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

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Description:
In the latest suspense thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, the year 2060 is drawing to a close in New York City and loved ones are coming together for Thanksgiving. But sometimes the deepest hatreds seethe within the closest relationships, and blood flows faster than water…

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has plenty to be grateful for this season. Hosting Roarke’s big Irish family for the holiday may be challenging, but it’s a joyful improvement on her own dark childhood.

Other couples aren’t as lucky as Eve and Roarke. The Reinholds, for example, are lying in their home stabbed and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition. Those who knew them are stunned—and heartbroken by the evidence that they were murdered by their own son. Twenty-six-year-old Jerry hadn’t made a great impression on the bosses who fired him or the girlfriend who dumped him—but they didn’t think he was capable of this.

Turns out Jerry is not only capable of brutality but taking a liking to it. With the money he’s stolen from his parents and a long list of grievances, he intends to finally make his mark on the world. Eve and her team already know the who, how, and why of this murder. What they need to pinpoint is where Jerry’s going to strike next

Review:

Thankless in Death is the 37^th book in J.D. Robb’s fantastic In Death series.  This does not include all the novellas over the years.  One thing is sure, you will never be disappointed by anything written by J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts), as this series has the best couple, as far as I’m concerned, in the literary world, in Eve & Roarke.  Just to spend time with Eve, Roarke, and all their great secondary characters, such Peabody, Mira, Summerset, just a name a few makes this series so highly enjoyable & anticipated. 

The villain in TID is Jerald Reinhold, a 26 year old bitter and lazy young man, who does nothing in his life, but expect others to serve him.  When his mother continues to nag him to get a job, Jerry goes out of control & turns psycho, killing her with many stab wounds, similar to the infamous Lizzie Borden.  He then goes on to kill his father, using a baseball bat. The bad thing is Jerry has finally found himself, he is happy and wants to keep on torturing those he feels maligned him. 

Eve and Peabody are assigned to this case, as they view the bloody mess they find at the Reinholds.  Right from the start, Eve figures out fast that Jerry is the murderer, but the hardest part, is finding him, since he has so many people he felt wronged him, it was hard to figure his next move. 

I found that Jerry was a sick & nasty villain, and though this series has many violent murders, he is one of the worst, and I truly hated what he did to his victims.   But Eve is a murder cop, the best, and she has a great team that respects and are totally loyal to her.  We have come to expect the horrible villains. You know in time they will find the killer, but the question is how long and how many horrible deaths will it take before our Eve gets him. 

In between this exciting, but violent case, we get a few wonderful added moments.  We met Roarke’s Irish family a few books back, and since this is Thanksgiving time, we get to see them all again.  It is truly a pleasure to see them, and fun to watch.  We also got to see many of those super secondary characters, whom we have come to care about throughout all the 40 plus stories.  Some of my favorites include the previously mentioned Peabody, Mira, Summerset, but also Nadine, Morris, Mavis, McNabb, Feeney, Baxter, Charles, Louise,  and the rest of her team.  We also got to see Eve and Roarke receive accolades for their always great work, and also see some wonderful characters from the past.  Eve may stand for the dead, but in this book, her friends, co-workers, family, and those she helped stand for Eve.  There were quite a few emotional moments that are rare for Eve.

One thing is constant, Eve & Roarke are such a great couple, each with their own unhappy childhoods, and their flawed past, but their love for one another is so real & true; when they are together, your heart just warms up.  There is nothing finer then watching our gorgeous & rich hunk, Roarke making sure his cop gets to eat, rest, dress well, and have a little sex in between.  I guess you can tell I love Eve & Roarke.

Throughout this non-stop violent wild ride, we got to see Jerry’s POV, which showed how dangerous and sick his mind was.  Even to the very end, Jerry thought he was in his right, and nothing was his fault.  Always a pleasure to watch Eve & Roarke narrow down the clues, work closely with her team to stop a vicious murderer.  What stops this from being just a violent book, is the joy and fun you get watching all of them interact with one another. 

The epilogue which was such a nice touch, was very emotional, as it brought back Nixie, one the youngsters Eve helped from the past cases.  With the theme of Thanksgiving, I am thankful to be able to read at least two books a year and a novella, which helps feed my addiction to Eve , Roarke, Peabody and all the wonderful secondary characters.  Thankless in Death is another winner for J.D. Robb, and I can’t wait for the next one.

Reviewed by Barb