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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
I just re-read to this one. This is the second time I've read this book. All the books prior to this one, I've read multiple times. So it is interesting for me to do a second read for the books this point on.
I really liked this book at lot mainly because unlike most of the previous books in this series, this one concentrates primarily on one murder. Not a serial killer. Not a person who goes out and kills more to cover up the first killing. Just mainly one murder case.
There is a second similar murder case, but it doesn't really attach with the first one. Again, a bit of an anomaly with this series. In some past installments, when Eve gets two seemingly disparate cases, they always conveniently converge in the end be the same case. This has always caused me some frustration. The only time this convention has made perfect sense was in the preceding book [b:Strangers in Death|1158706|Strangers in Death (In Death, #26)|J.D. Robb|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1266732561s/1158706.jpg|2501504]. It was an absolute necessity for that book. But for all the rest, too convenient to be plausible all the time.
But back to this one and why I liked it so much....
For one thing I loved how the story was constructed. In this one, it plays out like a true mystery. At the core of the story is the victim, a priest who dies while presiding over the Catholic funeral mass of a beloved member of a close knit Latino community in Spanish Harlem. The thrust of the story and Eve's investigation is the personality of the priest. In order to find out who killed him, Eve needs to learn about Fr. Flores.
And the fun of the book is each revelation. Each layer that is peeled back from the victim. It reads like a very twisty character study of a troubled person. In the end the person who killed him is almost incidental. The real story was all about him and his life and the choices he made that resulted in his murder.
A second murder involving a fire and brimstone televangelist also comes across Eve's desk as she is investigating Fr. Flores' murder. Both religious figures were killed in the same manner, so Eve assumes a connection.
Underneath it all, I liked how Robb worked in many of the themes important to religion: Guilt, Redemption, Absolution. I also thought she did a great job of being respectful to the religious.
Eve is not religious at all. She is baffled by it and her only belief is in law and order. It would have been easy to make Eve contemptuous of religion or even to take pot shots at the over-the-top spectacle aspect of the televangelist. But Robb doesn't go there. Under all the big hair, make up, dazzling lights and Southern accents she made the evangelical people as reverential and true in their religious beliefs as she did the Catholics.
Eve is as respectful of the respective institution's religious rules as she is of man-made laws. She is however spitting mad -- completely in character -- when she realizes that Flores' killer has confessed to a priest during the confessional and the priest won't give the person up.
However what did surprise me is how in one scene Robb made Eve incredibly unsympathetic and contemptuous of a victim of domestic abuse. Long time readers of the series will know that child abuse and molestation is one of Eve's triggers. And the poor woman who was unaware her daughter was being abused set off Eve in a nuclear way. Truthfully, it took a little shine off of Eve for me.
Since this was a very close intimate look at the victim, this installment did not use a lot of the regular characters. This was fine with me. Like I've said in previous reviews, I enjoy how she mixes it up in the series. It keeps it feeling fresh.
I really liked this book at lot mainly because unlike most of the previous books in this series, this one concentrates primarily on one murder. Not a serial killer. Not a person who goes out and kills more to cover up the first killing. Just mainly one murder case.
There is a second similar murder case, but it doesn't really attach with the first one. Again, a bit of an anomaly with this series. In some past installments, when Eve gets two seemingly disparate cases, they always conveniently converge in the end be the same case. This has always caused me some frustration. The only time this convention has made perfect sense was in the preceding book [b:Strangers in Death|1158706|Strangers in Death (In Death, #26)|J.D. Robb|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1266732561s/1158706.jpg|2501504]. It was an absolute necessity for that book. But for all the rest, too convenient to be plausible all the time.
But back to this one and why I liked it so much....
For one thing I loved how the story was constructed. In this one, it plays out like a true mystery. At the core of the story is the victim, a priest who dies while presiding over the Catholic funeral mass of a beloved member of a close knit Latino community in Spanish Harlem. The thrust of the story and Eve's investigation is the personality of the priest. In order to find out who killed him, Eve needs to learn about Fr. Flores.
And the fun of the book is each revelation. Each layer that is peeled back from the victim. It reads like a very twisty character study of a troubled person. In the end the person who killed him is almost incidental. The real story was all about him and his life and the choices he made that resulted in his murder.
A second murder involving a fire and brimstone televangelist also comes across Eve's desk as she is investigating Fr. Flores' murder. Both religious figures were killed in the same manner, so Eve assumes a connection.
Underneath it all, I liked how Robb worked in many of the themes important to religion: Guilt, Redemption, Absolution. I also thought she did a great job of being respectful to the religious.
