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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
Still in love with this series. I enjoyed this book and find it interesting when the normal swing of things is taken for a loop-- this time we know who the villain is.
Peabody's parents are fun, although I do wonder at the same bit of fantasy that is involved in this series. It always throws me for a loop....
Peabody's parents are fun, although I do wonder at the same bit of fantasy that is involved in this series. It always throws me for a loop....
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I felt this installment was mediocre at best. I found several things repeating off of previous installments (victims having their drinks drugged, Roarke going straight to Whitney to be involved in the case and causing an argument with Eve over him ambushing her etc) and it it made this one pretty boring.
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fourteenth in the In Death futuristic, police procedural, and romantic suspense series revolving around Eve Dallas and her gorgeous husband, Roarke, in the New York City of summer 2059.
In 2002, Reunion in Death won the Romance Readers Anonymous Award for Best Alternative Realities or Time Travel Romance. In 2003, it was nominated for the RITA Award by Romance Writers of America for Romantic Suspense.
My Take
It's a bittersweet start as Reunion in Death starts with a happy man who's about to celebrate his birthday. It's a wonderful party with the reader in suspense as to what's going to happen. And I cried for him and his first wife, for his family.
Peabody gets a cold case to solve. And dang, if it isn't the saddest thing! And it ticked me off big time!! I'll tell ya, Robb is really good at picking those details apart.
One detail Robb usually includes is Eve using Nadine to taunt the bad guys into making a move, preferably on her.
As Robb uses third person global subjective point-of-view, from primarily Eve's and Roarke's perspectives but including other characters' perspectives as well, we learn quite a bit from the thoughts, actions, and emotions of a lot of people.
Whoa, lol, Peabody warns Dallas about her mother's power. It actually works. It's too funny to see how it affects Eve AND Roarke. Of course, Sam's sensitive nature puts a nasty bump in the road. More sad is intensified when Eve has to go to Dallas to investigate the origin of Julianna's killing spree. The PTSD hits hard, and Eve remembers a bit more. It's all part of Eve's series character arc, stemming from her childhood. Trauma that frustrates Roarke in how he can help her.
Oh man, oh man, Dallas does crack me up with her fear of medical anything and her interactions with med techs. They all know her, lol. And the drugs really soften her up, ROFL.
Shelly Pettibone talks about her life and love with Walter, and it provides food for thought for Eve. It's a thought we could all stand to review from time to time.
Shudder, it's such a contrast in this New York of 2059 with its fabulous futuristic gadgets and its hideous food. Oy. But the generous policies at the prison are too similar to ours. Why the do-gooders think they can rehabilitate people, I do not know.
Robb keeps the pace moving along and includes plenty of action that includes plenty of humor. Some of it's cop humor and some of it's bantering between Eve and Roarke or Peabody, and it will keep you laughing amid the tragedies in Reunion in Death.
It's always fascinating to watch Dallas find and tear apart those clues to find her target. But she's almost never happy when Roarke involves himself or sets himself up as bait.
The Story
It was a birthday party that started Julianna Dunne's killing spree, and she'll thrill to the destruction she creates while thwarting Lieutenant Eve Dallas.
Let out on good behavior, Julianna has nothing but bad intentions. It appears she wants to meet Dallas again — in a reunion neither will forget.
The Characters
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is in charge of the Homicide Division at Cop Central in New York City. Roarke is her sexy, gorgeous, supportive gazillionaire husband. Summerset is his majordomo who hates Eve — their exchanges are somethin' else. Galahad is their pudge of a cat who reads minds. I swear!
Dallas' friends include Mavis Freestone, a superstar singer, who's living with Leonardo, a famous fashion designer. Dr Louise DiMatto runs the Canal Street Clinic and is dating Charles Monroe, a highly paid Licensed Companion. Mandy is Louise's gossipy cousin. Louise has such an open reaction to Charles' profession. It's amazing and I love it! Nadine Furst is an honest, ethical on-air reporter at Channel 75.
