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

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

calculated in death

Links to order Calculated In Death:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository / Kobo

Calculated in Death is another excellent book in J.D. Robb’s (Nora Roberts) wonderful In Death series.  Though this is the 36th novel in her series, I eagerly look forward to the next book, and just never get tired of reading about our Eve & Roarke, and team.  Calculated in Death starts off with the death of an accountant, which originally looked like a mugging, but of course, as Eve Dallas is called onto the scene, she knows right away, this is not a mugging, but a murder planned. 

The story is set in the financial world of accountants, audits, investors, etc.  Though this book has its normal multiple murders, many suspects, it is not as gruesome as some of the other In Death books.  We spend a lot of time early on, with Eve and Peabody investigating the crime scene, and questioning anyone who knew the victim, and by the time the day is over, they already know why the victim was murdered, and have their own list of suspects.   Did we expect anything less with Eve and Peabody?

It seemed like forever before our beloved Roarke came into the story, and when he did, life and the story got so much better.  Eve is a great detective, tough, smart, savvy, but it is Roarke who brings out her feminine and sexy side.  If you have read any In Death review by me, you will know I absolutely love Eve & Roarke together.  They are an awesome couple, and that never changes. 

The story moves quickly, as Eve deciphers the clues, with the help of Roarke.  The investigation does get somewhat complicated, within the financial aspects of the suspects, but we learn more, as Roarke explains much to Eve, and us.  I totally adore when the two of them work together at home to find the clues, as Roarke in between makes sure his cop eats, takes such loving care of her, and both take the time for their great sex. 

As usual, Eve and Peabody find themselves in danger, as the investigation hits close to home, and angers many of the high and mighty.  The world of accounting never looked more dangerous, especially with fraud and cover-ups. There are some surprises early on, with more deaths, as Eve and team race to find the killer before there are more deaths.  

In between this murder investigation, and there is the backdrop of the upcoming red carpet event of the premiere of the Icove video, we saw in the previous books.  Eve is never comfortable showcasing herself, even though her husband is one of the most powerful and richest men on any planet, but Eve will use this to her advantage.  Some of the fun is watching Eve dread the appearance of Trina to fix up her hair and makeup….humorous as usual.  It is also these types of events that allow us to see our old friends, like Nadine, Mavis, Leonardo.  Seeing Eve dressed to the max, and how Roarke is always helping choose her clothes is so much fun. I always enjoy seeing Peabody dress up too..such fun. 

This is what makes this series so special.  The wonderful recurring characters, who have become part of the In Death series, such as Peabody, Summerset, Mira, McNab, Feeney, Morris, Baxter, Trueheart, Reo, and our beloved Galahad (her cat who has saved her life twice).  As much as this series can be very violent, J.D. Robb has a masterful way of taking a very very tense moment, and making you suddenly break out into laughter, whether it be her byplay with Peabody or her confrontations with Summerset.  Another trademark of Robb is the sexual chemistry of Eve & Roarke.  They are the one of the most popular couples in the literary world, and my favorite.  Yet Robb does this so well, showing their chemistry, sexual, yet not erotic at all.  You see and feel their love, each and every time.

Calculated in Death is another wonderful edition to the In Death series, with an excellent and different storyline, and with the same exciting, dangerous, and complex murder investigations.  To be able to spend time with Eve, Roarke and their team always makes this series so fresh and enjoyable to read.

Reviewed by Barb

 

 

 

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CAFE NEWS

CAFE NEWS

FROM: Karen Marie Moning

Guys, ICED is NOT Young Adult. Dani ages during the next three books of the Fever Series. Yes, there’s sex. I like writing about sex. I always write about sex. No, 14-year old Dani doesn’t have sex. Other people do. Nor does 14 -year old (at the start of the trilogy) Dani make it a book by or for a 14 year old. I promise you all the magic you’ve come to expect from the Fever World. I don’t write YA. This series isn’t YA. Please spread the word so my inbox will calm down:)

Click HERE for an excerpt from ICED by Karen Marie Moning

 

 

TITLE: The Cursed

AUTHOR: Alyssa Day

SERIES: The League of the Black Swann

RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

TITLE: Beauty Awakened

AUTHOR: Gena Showalter

SERIES: Angels of the Dark

RELEASE DATE: March 2013

 

