Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
By Malin | Posted Under Book Reviews | Comments (15)
Naked in Death is the first in an ongoing series of so far 30 books (and some novellas and short stories) by J.D. Robb, a pseudonym for the already ridiculously prolific romance novelist Nora Roberts. The books are futuristic police procedurals with a core of romance at the centre. Lt. Eve Dallas is a driven and dedicated homicide detective who is called in when a young and beautiful licenced companion (read: prostitute - in the 2050s, prostitution is legalized and licenced) is brutally murdered. Her superiors are keen to have the case solved quickly and quietly, as the victim was also the granddaughter of a powerful US senator.
Under the murdered woman, there is also a note, suggesting that this murder is just the first of six. Lt. Dallas may be dealing with a serial killer. Her main suspect is the gorgeous, obscenely wealthy and extremely powerful Roarke, a self-made bazillionaire, and a friend of the murdered young woman’s family. Normally, Eve has no problems staying focused on a case and utterly professional, but every time she and Roarke meet, sparks fly, and she is having trouble convincing herself that Roarke is bad news and should be best left alone.
I may be spoiling an important part of the book here, but anyone who bothers to find out about the series, will soon learn that Roarke is of course not the killer, and that he and Eve become one hell of an awesome couple, despite the many difficulties in their path, not the least of which is Eve’s troubled past.
Reading Roberts/Robb’s In Death books is a bit like watching an episode of “Castle,” if Castle was a bazillionare businessman instead of a crime writer, Beckett had an even more messed up past, and they were actually dating, instead of just flirting all the time. The actual mystery is not always the most interesting part (in 2 of the 3 books I’ve read so far, I’ve figured out who the killer quite some time before it is revealed), it’s the way the mystery is solved, and the interplay of the characters and what they learn about each other along the way.
This review is part of the Cannonball Read series. For more of Malins’ reviews, please check her blog, Malin’s Blog of Books.
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Comments
Posted by: PaddyDog at December 11, 2009 10:50 AM
I was really torn about this book. On the one hand, I did enjoy the interplay between the two (you're right: it's far more compelling than the actual mystery), but then I really hate books where the intelligent female character becomes a complete idiot when she meets an attractive man. Actually, when I first read this I didn't know JD Robb was Nora Roberts, and once I did, it cast the books in a different light in that I felt annoyed that she had tried to turn a potentially great character into another romatic fiction chick who needs to be helped to do her job by a man (who, of course, happens to be extremely wealthy).