Roarke Industries is . . .
. . . an intergalactic behemoth and Roarke has his fingers in so much from large to small. Caro is his administrative assistant.
The New York Police and Security Department (NYPSD)
Officer Delia "DeeDee" Peabody is Dallas' aide. Other cops in Dallas' division include Detective David Baxter, Delricky, and Pearson. Captain Ryan Feeney, Dallas' mentor, is in charge of the Electronic Detectives Division (EDD). Detective Ian McNab is one of his as well as Peabody's sweetie. Commander Jack Whitney is the top dog at Cop Central. The stinking Rowinsky is in Illegals. Dr Charlotte Mira is the head profiler for the PD and cares for Eve. Tibble/Tibbie is the chief of police.
Peabody's Free Ager parents, Sam, a sensitive, and Phoebe Peabody, show up with all sorts of ramifications from baked goods for the squad to mind reading! Zeke is their son (Loyalty in Death, 9).
Boyd Stibbs, a regional rep for a sporting goods firm, is still hoping for closure over his wife, Marsha's murder some years back. Tracie is his daughter with Maureen, his second wife and, previously, a neighbor.
Walter C Pettibone is the owner of the World of Flowers that is based in New York. He's married to a young Bambi who has the brains of a cabbage; Shelly, who does landscape design, had been his first wife. Wally is Walter's son; Nadine is his wife. Sherilyn is Walter's daughter; Noel Walker is her husband. Guests at the party included Dr Peter Vance.
Henry Mouton is a corporate attorney on the East Coast. Janet Drake is a temp at his law firm. Dr Eli Young had been allied with Reverend Munch, the Jim Jones of this story. Marty is one of Young's neighbors.
Spencer Campbell is with Campbell Investment Consultants in Denver. Juliet Darcy had an appointment with him for a financial consult.
The gullible Jake T Parker, Julianna's stepfather, runs a ranch in Texas. Kara Dunne Parker Rowan is Julianna's mother. Chuck Springer had been (and is still) working on Parker's ranch when Julianna lived there. It was a Larson or a Rolley girl who set things off.
The Villa de Lago is a spa (in which Roarke has an interest) in Italy. Sophia Vincenti is the reservations manager; the sympathetic Elena is her assistant. Jann Drew is one of the guests. Captain Giamanno is the non-cooperative policeman. Officer Bartelli was to guard the door.
Dockport Rehabilitation Center is . . .
. . . where Julianna Dunne, who was one of Dallas' cases who went to prison, is/was incarcerated. Supervisor Miller is in charge and way too naive. Lois "Loopy" Loop is a funkie junkie who was in a neighboring cell with Julianna. Maria Sanchez needs some persuasion. Hello, Charles . . .
Thomas Carter was the first case Dallas investigated. Should've been Thomas K Carter. Mr Markie is the caterer of choice. Julie Dockport was one of Markie's servers. Mook loves the S&M machines at VR Hell. The Casa Diablo had been a rat trap of a hotel back in the day. Now it's the Traveler's Inn in Dallas where Angelina works the desk. Mason Riggs is the pilot and Lydia is the flight attendant with Diamond Express, a private charter service.
The Cover and Title
The cover is simple with a black background and deep pink orchids dangling down from the top, a few leaves sprouting from the cluster. To the left of the bottommost flower is a testimonial in white and the same deep pink. Immediately below the flowers is the actual author's name in white with her pseudonym below in a combination of white and the pink. The title, in pink, is below that at the bottom.
The title is a Reunion in Death that Eve Dallas never wanted.
In 2002, Reunion in Death won the Romance Readers Anonymous Award for Best Alternative Realities or Time Travel Romance. In 2003, it was nominated for the RITA Award by Romance Writers of America for Romantic Suspense.
My Take
It's a bittersweet start as Reunion in Death starts with a happy man who's about to celebrate his birthday. It's a wonderful party with the reader in suspense as to what's going to happen. And I cried for him and his first wife, for his family.
