Published by Berkley
Released on October 1, 1997
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
The Delight
Onward I progress through the In Death series and arrive at the book the completely did it for me. Oh, I’ve enjoyed all the earlier installments, but this was the one that emotionally engaged me while delivering a cunning and suspenseful challenge for Eve and the others.
Review
Vengeance in Death is book six and, to a certain extent, be read out of order- new mystery, and all. However, this one relies on the reader to already be familiar with a handful of characters and their situations and this is what really makes it pack the punch.
Roarke’s past has been mentioned before, but this is the first occasion where one of Eve’s cases takes them right back into the gritty, black heart of it. The book opens with a horrendous murder and a killer who calls Eve in on it personally. Vengeance is his game and his religious quest. If he wants to best her, well then, that’s all part of it, isn’t it?
So, Eve, Peabody, and new tech cop, McNab have the work of tracking down a crazed killer who is set on having Roarke’s stiff butler, Summerset go down for it and Roarke to suffer through to the end. Eve is now faced with her worst nightmare- someone she loves in deadly danger- and she’s barely hanging in there. But when things get bad, she gets nastier and more stubborn and people had just stay out of her path.
I worked out who was behind it all quickly, but it honestly didn’t help because my method was cheating really. I don’t want to spoil it for others, but let’s just say that my method didn’t track clues and facts, but rather a vague opportunity and the echo of a similar murder mystery I’d read years ago. The Eve and her helpers had a tough time of it because the villain was prepared and the advantage of know the opponents.
What really made this one shine for me was watching crusty, stubborn, and dedicated Eve faced with so much personally in this story- marriage, husband’s grieve and anger, ethics, objectivity, and pushing herself so hard. She just keeps going forward whether tired, hungry, or hurt until she drops or Roarke forces her to take a breather. I get frustrated with her at times, but I admire this heroine tremendously. And, need I say it? I do love the way Roarke is right there for her, always. This was the first book where I felt we were allowed past his guard and it was great.
So, it was a page-turner and the longest yet, but I didn’t even notice the pages as they flew past. Romantic suspense lovers who don’t mind it getting gritty and dark and set in the future definitely need to grab this one up.
Challenges
Romance Roundabout #204 RS
Mt. TBR #75
Series That Never Ends #7
Books N Tunes #28 Celtic Thunder X’s The Wild Rover Tune
Recommendations
Preview
About J.D. Robb
With a phenomenal career full of bestsellers, Nora Roberts was ready for a new writing challenge. As her agent put it, like Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and caffeine-free Pepsi, a pseudonym offered her the opportunity to reach a new and different group of readers. The first futuristic suspense J. D. Robb book, Naked in Death, was published in paperback in 1995, and readers were immediately drawn to Eve Dallas, a tough cop with a dark past, and her even more mysterious love interest, Roarke.
The series quickly gained attention, great reviews, and devoted readers. Since the debut of Loyalty in Death (the ninth In Death book) on Halloween 1999 on the New York Times bestseller list, every J. D. Robb title has been a New York Times bestseller. While fans had their suspicions, it wasn’t until the twelfth book in the series, Betrayal in Death (2001), that the publisher fully revealed that J. D. Robb was a pseudonym for bestselling powerhouse Nora Roberts. Unmasked, Nora Roberts fans who hadn’t yet picked up one of the Robb books were quickly playing catch-up.
Robb’s peers in the mystery world are fans as well, with accolades for the In Death series from such blockbuster authors as Stephen King, Jonathan Kellerman, Dennis Lehane, Kathy Reichs, Lisa Scottoline, Janet Evanovich, David Baldacci, Harlan Coben, Robert B. Parker, Ridley Pearson, Linda Fairstein, and Andrew Gross.
The In Death books are perpetual bestsellers, and frequently share the bestseller list with other Nora Roberts novels. J. D. Robb publishes two hardcover In Death books per year, with the occasional stand-alone original In Death story featured in an anthology.
Forty books later, there is no end in sight for the ever-popular In Death series.
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The story and the characters sound so interesting and I like that the series can read as stand alone’s too. Great review, I’m glad you enjoyed it so much.
Yes, I started out liking them with occasional moments of irritation with Eve, but this was the book where I dropped into deep love with the characters and the series. The others were good with the futuristic setting and the dark, gritty murders, but this was the one. 🙂
Six books in and a five star? That is awesome! And what’s even more awesome is that I cancelled Audible in favor of Scribd, and I’m not sure how many of the In Death books they have, but I see they have the first one! I hope I like the narrator, because you make this series sound so good!
Great review, Sophia.
Yes! I finally got to THE ONE. The others were pretty good and above average reads, but this was the book that brought it home for me and got the all-stars. 🙂
Oh, that’s neat. I’ll have to check out Scribd. I’ve been reading these so I’m not sure about the narrator, but hopefully he/she works with the story.
I reall really need to start this series!
Definitely, Melliane! 🙂
It’s been a while since I’ve read this author but I have enjoyed her books in the past. This sounds like it would be a good read as well.
In the first group I’ve read so far, this was my fav. I loved getting Roarke’s past.
It’s cool how your past reading experiences helped inform you while reading this book. I haven’t read this series before, but it looks interesting. I’ll add it to my TBR list!
Yes, it was funny when I was reading and I had that moment of ‘this sounds just like…’ and it was. That made it easier to figure out. Haha
Hope you end up liking them, Crystal!