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lynguy1's review against another edition
5.0
Abandoned in Death by J. D. Robb (pseudonym for Nora Roberts) brings murder, romance and suspense to a well-written futuristic police procedural set mainly in New York City. This novel has a slightly different format for this series in that it alternates timelines between the early part of the twenty-first century and June of 2061. What happens when the past and the present collide?
Our protagonist, Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYC police department, arrives at a crime scene at a playground near friends Mavis and Leonardo’s new house. Joined by her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, they find the body of a young woman with vintage make-up, hair, and clothing and a note written in crayon saying “Bad Mommy”. With clues pointing to an older antagonist and no records of crimes with a similar MO, how will Eve, Delia, and the team solve the crime? Learning that other young women have recently vanished, they know they need to solve this case quickly.
Time spent with Eve, her husband Roarke, and Eve’s colleagues is always entertaining. Eve is definitely a compelling and three-dimensional character. Her need to serve and protect comes through in every book, but the underlying impetus for this is best understood by reading this series in order. Due to the way Eve was raised, she often doesn’t understand commonly used phrases and this comes into play a few times in this book making her seem more real and less perfect. As always, the interactions between Eve and Roarke are enjoyable and bring a different facet of Eve’s personality to light. Many of the reoccurring police characters play significant roles in this book. In addition, readers also get to see a bit of their private lives. I especially enjoyed seeing the character development of intern Jamie Lingstrom. Additionally, I was delighted to see a different side of Detective Jenkinson near the end of the book. As always, Dr. Mira’s psychological profiling, Morris’ autopsy results, and Roarke’s computer skills, as well as Eve and Delia’s efforts, work against time to solve the case.
The writing is fluid and flows well. The prose is suspenseful and engrossing in this intense race against the clock. A thought-provoking, stunning, deeply involved, and tragic plot gripped this reader immediately. It is appalling in places and uplifting in others. Will you guess the identity of the killer? This one was a surprise to me. As always, the interview segment near the end of the story is compelling. Seeing Eve and Delia working it together with Dr. Mira added another dimension to it.
Robb manages to embed humor in her novels, providing some much needed levity to offset some of the more serious and grim aspects of the story. She brings strong characters, great plots, wonderful relationships, and excellent pacing to this series. Themes include murder, justice, and family dynamics, as well as standing up for the innocent and the dead.
If you enjoy engaging near-future police procedurals with some romance and humor, then I recommend this series. This is the fifty-third book in the In Death Eve Dallas series and I have read all of them up to this point. Overall, it is entertaining, and over time, it is like spending time with old friends. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and are not biased in any way. Publication date was February 8, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------
Review coming soon.
Our protagonist, Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYC police department, arrives at a crime scene at a playground near friends Mavis and Leonardo’s new house. Joined by her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, they find the body of a young woman with vintage make-up, hair, and clothing and a note written in crayon saying “Bad Mommy”. With clues pointing to an older antagonist and no records of crimes with a similar MO, how will Eve, Delia, and the team solve the crime? Learning that other young women have recently vanished, they know they need to solve this case quickly.
Time spent with Eve, her husband Roarke, and Eve’s colleagues is always entertaining. Eve is definitely a compelling and three-dimensional character. Her need to serve and protect comes through in every book, but the underlying impetus for this is best understood by reading this series in order. Due to the way Eve was raised, she often doesn’t understand commonly used phrases and this comes into play a few times in this book making her seem more real and less perfect. As always, the interactions between Eve and Roarke are enjoyable and bring a different facet of Eve’s personality to light. Many of the reoccurring police characters play significant roles in this book. In addition, readers also get to see a bit of their private lives. I especially enjoyed seeing the character development of intern Jamie Lingstrom. Additionally, I was delighted to see a different side of Detective Jenkinson near the end of the book. As always, Dr. Mira’s psychological profiling, Morris’ autopsy results, and Roarke’s computer skills, as well as Eve and Delia’s efforts, work against time to solve the case.
The writing is fluid and flows well. The prose is suspenseful and engrossing in this intense race against the clock. A thought-provoking, stunning, deeply involved, and tragic plot gripped this reader immediately. It is appalling in places and uplifting in others. Will you guess the identity of the killer? This one was a surprise to me. As always, the interview segment near the end of the story is compelling. Seeing Eve and Delia working it together with Dr. Mira added another dimension to it.
Robb manages to embed humor in her novels, providing some much needed levity to offset some of the more serious and grim aspects of the story. She brings strong characters, great plots, wonderful relationships, and excellent pacing to this series. Themes include murder, justice, and family dynamics, as well as standing up for the innocent and the dead.
If you enjoy engaging near-future police procedurals with some romance and humor, then I recommend this series. This is the fifty-third book in the In Death Eve Dallas series and I have read all of them up to this point. Overall, it is entertaining, and over time, it is like spending time with old friends. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and are not biased in any way. Publication date was February 8, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------
Review coming soon.
lynguy1's review against another edition
5.0
Abandoned in Death by J. D. Robb (pseudonym for Nora Roberts) brings murder, romance and suspense to a well-written futuristic police procedural set mainly in New York City. This novel has a slightly different format for this series in that it alternates timelines between the early part of the twenty-first century and June of 2061. What happens when the past and the present collide?