Eve is not religious at all. She is baffled by it and her only belief is in law and order. It would have been easy to make Eve contemptuous of religion or even to take pot shots at the over-the-top spectacle aspect of the televangelist. But Robb doesn't go there. Under all the big hair, make up, dazzling lights and Southern accents she made the evangelical people as reverential and true in their religious beliefs as she did the Catholics.
Eve is as respectful of the respective institution's religious rules as she is of man-made laws. She is however spitting mad -- completely in character -- when she realizes that Flores' killer has confessed to a priest during the confessional and the priest won't give the person up.
However what did surprise me is how in one scene Robb made Eve incredibly unsympathetic and contemptuous of a victim of domestic abuse. Long time readers of the series will know that child abuse and molestation is one of Eve's triggers. And the poor woman who was unaware her daughter was being abused set off Eve in a nuclear way. Truthfully, it took a little shine off of Eve for me.
Since this was a very close intimate look at the victim, this installment did not use a lot of the regular characters. This was fine with me. Like I've said in previous reviews, I enjoy how she mixes it up in the series. It keeps it feeling fresh.
I really had a hard time with this installment! It never captured my attention, and I often found myself struggling to finish the book. The plot felt very drawn out, with too many red herrings thrown into the mystery. What I did enjoy was Eve's philosophical questions about the Catholic faith, as it made me think of my own roots. I was able to determine that this book was where I stopped reading the series as a whole the first time I went through it, likely because I didn't enjoy this book at that time. Sadly, I didn't really enjoy it all that much this time around either!
Ooooo! This was a good one! There was so much going on with this book. I was surprised by who the killer was, but at the same time, once Eve figured it out, it totally made sense!
Not much happened in the background/overall story with Eve & Roarke and the rest of the regulars, but it was still some good filler.
This is such a great series! On to the next!
Not much happened in the background/overall story with Eve & Roarke and the rest of the regulars, but it was still some good filler.
This is such a great series! On to the next!
mysterious
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:
Yes
Lt Eve Dallas is put on the case of a murder of a Priest that died while performing last rites. The case quickly becomes a complex chase to find out not only who the killer is but also discover who the Priest was.
This series is always a quick and entertaining read and I highly recommend it to all mystery fans.
This series is always a quick and entertaining read and I highly recommend it to all mystery fans.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I missed this series. It's a good quick read. Roarke's not obnoxious, Peabody & McNab have a moment, and the plot is kinda interesting.
Eve Dallas is back in a new full-length novel and I couldn't be happier. We start off with a Roman Catholic priest dying while consuming the wine and wafer during a funeral service. The investigation leads Eve into a world she barely knows and uncovers deeper mysteries than just the murder of a well-liked priest who wasn't one.
Just as Eve's investigation begins to focus more on the man's background as a motive for murder, another man of God is murdered. Are the two connected?
J.D. Robb, aka Nora Roberts, truly melds all my favorite things: a good mystery, great characterization, humor, romance. I'm never disappointed when I buy an Eve Dallas book. Most series begin to flag when they reach their 20s. Not so here. Roberts allows her characters to grow and change. When we first met Eve, her circle contained very few close friends. As time has passed, that circle has expanded despite her best efforts.
There was a somewhat different feel to this mystery as victim and murderer (the individual who actually behind the murder) are all scum while the murderer is as much victim as villain. We get to see Peabody and McNab have words and ultimately handle it well. It was all good.
I'm psyched that another installment will be out in February. If you haven't already discovered this fantastic series, what are you waiting for?
Just as Eve's investigation begins to focus more on the man's background as a motive for murder, another man of God is murdered. Are the two connected?
J.D. Robb, aka Nora Roberts, truly melds all my favorite things: a good mystery, great characterization, humor, romance. I'm never disappointed when I buy an Eve Dallas book. Most series begin to flag when they reach their 20s. Not so here. Roberts allows her characters to grow and change. When we first met Eve, her circle contained very few close friends. As time has passed, that circle has expanded despite her best efforts.
There was a somewhat different feel to this mystery as victim and murderer (the individual who actually behind the murder) are all scum while the murderer is as much victim as villain. We get to see Peabody and McNab have words and ultimately handle it well. It was all good.
I'm psyched that another installment will be out in February. If you haven't already discovered this fantastic series, what are you waiting for?
A priest dies in the middle of giving funeral rites. He drinks the wine, gasps, chokes, and dies. Eve thinks she's on the right track when she learns information about his past, but another death (another major religious leader) starts to muddy the waters.
A great story with an introduction to Father Luis who will will be in further Dallas stories.
A great story with an introduction to Father Luis who will will be in further Dallas stories.
As always, an awesome book in this series. Love the characters, love the dialogue.