Obsession in Death by J.D. Robb – a review

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / The Book Depository / BAM

Description:
Eve Dallas has solved a lot of high-profile murders for the NYPSD and gotten a lot of media. She—and her billionaire husband—are getting accustomed to being objects of attention, of gossip, of speculation.

But now Eve has become the object of one person’s obsession. Someone who finds her extraordinary, and thinks about her every hour of every day. Who believes the two of them have a special relationship. Who would kill for her—again and again…

With a murderer reading meanings into her every move, handling this case will be a delicate—and dangerous—psychological dance. And Eve knows that underneath the worship and admiration, a terrible threat lies in wait. Because the beautiful lieutenant is not at all grateful for these bloody offerings from her “true and loyal friend.” And in time, idols always fall…

Review:

Obsession in Death by J.D. Robb is the 40^th full length novel (approximately 10 novellas) in her fantastic In Death series. Most of you know I am an In Death fanatic, and consider Eve and Roarke my favorite couple. You would think by the 40^th book, the stories would become repetitious. However, I am happy to say that Obsession in Death was an awesome read, and I hope J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) never stops giving us Eve, Roarke, and all of our favorite characters we have come to adore in this series.

Obsession in Death starts with Eve and Peabody being called to investigate a homicide. The victim is someone they know from previous cases; a lawyer that Eve did not really like. The biggest surprise they discover at the murder scene is a written message on the wall addressed to Eve. The murderer expresses her admiration for her, and as a “true loyal friend”, she acted to punish the victim who wronged Eve in the past.

What follows is an exciting, fascinating story of a killer who is obsessed with Eve, and targets those who the killer feels has been disrespected her in past cases. The race is on with Eve, Peabody, her team to find the killer, who she suspects has some police background.   Dr. Mira has warned Eve that the killer will turn at some point against her, since she will not acknowledge the killers need for some kind of praise. Eve escalates defenses to all her family and friends, whom the killer knows she cares about, in order to protect them. It was nice to see those same friends and family express worry that Eve needs to protect herself.

The suspense is nerve wrecking, as Eve, Roarke and the team rush through the many obsessive messages and emails that she has received over the years. It is like finding a needle in the haystack.

One of the great things about this series is in between the tense murder investigations is the wonderful romance between Eve & Roarke; the fun relationship and banter between Eve & Peabody; and the fabulous secondary characters, which always manages to relieve any tension from the case.

Over the years, Eve has evolved so much from the young police officer, who had a tragic childhood, and would only let her superior, Feeney and her friend, Mavis into her personal life. Now besides her love for Roarke, she finds herself with many friends that make this case even more difficult for her, since she fears for their lives. What is great about this series now is the friends that are a big part of her life, such as Nadine, Mavis, Peabody, McNab, Feeney, Mira, Summerset, Morris,  Charles, Louise,Galahad, and her entire police team, whom we have grown to care about too. J.D. Robb has done a wonderful job creating a couple such as Eve & Roarke and surrounding them with those we have come to love over time.

Obsession in Death is an action packed, humorous, suspenseful, tense story that holds our breath through the exciting climax. I just never have enough of this series, not to mention my awe of JD Robb/Nora Roberts, who continues to amaze us with each new book.

Reviewed by Barb