 

 

TITLE: Magic at Midnight

AUTHOR: Gena Showalter

SERIES: 2 previously released novellas

1. The Witches of Mysteria and the Dead Who Love Them
2. The Tawdry Affair

RELEASE DATE: February 2013

 

 

TITLE: Silverwing’s Sorceress

AUTHOR: Cassi Carver

SERIES: Shadow Slayers

RELEASE DATE: December 2012

 

 

 

 

 

TITLE: The Better to Bite

AUTHOR: Cynthia Eden

Series: Howl

RELEASE DATE: November 2012

 

 

 

 

TITLE:  Last Blood

AUTHOR:  Kristen Painter

SERIES:   House of Comarre

RELEASE DATE:   TBA

 

 

 

BITS AND PIECES

WOLF WITH BENEFITS by Shelly Laurenston (Pride series-Ricky Lee’s story)
Release Date: March 2013

FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson)
Release Date: July 2013

CALCULATED IN DEATH by J.D. Robb (In Death Series)
Release Date: February 2013

TIGER MAGIC by Jennifer Ashley (Shifters Unbound)
Release Date: June 2013

WICKED MEMORIES by Nina Bangs (Castles of Dark Dreams)
Release Date: June 2013

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

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

Delusion in Death by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts), is the 36th  book in the In Death series. With at least 10 novellas in this series, the number of times we get to spend time with our beloved couple, Eve and Roarke, and their friends is now in the high 40’s. Despite this high number, I never want this to end.  The In Death series is on my automatic buy, and I will drop whatever else I am reading to read the new book. On to Delusion in Death.

Description:
It was just another after-work happy-hour bar downtown, where business professionals unwound with a few drinks . . .until something went terribly wrong. And after twelve minutes of chaos and violence, eighty people lay dead.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is trying to sort out the inexplicable events. Surviving witnesses talk about seeing things—monsters and swarms of bees. They describe sudden, overwhelming feelings of fear and rage and paranoia. When forensics gives its report, the mass delusions make more sense: It appears the bar patrons were exposed to a cocktail of chemicals and illegal drugs that could drive anyone to temporary insanity—if not kill them outright.  But that doesn’t explain who would unleash such horror—or why. And if Eve can’t figure it out fast, it could happen again, anytime, anywhere. Because it’s airborne. . . .

Review:

Delusion in Death is another excellent book, and J.D. Robb once again gives us an exciting thriller.  Delusion in Death begins as the work day in New York City is ending, and people are either rushing home or stopping for a drink with friends to unwind.  As the story starts we are at a local bar, a nightly hangout for executives. We follow along as 4 friends sit at a table making plans for dinner.  Soon one of them gets a headache, and out of no where becomes violently nasty.  The next scene brings Lieutenant Eve Dallas to the bar, as she was called in to investigate a horrendous crime scene. 

Even Eve, who is always exposed to terrible crime scenes, and vicious murderers, finds herself fighting to maintain her calm composure seeing this mass destruction. We learn early on that within 12 minutes, 83 people were dead, having attacked each other like animals. The few survivors describe seeing hallucinations, of being attacked by monsters, animals, insects, and reacted in their own maddening rage of self defense.  The virus is a short acting virus, but unless they can escape, no one can survive.

Eve calls in her entire team to help with the bodies, and begin their investigations as to what caused this behavior, and to move quickly before it happens again.  Of course, as normal, Roarke arrives on the scene to help, and we find out that he owns the bar, which isn’t much of a surprise, as Roarke owns everything. 🙂  Working with Morris and Dickie, it doesn’t take Eve long to figure out that an airborne virus from a mixture of lethal drugs was used, causing massive deaths.  The immediate worry was if this was a terrorist attack, and the threat and fear of more to come. The scary part was this was the type of attack that can come with no warning, at anytime, anywhere, with massive deaths, if this was not confined within a small indoor area.  

What I really love about this series is how you find yourself totally immersed into the case with Eve, as you see and know everything she is thinking, and you follow the case as if you were along side her.  It was an exciting story, as Eve slowly, with the help of Roarke and her super team, begin to thread through all the details of the victims, and survivors to find the clues to unravel this mystery before another mass murder happens again.  We also get to learn more about the Urban wars, and possible terrifying scenarios that may have begun from those ugly war days. 