"No one, Eve decided, could pretend to be this level of idiot."It segues into a typical morning for Eve and Roarke with him slipping quality clothing into her closet and her fussing about how she'll just wreck whatever it is. And Roarke hits back with those humorous lines. That exposure for Eve to Roarke's wealth continues when she insists on taking a public shuttle instead of one of his private ones.
"Lieutenant, you know how it excites me when you snarl at me."That vacation Roarke hands Peabody and McNab is so typical of him.
Peabody gets a cold case to solve. And dang, if it isn't the saddest thing! And it ticked me off big time!! I'll tell ya, Robb is really good at picking those details apart.
One detail Robb usually includes is Eve using Nadine to taunt the bad guys into making a move, preferably on her.
As Robb uses third person global subjective point-of-view, from primarily Eve's and Roarke's perspectives but including other characters' perspectives as well, we learn quite a bit from the thoughts, actions, and emotions of a lot of people.
Whoa, lol, Peabody warns Dallas about her mother's power. It actually works. It's too funny to see how it affects Eve AND Roarke. Of course, Sam's sensitive nature puts a nasty bump in the road. More sad is intensified when Eve has to go to Dallas to investigate the origin of Julianna's killing spree. The PTSD hits hard, and Eve remembers a bit more. It's all part of Eve's series character arc, stemming from her childhood. Trauma that frustrates Roarke in how he can help her.
Oh man, oh man, Dallas does crack me up with her fear of medical anything and her interactions with med techs. They all know her, lol. And the drugs really soften her up, ROFL.
Shelly Pettibone talks about her life and love with Walter, and it provides food for thought for Eve. It's a thought we could all stand to review from time to time.
Shudder, it's such a contrast in this New York of 2059 with its fabulous futuristic gadgets and its hideous food. Oy. But the generous policies at the prison are too similar to ours. Why the do-gooders think they can rehabilitate people, I do not know.
Robb keeps the pace moving along and includes plenty of action that includes plenty of humor. Some of it's cop humor and some of it's bantering between Eve and Roarke or Peabody, and it will keep you laughing amid the tragedies in Reunion in Death.
It's always fascinating to watch Dallas find and tear apart those clues to find her target. But she's almost never happy when Roarke involves himself or sets himself up as bait.
The Story
It was a birthday party that started Julianna Dunne's killing spree, and she'll thrill to the destruction she creates while thwarting Lieutenant Eve Dallas.
Let out on good behavior, Julianna has nothing but bad intentions. It appears she wants to meet Dallas again — in a reunion neither will forget.
The Characters
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is in charge of the Homicide Division at Cop Central in New York City. Roarke is her sexy, gorgeous, supportive gazillionaire husband. Summerset is his majordomo who hates Eve — their exchanges are somethin' else. Galahad is their pudge of a cat who reads minds. I swear!
Dallas' friends include Mavis Freestone, a superstar singer, who's living with Leonardo, a famous fashion designer. Dr Louise DiMatto runs the Canal Street Clinic and is dating Charles Monroe, a highly paid Licensed Companion. Mandy is Louise's gossipy cousin. Louise has such an open reaction to Charles' profession. It's amazing and I love it! Nadine Furst is an honest, ethical on-air reporter at Channel 75.
Roarke Industries is . . .
. . . an intergalactic behemoth and Roarke has his fingers in so much from large to small. Caro is his administrative assistant.
The New York Police and Security Department (NYPSD)
Officer Delia "DeeDee" Peabody is Dallas' aide. Other cops in Dallas' division include Detective David Baxter, Delricky, and Pearson. Captain Ryan Feeney, Dallas' mentor, is in charge of the Electronic Detectives Division (EDD). Detective Ian McNab is one of his as well as Peabody's sweetie. Commander Jack Whitney is the top dog at Cop Central. The stinking Rowinsky is in Illegals. Dr Charlotte Mira is the head profiler for the PD and cares for Eve. Tibble/Tibbie is the chief of police.
