Concealed in Death by J.D. Robb – a Review

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Description:
In a decrepit, long-empty New York building, Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband begins the demolition process by swinging a sledgehammer into a wall. When the dust clears, there are two skeletons wrapped in plastic behind it. He summons his wife immediately—and by the time she’s done with the crime scene, there are twelve murders to be solved.

The place once housed a makeshift shelter for troubled teenagers, back in the mid-2040s, and Eve tracks down the people who ran it. Between their recollections and the work of the force’s new forensic anthropologist, Eve begins to put names and faces to the remains. They are all young girls. A tattooed tough girl who dealt in illegal drugs. The runaway daughter of a pair of well-to-do doctors. They all had their stories. And they all lost their chance for a better life.

Then Eve discovers a connection between the victims and someone she knows. And she grows even more determined to reveal the secrets of the place that was called The Sanctuary—and the evil concealed in one human heart.


Review:

Concealed in Death is the 38^th novel in J.D. Robb’s In Death series.  Most of you already know that I am a In Death fanatic, and have read all 38 of the books, and all of the novellas, which Nora (she is J.D. Robb) writes a few times a year.  I love that that I can get my In Death fix without too long to wait (no less than 3 times a year, including the novellas).  Now to my review.

Concealed in Death begins with Roarke, who is and always will be the best and swoonworthy male character in the literary world.  Roarke has just purchased a broken down building, and while reviewing with his staff of what he wants done, he helps start the wrecking ball going by knocking down part of a wall. Of course, we knew something would happen, this is after all a murder mystery, and it is Eve Dallas, our fabulous murder detective.  Roarke calls in his wife, as behind that wall they found two bodies.

Before Eve, Peabody, and the rest of the police crew are done, there will be 12 bodies found, all bones, and all young girls between 12-15 years old.  What will make it a difficult case is that the murders took place 15 years ago. We get to meet a new interesting character, Garnet DeWinter, the new forensic anthropologist. There is an immediate clash of personalities between Eve & Garnet that will continue throughout the book, as they are both strong independent women at the top of their field.  Should be interesting where this will go in future books. 

While the bodies are slowly being identified Eve, her civilian consultant (Roarke), and Peabody delve deep into the history of the old building (The Sanctuary), which was a home for troubled, wayward children/runaways.  As is usual with Eve, we get to find out about the dead girls, at least some of them, such as Shelby, who was the leader of a group of girls.  The story revolves around her, and her friends, who are mostly dead.

With all the years past, and no clues, Eve will slowly begin to put the pieces together. Having had her own troubled childhood, will help Eve put herself in those children’s eyes.  We meet the people who ran The Sanctuary, Philly (Philadelphia) and Nash (Nashville) Jones, a brother and sister team, who had closed the The Sanctuary years before, as it was falling apart, and thanks to a benefactor, moved to a new, bigger and more exclusive building.

This was a different type of case then normal for the In Death series, with lots of details as they continue to dig into the past.  There was no tense murder that we normally witness or a horrible villain that we had to endure.  It was a sad story that came to life for us to see.  But it was an excellent story, one that kept your attention and one you had no idea who the murderer was.  The ending was filled with many surprises, and as I said before, totally different then usually done in this series, very well done.

As is with all the In Death books, there are always two stories that mesh together: the murder(s)/villians and there is Eve & Roarke.  They are such a great couple together, and their love for one another is just beautiful, sexy, heartwarming, and fun.  They are truly partners in every sense of the word.  38 books later, we can see Eve becoming more content in her life, letting her horrific past go, and opening up more to friends and family.  At the same time, Eve the cop, is still a tough, rough, in your face heroine, and that will never change.  She will always stand for the dead.  Concealed in Death is another wonderful addition to this fantastic series, which I pray continues for another 40 more. 

Reviewed by Barb