Our protagonist, Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYC police department, arrives at a crime scene at a playground near friends Mavis and Leonardo’s new house. Joined by her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, they find the body of a young woman with vintage make-up, hair, and clothing and a note written in crayon saying “Bad Mommy”. With clues pointing to an older antagonist and no records of crimes with a similar MO, how will Eve, Delia, and the team solve the crime? Learning that other young women have recently vanished, they know they need to solve this case quickly.
Time spent with Eve, her husband Roarke, and Eve’s colleagues is always entertaining. Eve is definitely a compelling and three-dimensional character. Her need to serve and protect comes through in every book, but the underlying impetus for this is best understood by reading this series in order. Due to the way Eve was raised, she often doesn’t understand commonly used phrases and this comes into play a few times in this book making her seem more real and less perfect. As always, the interactions between Eve and Roarke are enjoyable and bring a different facet of Eve’s personality to light. Many of the reoccurring police characters play significant roles in this book. In addition, readers also get to see a bit of their private lives. I especially enjoyed seeing the character development of intern Jamie Lingstrom. Additionally, I was delighted to see a different side of Detective Jenkinson near the end of the book. As always, Dr. Mira’s psychological profiling, Morris’ autopsy results, and Roarke’s computer skills, as well as Eve and Delia’s efforts, work against time to solve the case.
The writing is fluid and flows well. The prose is suspenseful and engrossing in this intense race against the clock. A thought-provoking, stunning, deeply involved, and tragic plot gripped this reader immediately. It is appalling in places and uplifting in others. Will you guess the identity of the killer? This one was a surprise to me. As always, the interview segment near the end of the story is compelling. Seeing Eve and Delia working it together with Dr. Mira added another dimension to it.
Robb manages to embed humor in her novels, providing some much needed levity to offset some of the more serious and grim aspects of the story. She brings strong characters, great plots, wonderful relationships, and excellent pacing to this series. Themes include murder, justice, and family dynamics, as well as standing up for the innocent and the dead.
If you enjoy engaging near-future police procedurals with some romance and humor, then I recommend this series. This is the fifty-third book in the In Death Eve Dallas series and I have read all of them up to this point. Overall, it is entertaining, and over time, it is like spending time with old friends. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and are not biased in any way. Publication date was February 8, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------
Review coming soon.
Our protagonist, Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYC police department, arrives at a crime scene at a playground near friends Mavis and Leonardo’s new house. Joined by her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, they find the body of a young woman with vintage make-up, hair, and clothing and a note written in crayon saying “Bad Mommy”. With clues pointing to an older antagonist and no records of crimes with a similar MO, how will Eve, Delia, and the team solve the crime? Learning that other young women have recently vanished, they know they need to solve this case quickly.
Time spent with Eve, her husband Roarke, and Eve’s colleagues is always entertaining. Eve is definitely a compelling and three-dimensional character. Her need to serve and protect comes through in every book, but the underlying impetus for this is best understood by reading this series in order. Due to the way Eve was raised, she often doesn’t understand commonly used phrases and this comes into play a few times in this book making her seem more real and less perfect. As always, the interactions between Eve and Roarke are enjoyable and bring a different facet of Eve’s personality to light. Many of the reoccurring police characters play significant roles in this book. In addition, readers also get to see a bit of their private lives. I especially enjoyed seeing the character development of intern Jamie Lingstrom. Additionally, I was delighted to see a different side of Detective Jenkinson near the end of the book. As always, Dr. Mira’s psychological profiling, Morris’ autopsy results, and Roarke’s computer skills, as well as Eve and Delia’s efforts, work against time to solve the case.
The writing is fluid and flows well. The prose is suspenseful and engrossing in this intense race against the clock. A thought-provoking, stunning, deeply involved, and tragic plot gripped this reader immediately. It is appalling in places and uplifting in others. Will you guess the identity of the killer? This one was a surprise to me. As always, the interview segment near the end of the story is compelling. Seeing Eve and Delia working it together with Dr. Mira added another dimension to it.
Robb manages to embed humor in her novels, providing some much needed levity to offset some of the more serious and grim aspects of the story. She brings strong characters, great plots, wonderful relationships, and excellent pacing to this series. Themes include murder, justice, and family dynamics, as well as standing up for the innocent and the dead.
If you enjoy engaging near-future police procedurals with some romance and humor, then I recommend this series. This is the fifty-third book in the In Death Eve Dallas series and I have read all of them up to this point. Overall, it is entertaining, and over time, it is like spending time with old friends. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and are not biased in any way. Publication date was February 8, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------
Review coming soon.
larisa_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
starthelostgirl's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this new Eve Dallas mystery. The ending took me by surprise, but didn’t seem completely out of left field. The killer was interesting and Mary Kate was someone to root for.
katyanaish's review against another edition
4.0
The "Bad Mommy" case was interesting - like an interesting philosophical debate. Not about the murderer - he's clearly nuts and needs to be put away - but about his mother.