Peabody's Free Ager parents, Sam, a sensitive, and Phoebe Peabody, show up with all sorts of ramifications from baked goods for the squad to mind reading! Zeke is their son (Loyalty in Death, 9).
Boyd Stibbs, a regional rep for a sporting goods firm, is still hoping for closure over his wife, Marsha's murder some years back. Tracie is his daughter with Maureen, his second wife and, previously, a neighbor.
Walter C Pettibone is the owner of the World of Flowers that is based in New York. He's married to a young Bambi who has the brains of a cabbage; Shelly, who does landscape design, had been his first wife. Wally is Walter's son; Nadine is his wife. Sherilyn is Walter's daughter; Noel Walker is her husband. Guests at the party included Dr Peter Vance.
Henry Mouton is a corporate attorney on the East Coast. Janet Drake is a temp at his law firm. Dr Eli Young had been allied with Reverend Munch, the Jim Jones of this story. Marty is one of Young's neighbors.
Spencer Campbell is with Campbell Investment Consultants in Denver. Juliet Darcy had an appointment with him for a financial consult.
The gullible Jake T Parker, Julianna's stepfather, runs a ranch in Texas. Kara Dunne Parker Rowan is Julianna's mother. Chuck Springer had been (and is still) working on Parker's ranch when Julianna lived there. It was a Larson or a Rolley girl who set things off.
The Villa de Lago is a spa (in which Roarke has an interest) in Italy. Sophia Vincenti is the reservations manager; the sympathetic Elena is her assistant. Jann Drew is one of the guests. Captain Giamanno is the non-cooperative policeman. Officer Bartelli was to guard the door.
Dockport Rehabilitation Center is . . .
. . . where Julianna Dunne, who was one of Dallas' cases who went to prison, is/was incarcerated. Supervisor Miller is in charge and way too naive. Lois "Loopy" Loop is a funkie junkie who was in a neighboring cell with Julianna. Maria Sanchez needs some persuasion. Hello, Charles . . .
Thomas Carter was the first case Dallas investigated. Should've been Thomas K Carter. Mr Markie is the caterer of choice. Julie Dockport was one of Markie's servers. Mook loves the S&M machines at VR Hell. The Casa Diablo had been a rat trap of a hotel back in the day. Now it's the Traveler's Inn in Dallas where Angelina works the desk. Mason Riggs is the pilot and Lydia is the flight attendant with Diamond Express, a private charter service.
The Cover and Title
The cover is simple with a black background and deep pink orchids dangling down from the top, a few leaves sprouting from the cluster. To the left of the bottommost flower is a testimonial in white and the same deep pink. Immediately below the flowers is the actual author's name in white with her pseudonym below in a combination of white and the pink. The title, in pink, is below that at the bottom.
The title is a Reunion in Death that Eve Dallas never wanted.
How does Roarke put up with Eve!? She is very lucky to have an understanding husband. He puts up with so much stress and punishment from her! Anyway getting over that... This series just keeps getting better and better! After following the series from the beginning we, as readers, have learnt little bits about Eve's past here and there. In this book we are given some huge insight into Eve's past and childhood. The murderer was cold and pure evil in this installment, the ending had my heart pounding and there was an "Oh no!" moment when I had to hold my breath....
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i liked it. we got everything in here. loved peabody in this book. she became more brave and outspoken. loved anniversary gifts exchange. loved visit to dallas. we’ve yet to see eve talking to mira about everything finally but it’ll be soon.
❤️🔥
“In the interest of good fellowship," Roarke began as they started toward the foyer, "could you not mention the stick in Summerset's ass for the rest of the evening?"
"Okay. If he rags on me I'll just pull it out and beat him over the head with it.”
“You're married to a guy thirty years, you've got a serious investment. Gonna irritate you when he trades you in."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Me, I don't hire hits." She looked up at his mouthwatering face. "I'd give you the basic courtesy of killing you myself."
