance around each other and what they were feeling. With Roarke making all the first moves because Eve can’t and won’t.

There is something about a man that has everything money can buy and chooses to give real coffee as a gift, not because he is cheap but because he knows that Eve would appreciate that more than any extravagant gift, as the extravagant gift would just baffle her, and the coffee lets her know that he gets her.

The murder mystery of this book was great also, even knowing who the killer was, because I have read the book so many times, I was still surprised, mainly because I had forgotten all about that seen, and was so caught up in the story of Eve and Roarke.

If you have never read a J.D. Robb aka Nora Roberts then I highly suggest that you pick up this series. I recommend starting with this book as it is the first in the series and you understand the dynamics of their relationship.

I give this book as 5 out of 5.

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In Death Series by J.D. Robb

Posted on March 30, 2009 by TBRG| Leave a comment

I am going to do a mass post here of the books that I have read in the last couple of weeks for this series…hopefully after that I will be able to keep up.

Reunion in Death
bk 14

A birthday party sets the scene for a frightening reunion with a killer from Lt. Eve Dallas’s past.

REVIEW: This has to be one of my favorite books, for a lot of reasons. One we get to see more of Roarke, but also because we get to see Eve stripped down and bare.

In this book someone that Eve helped put away when she was working with Feeney, is out of prison for good behavior, and is hell bent on destroying Eve’s life.

She must have forgotten what Eve was like, because Eve is hell bent on putting her back in a cage. In her hunt for this killer Eve and Roarke go to Dallas, where she remembers in vivid detail what happened to her in that hotel room. This only strengthens her resolve to stop Julie (the killer), before she can kill Roarke.

This is one of the best books in the series in my opinion, but then again I like all the books in this series.

Purity in Death
bk 15

Lt. Eve Dallas must face the impossible: track down a new computer virus can spread from machine to man.

REVIEW: Okay so I admit it I am a Eve and Roarke junky as I love all these books. This one I really liked because of all the characters that are in the book.

In the quest to stop this virus, McNab is hurt and it is quite serious. Feeney is held hostage, and Roarke the ex-criminal tells Eve that the dept will have unlimited funds for whatever the person holding Feeney hostage wants.

There is also the part when Eve looks around the table in her office at all the people that are there, to help stop the madmen that created the virus, but also as support for McNab and she realizes that even though she and Roarke and grown up with no family they had created there own.

For me that was what this book was all about, Eve realizing that those that she complained about being in her life, were in actuality her family.


Portrait in death
bk 16
Lt. Eve Dallas faces a serial killer who offers his victims eternal youth by taking their life.

REVIEW: This book was more about Roarke I felt, as he finds out things about him and family that he had never known, and that rocks him to his core.

In the midst of this personal turmoil, because as Roarke is off his game and locking Eve out of his life, she has to find and stop a serial killer. All of this puts Eve of her game, as she isn’t sure what is going on with Roarke, and someone is killing college students.

She finally knocks Roarke on his ass, and discovers what has crawled up his butt, and kicks his butt. Once she discoverst that, she is sorta back on track, but not quite steady as he leaves town to deal with the discoveries that he has made.

Before she stops this killer, he takes the life of someone close to a semi-friend of Eve’s and the gang, and also almost takes the life of Trueheart.

These were all read as part of the Spring 09 Reading Challenge…Read a series
Here are the rankings of these books…
Reunion in Death 4.5 out of 5
Purity in Death 4.5 out of 5
Reunion in Death 5 out of 5

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Seduction in Death

Posted on March 6, 2009 by TBRG| Leave a comment

In Death Series bk 13

Hard-boiled detective Eve Dallas and a quirky cast of characters, including Eve’s husband, Roarke, who owns most of Manhattan and can be relied upon to bring all his considerable resources to bear to help his wife solve the case whether she wants him to or not, and Peabody, Eve’s uptight assistant, who has an off-again, on-again thing going with the irreverent Officer McNab.

Dante had been courting his victim in cyberspace for weeks before meeting her in person. A few sips of wine and a few hours later, she was dead. The murder weapon: a rare, usually undetectable date-rape drug with a street value of a quarter million dollars.

Detective Eve Dallas is playing and replaying the clues in her mind. The candlelight, the music, the rose petals strewn across the bed — a seduction meant for his benefit, not hers. He hadn’t intended to kill her. But now that he had, he is left with only two choices: to either hole up in fear and guilt. Or start hunting again…

REVIEW: I decided recently to re read this series. When I got to this book I honestly couldn’t it. However as I started to read certain things came back to me, and I remembered that I actually liked this book, at least the story within the story. This is one where I was more interested in what was going on with the supporting characters in this book, than the actual murder mystery.

However all that being said this was a really good book. It had an angle/twist that I had never seen before. I can’t say much more than that or it will give it away.

For those that like this type of book, and love J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts books, this is one that you shouldn’t skip over, if not for the actual story than for the sub-story, as their are things that happen that explain relationships in the series.

This book was read as part of the Spring ’09 Reading Challenge. Read a Series or a Trilogy.
368 pages..

I give this book a 4 out 5.

You can purchase this book here or here

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