Booklist for JD Robb I really enjoyed this book. I will continue reading the series since it is so much fun. However, I was frustrated that I couldn't easily find the order of the other books in the series from my kindle. So, I am adding it here for myself and for others.
Naked in Death
Immortal in Death
Rapture in Death
Ceremony in Death
Vengeance in Death
Holiday in Death
Silent Night "Midnight in Death"
Conspiracy in Death
Loyalty in Death
Witness in Death
Judgment in Death
Betrayal in Death
Out of this World "Interlude in Death"
Seduction in Death
Reunion in Death
Purity in Death
Portrait in Death
Imitation in Death
Remember When
Divided in Death
Visions in Death
Survivor in Death
Origin in Death
Midnight in Death
Interlude in Death
Bump in the Night
Memory in Death
Born in Death
Innocent in Death
Dead of Night
Creation in Death
I want to be Eve Dallas!!! I've got a crush on Roarke! Oh, man, he is HOT!
Okay, now, the book. J.D. Robb, pseudonym for Nora Roberts, has written a series of 25 books about Eve Dallas, the finest of New York's finest and a homicide detective, and Roarke, her incredibly rich, incredibly sexy, incredibly handsome, incredibly smart lover from Dublin. What a terrific combination!
Now, we add a weird element. The setting is NYC in the year 2058. I don't really care for sci fi, but this element only makes this yummy series more appealing. The stories and people are not extreme in sci-fi weirdness, but the future brings cool new conveniences and interesting changes to their lives. People travel off-planet now and them; robots provide household services and security; cops use laser guns; cars have auto-pilot settings; prostitution is legal and regulated; and, food is supplied and prepared by machines that people stock.
Eve and Roarke are two lost souls who make each other whole. Eve is so independent, good at her job, beautiful, full of compassion for victims of crimes, and emotionally needy. Roarke is so good at everything he does, particularly taking care of Eve. They fall passionately in love and simply cannot live without each other.
The plot is incidental. The real story is about Eve and Roarke, and it is wonderful and fun. J.D. Robb Caught Me: Hook, Line, and Sinker Call me bi-curious. No, not in that way. I'm talking in the way of romance books.
I'm a red-blooded American male. I write mysteries, I read mysteries, SF, thrillers, history, food tomes, almost everything but romance books. Up until now, I've always thought of romance books as trite throwaways that contain a couple of good sex scenes. Read those and forget about the rest of the book.
But something happened about a month ago: I actually noticed, really, for the first time, how many romance books there actually are in a bookstore. Hundreds. Thousands? And, for the first time, my countenance faltered. I realized that I might actually be up to read a romance. But which one? I asked a fellow writer who she liked and, among the names was Nora Roberts. I know Nora Roberts just like people who don't read horror stories knows Stephen King. I went the local library, picked up a few Nora Roberts books, but none of them really caught my attention.
Then I remembered J.D. Robb. I knew that Roberts wrote stories as Robb so I checked them out. And I found my beachhead in the field of romance books. Lead character is a police detective. I'm writing a book about a female lead detective. Stories take place in 2059. Hmm, that sounds like SF. I like SF. The books are characterized as romantic suspense. I like suspense. My first novel was a suspense novel. And I'm a romantic. What's not to like? I verified which book was the first in the series, Naked in Death, checked out the audiobook from the library, and inserted the CD.
The first disc was not even halfway through before I was hooked. And not just mild interest but hook, line, and sinker. I was all in. The book has a nice pace, not slow at all. Since the book was written in 1995, it is interesting to note some of the futuristic discrepancies but just as cool to note the stuff Roberts got right. Eve Dallas, the lead character, carries around a device that will surely be what the iPhone is going to be: the all-in-one gadget that basically does everything. I also appreciated the more mundane aspects of 2059 NYC: cars that don't fly. Sure, I want my flying car. Who doesn't? But we're probably not going to get there in 50 years.
Back to the story: Eve Dallas must investigate the murders of a licensed companion, a prostitute, who just happens to be the granddaughter of a prominent US Senator. It was pretty interesting to read this book, with legalized prostitution, during the week NY governor Eliot Spitzer resigned for being with one. Roberts really let us readers get into Eve's head and thoughts. I found myself being mad when she was and happy when she was. I'll admit the POV shifts that frequent this book is not the style in which I write. It was annoying at first but then I got used to it.
The story was great. But what about the romance? This was a romance book after all. Rourke, the all-everything Irish guy who starts as a suspect and becomes Eve's lover, is the kind of guy, I'll admit, seems to inhabit romance books. Now, I'm saying this purely from a stereotypical standpoint. But, hey, the first romance book I read has one of "those" guys in it. How's a regular guy supposed to compete with that? Anyway, the romantic aspects of the novel seemed even, believable. Even the sex scene--there's one main one, with intimate details--was good and hot. I give a hat tip to Ms. Roberts in the many ways to describe sexual intercourse without using actual physical words.
The final testament to reading Naked in Death is this: I have already checked out the second book, Glory in Death, on audio. I can't wait to start.
(taken from [..])JD Robb's "...in Death" series is well worth starting!! You won't be disappointed in starting this "...in Death" series with this first book "Naked in Death" by JD Robb (Nora Roberts). I have had listened to the whole series in audio books format, and I'm delighted that all installments are read by the same narrative, Susan Erickson. Robb puts strength in her lead character, Lt. Eve Dallas. I have turned many friends on to this series. It's fun, captivating, romantic, suspenseful, and thoroughly entertaining. Robb/Roberts' strength in writing is only enhanced by Erickson voice. Susan's voice inflections and her voice differentiation of characters, the Irish in Roarke's voice are truly captivating and makes for great listening! Kudos to a job well done!! A dynamite combination!CD Packaging Has Changed Ten stars for the actual stories, but only four stars for the formatting. I'm a big fan of the In Death series, have all of the books, have all of the cassette tape versions. I'm in the process of collecting the CD versions. It is very annoying when the packaging starts out in one format, and then gets changed midstream to another. Originally the CD packages were 3" high by 6" wide. Now they've swapped to 7" high by 5" wide. The larger size is not as good, as the CD's slide around inside the box. Very annoying. They did the same thing with the hardcover editions -- started off with one jacket design for the first three books, and then came up with a different design for later books. Who makes these crappy decisions???
Regardless -- Susan Ericksen does a terrific job of reading them. I was delighted when the unabridged version of Vengence in Death came out -- the abridged version cut out one of the very best scenes -- I was furious! Glad to have it back. (I won't mention which scene, for benefit of those who haven't read the book yet. But those who read the full-length book, then listened to the abridged tapes will know exactly which scene I'm referring to -- I'll just say "explosion".)