A young mother, an addict, unable to get her shit together and dig her way out of her life, drowning in - quite frankly - selfishness. She attempts to kill her 4-5 year old son - she puts drugs in his soda, wanting him to just go to sleep forever - before attempting to kill herself. He doesn't die because he doesn't drink enough of it to OD, and so he's found wandering the forest. Put into the foster system, etc etc. She doesn't die because at the last second she fights to live. She does, but has (very conveniently) amnesia. Actually, it's unclear how much she can't remember versus how much she - through serious willpower - refuses to allow herself to remember.
Anyway, this chick survives her suicide attempt, with her convenient amnesia, and falls in love with her rescuer ... and this kicks off a fairytale life for her. Rich husband, beautiful home, loving family ... whole new wonderful life.
And she lives it for 50+ years, not allowing herself to think of her son, cast out to be a refugee in the world. Until her husband dies and she can't forcibly keep the memories away ... she remembers everything, and tries to make amends to the son she fucked over.
Can such a thing even be possible? Is forgiveness for that even possible, I mean?
It's a gray area, for sure, but at least in this book, I think no. Getting all these chapters from her POV as she lived her lovely life, and anytime a hint of a memory would bubble up, she'd stomp it down ... no. She can't be forgiven. Throwing money at the son she abandoned after attempting to murder him ... it only succeeded in cracking open his fragile mental state. She sends him a fucking letter explaining and giving her side of it (fucking coward, just writing a letter), before killing herself dramatically, without even letting him TALK to her. And therefore, she only succeeds in ruining his life yet again, as this revelation from dear mommy breaks whatever hold he had on his mental state and he just starts killing people who look like her.
It made this a tough book. Not his end of it - look, whatever the reasoning, if you crack and start murdering people you're a bad guy and you need to be stopped - but you've got this running line of her story through it, chapters from her POV, and it just pissed me off. Fuck this lady. Fuck her perfect life, her perfect love, her perfect home and her new perfect kids. She was so disgusting to me.
A young mother, an addict, unable to get her shit together and dig her way out of her life, drowning in - quite frankly - selfishness. She attempts to kill her 4-5 year old son - she puts drugs in his soda, wanting him to just go to sleep forever - before attempting to kill herself. He doesn't die because he doesn't drink enough of it to OD, and so he's found wandering the forest. Put into the foster system, etc etc. She doesn't die because at the last second she fights to live. She does, but has (very conveniently) amnesia. Actually, it's unclear how much she can't remember versus how much she - through serious willpower - refuses to allow herself to remember.
Anyway, this chick survives her suicide attempt, with her convenient amnesia, and falls in love with her rescuer ... and this kicks off a fairytale life for her. Rich husband, beautiful home, loving family ... whole new wonderful life.
And she lives it for 50+ years, not allowing herself to think of her son, cast out to be a refugee in the world. Until her husband dies and she can't forcibly keep the memories away ... she remembers everything, and tries to make amends to the son she fucked over.
Can such a thing even be possible? Is forgiveness for that even possible, I mean?
It's a gray area, for sure, but at least in this book, I think no. Getting all these chapters from her POV as she lived her lovely life, and anytime a hint of a memory would bubble up, she'd stomp it down ... no. She can't be forgiven. Throwing money at the son she abandoned after attempting to murder him ... it only succeeded in cracking open his fragile mental state. She sends him a fucking letter explaining and giving her side of it (fucking coward, just writing a letter), before killing herself dramatically, without even letting him TALK to her. And therefore, she only succeeds in ruining his life yet again, as this revelation from dear mommy breaks whatever hold he had on his mental state and he just starts killing people who look like her.
It made this a tough book. Not his end of it - look, whatever the reasoning, if you crack and start murdering people you're a bad guy and you need to be stopped - but you've got this running line of her story through it, chapters from her POV, and it just pissed me off. Fuck this lady. Fuck her perfect life, her perfect love, her perfect home and her new perfect kids. She was so disgusting to me.
katrinaburch's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
laneylegz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Eve & Peabody are investigating the murders of similar looking females. Delving into the case, they find disturbing evidence of a delicious psycho with a "mommy" complex. Twist and turns with a small pool of suspects has them closing in on a surprising killer. On a lighter side, Peabody and Mavis are getting closer to finishing personal space in the house while the men are working on the security system.
emac021's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sandyfleener's review against another edition
5.0
How does she do it?
JD Robb has done it again! I wait patiently for each book and read slowly to savor the story. Then it's always done too soon. I will wait for the next installment & do it all over again everytime Nora Roberts as JD Robb publishes another book in the In Death series. Love her books as Nora Roberts as well but these are my favorites
JD Robb has done it again! I wait patiently for each book and read slowly to savor the story. Then it's always done too soon. I will wait for the next installment & do it all over again everytime Nora Roberts as JD Robb publishes another book in the In Death series. Love her books as Nora Roberts as well but these are my favorites