"Thank you, darling." He leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "It's comforting to know you'd take a personal interest in such a matter.”
“I didn't make you for a cop. That disturbed me for some time later as I prided myself for spotting a cop at half a mile in the dark. But when I turned and looked at you, I didn't see cop. I saw a woman. I saw the woman, though I hadn't figured that out. I only knew that I looked, and I saw, and everything shifted. Nothing would be the same for me after that instant."
She remembered how he had turned, looked back over the sea of mourners at a funeral, how his eyes had locked with hers as if they'd been the only ones there. And the power of that look had shaken her to her toes.
"You bothered me," she murmured.
"I meant to. I looked, darling Eve, and saw the woman I would love, and trust, and need as I'd never expected to love or trust or need another living soul. The only woman I wanted to be with, to live with, to sleep and wake with. And a ghra, to grow old with.”
“Yeah, and most of them are crazy. Jesus, are those cows! Cows shouldn't be that big, should they? It's unnatural."
"Just think steaks, darling."
"Uh-uh, that's just creepy. Are you sure this is the right way? This can't be right. There's nothing out here."
"May I point out the several houses we're passing along this route?"
"Yeah, but I think the cows must live in them.”
“What's that guy doing?" she demanded, inching up in the seat to stare beyond Roarke's profile.
"He appears to be riding a horse."
"Yeah, yeah, I can see that. But why?"
"I have no idea. Perhaps he wants to."
"See?" To punctuate it, she slapped Roarke's shoulder. "Sick. People are just sick.”
“I know where I am and when I am. And that we've got an anniversary coming up in a couple days. And, Carlo, I've never loved you more."
"I feel exactly the same way, Miranda." He touched his lips to her forehead, a sneaky way of checking for fever. "If you're feeling better perhaps I can let the children come in. Carlo Junior, Robbie, Anna, and little Alice are anxious to see their mum."
"Trying to scare an invalid. You vicious bastard.”
“Hip?"
Eve wiggled her butt and made Louise laugh. "Glad to see you're feeling frisky."
"That wasn't frisky. I was mooning you, which is supposed to be insulting."
"But you have such a cute little butt."
"So I've always said," Roarke added.”
“Very slowly, Eve took off the sunshades she'd worn as a concession to the glare, the headache, and the appearance of her bruised face. The black eye only added an edge to the drilling stare. "Make me?"
Peabody swallowed, but stuck firm. "You don't scare me-hardly-because you're pale and shiny. So I'll take the wheel when we're done here. You can put the seat back and catch a nap. Sir."
"Do you think adding 'sir' on the end of that is going to save you from my considerable wrath?"
"Maybe, but I'm more confident I can outrun you in your current state of health." She held up two fingers. "How many do you see?"
"The two I'm going to rip off and stuff in your ears.”
“And second, sometime when you least expect it, I'm going to generate a memo to the top staff of your midtown offices stating that you wear women's underwear under those manly designer suits."
"Why, that's just cold."
"Yeah, then you'll have to strip down at a general meeting to prove it's a filthy lie and my vengeance will be complete”
“How about if I just call you the Civilian Roarke? You know, like a title."
"Perhaps if you punched it up just a bit. As in the Awesome and All-Powerful Civilian Roarke. Has a ring."
She reached over the roof to take his hand. "I'll think about it.”
“I have something for you." He reached into the pocket of the robe and drew out two silver boxes.
"Two?" Dumb shock covered her face. "There's supposed to be two gifts for this thing? Damn it, marriage should come with an instruction disc."
"Relax." Yes, a maddening joy. "There are two here because I see a kind of connection between them."
She frowned over it. "So, it's really like one? That's okay then.”
The murderer does crime by poisoning old rich dudes. To which I say, "I hope her first victim is/will be Jeff Bezos."
For the full review - including some full-throated praise for the level of consistency found in this series - follow the link to That's What She Read.
For the full review - including some full-throated praise for the level of consistency found in this series - follow the link to That's What She Read.