This story also brings back memories of some previous books, as they reference some of those cases.  Eve still has her nightmares, but now they were in-twined with her dead mother and father, and the victims of this mass murder.  Eve seems to finally have moved forward, and perhaps we can put those monsters to the hell they belong in.

What can I say about Roarke; how much he loves his cop, and how he ensures she takes care of herself, even if he has to push her to eat, and sleep.  Eve Dallas is my all time favorite female in the literary world.  She is a tough cop, with a horrendous childhood, and despite the odds, made herself into the best there is.  But she is also madly in love with the most perfect man Roarke (he is also my favorite male character), and together they help each other survive in a wild and dangerous world. 

The last half of the book is extremely exciting, more violence, as Eve and her team race against the clock to find those responsible. Along the way to the exciting climax, there are some twists and surprises.

Kudos to J.D. Robb (Nora), for keeping this series fresh, allowing us to share our love of Eve & Roarke, as well as the best secondary group of characters around.  It was great to be able to enjoy Peabody, Mira, Summerset (it was nice to see them civil to each other), Nadine, Baxter, Trueheart, McNab, Feeney, Morris and the rest of the gang.  I did think though that this book missed some of the humor between those secondary characters and Eve, though there was some.  Make no mistake, the In Death series is about murder, police, violence; but it is the love of Eve & Roarke, and the camaraderie between those wonderful secondary characters that makes this special.  Hopefully we see more of that in the next book, coming in February, 2013..Calculated in Death.

Reviewed by Barb

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

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

 

Celebrity in Death by JD Robb (aka Nora Roberts), is the 34th book in the In Death series. There are also at least 10 novellas in this series, which would bring the count into the 40’s of stories about our beloved Eve & Roarke. But 40 something books later, I still can’t get enough of this series.

 

 

 

Celebrity in Death is another excellent book, and the premise of this story revolves around a movie being made from an earlier case of Eve’s….The Icove Case.   Nadine Furst wrote a successful novel about the shocking case that Eve, Peabody, and the rest of Eve’s team, including Roarke solved.  Now the movie is being produced from Nadine’s book.  The story picks up with Eve and Peabody visiting the set, seeing the actors playing their roles, and meeting all other cast members.  That night, at a dinner for entire cast, including Eve & Roarke,  the evening ended with a murder of one of the cast members. 

The story is done very well, and it kept your interest, as you tried to follow Eve, as she deciphers the clues.  Celebrity in Death was a bit different then many of the recent In-Death books, as it was not as intense, less violence and somewhat not as exciting .  But this was still an excellent read, as you were kept in suspense as to who the murderer was until close to the end.  Then it was interesting to see the twist of how deep this murderer was in other crimes, and the eventual arrest.

But the best thing about this story was to be able to relax, and thoroughly enjoy the camaraderie of the wonderful recurring characters that make up the In-Death series.  As each book comes out, we get to enjoy them even more.   I enjoy many couples in the books I have read, but to me, nothing comes close to the relationship between Eve & Roarke.  I love them together…love how Eve looks at Roarke with amazement that he belongs to her…..how Roarke loves his cop…how when Eve is in the throes of her nightmares from her horrific childhood, Roarke is always there to help pull her out of it….love when he worries, and forces her to eat,  or relieves her tension with their wonderful sexual encounters…adore when Roarke takes her clothes out of the closet to tell her what to wear when she has an important meeting.    They are by far, such an awesome couple, and I never get tired of them.

As I said, the great thing about this series, is that over time, as Eve moves on with her life, and learns to let people into her heart, and care about them, you meet these wonderful recurring characters that have become part of your family too….Peabody, McNab, Nadine, Mira, Mavis, Feeney, Louise, Charles, Baxter, Trueheart, Trina, and of course, the wonderful Summerset, and not to forget the all important Galahad, who has saved her life twice.   Eve, who when the series started stood alone, not allowing herself to have feelings about anyone, and now once she opened the door falling in love with Roarke, you grow with her and see the changes in her.  Just to see them each time, makes me happy.  Excellent book, wonderful series.  

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my good friend, Irene, for convincing me to try this series…40 some odd books later, I have never looked back.  Thank you Irene, for giving me Eve & Roarke.

Reviewed by Barb

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