Secrets in Death: An Eve Dallas Novel (In Death, Book 45)

The book begins with Eve meeting Dr. Garnet DeWinter for a drink. She's irritated because something about DeWinter rubs her the wrong way but she is connected with a number of people who are in Eve's tight social circle. There is lots of nice snark about her reluctance to meet. Next thing you know is that "social information reporter" Larinda Mars comes up from the restroom and dies in Eve's arms. Eve knew her peripherally and disliked her. Someone has sliced her brachial artery causing her to bleed out.Now Eve has to find out who killed a person that she really disliked. Just a little investigation shows that Mars was a blackmailer and her pool of victims is huge. Lots of people were willing to pay to keep their secrets hidden. As the investigation continues, it is Mars' victims who garner sympathy from Eve. Some of their secrets bring back memories of Eve's own childhood abuse and show that she is coming to terms with her own troubled past. Eve becomes even more angry at Larinda Mars when she learns that she, Roarke, Mavis, Leonardo and their infant Bella, along with Nadine Furst have also been targets in Mars' blackmail scheme.And Mars had secrets of her own that she jealously guarded. The autopsy reveals that she had extensive face and body work which sends Eve, with the assistance of forensic anthropologist Dr. Garnet DeWinter, on a quest to find out who she was before she reinvented herself as Larinda Mars. And, while her home has some records and some of her loot, Eve and Roarke are trying to find the rest of her records to know the full scope of people that Mars had blackmailed or investigated.This was another excellent entry into one of my favorite series. Book 45 shows that Eve and Roarke have not worn out their welcome with me and leaves me eager for their next mystery.

It has gotten to the point where I devour these books mostly because of my love for and attachment to the characters. Thank goodness because the resolution of the investigation, though it was interesting, seemed a tad abrupt. Abupt resolution aside, I've enjoyed being a witness to Eve's evolution. Eve has gained a wealth of compassion without having to sacrifice her edge and snark. I've also enjoyed DeWinter and how she seems to be slowly becoming part of Eve's cirlce of friends. This book also feels more like J.D. Robb. There are some books where the writing style is distinctively different and it feels like they are being penned by a ghost writer, where the characters are talking but they don't sound like themselves. I'm happy the characters sound like themselves in this latest installment.While these books make great stand-alone novels I recommend starting from book one for maximum enjoyment. You'll better understand Eve's growth as well as the evolution between her and the other characters. You also better appreciate the inside jokes and subtle nuances a la Eve's penchant for destroying/dissecting idioms and losing her gloves, her weird dreams, Roarke in his conquer-the-world suits, Nadine's donut bribes and especially the mysterious candy thief (I'm dying to know who it is).Overall, a decidedly fun, engaging read. Only 135 days until the next installment. But, hey, who's counting?!

I have read every book of this series, and buy each book as soon as it comes out, even though it sometimes stretches my budget. I have felt that the series could use some shaking up, since all of the relationships have settled into a groove, and there are no new characters introduced. But this book was a major disappointment. Nora could have written this book in her sleep. It has no energy, no suspense, no real detective work, and not even a list of suspects to wonder about. The killer has no defined motive, and is only caught because he commits a pointless second murder to cover up the first. Dallas met him only once, and never considered him a suspect. The story ends with a whimper. The plot really goes nowhere, and many of the regular characters are given a token mention, as if having their name on the page is enough acknowledgement of them.Roark finally finds out who killed his father in a Dublin alley, and that long awaited reveal could and should have elicited much more emotion and dialogue than Nora accords it. It is though she threw that information in just to juice up a lagging story, but it doesn't work, because of the way she presents it, and one wonders why Roark didn't suspect the truth all along.I gave this book three stars only because I have enjoyed the series for years, and am hoping the next book will be better. I would rather Nora write only one book in the series a year than rush out several that are sub-par. She can do so, so much better.

I have read and own every single JD Robb novel. This one was boring and poorly written. There have been noticeable changes to the style over the last several books, and not for the better. Eve Dallas is an intelligent person and yet who ever has been writing these last several books has made her in to an ignorant woman who doesn’t know basic geographical information, and is constantly making word usage mistakes that are better suited to someone from a foreign country. Please stop depicting this strong character as a backwards ignorant bumpkin.As for the story it self i had to push through this novel. it took me a long to read it ... in fact I ended up starting and finishing three other novels before picking this one back up. Most of the novel was taken up with the mystery of who the victim actually was to end up as a dead end that had no effect on the plot.

There's nothing quite like curling up with a Dallas/Roarke thriller on a cold, snowy December evening. Robb's skill as an author make her books flow with delightful elegance as she takes us to a futuristic New York where despite the after effects of a huge war, motives to kill remain very human: greed, jealousy, fear and revenge.Secrets In Death begins with Eve Dallas witnessing the death by stabbing of a notorious gossip queen/radio/TV star, Larinda Mars. It soon becomes clear that not satisfied with her day job, Larinda has taken to doing a bit of blackmailing on the side. Now Eve must sift through the woman's life to find out who her victims were and which of them took their revenge.With the familiar cast of characters, Robb's In Death series never fails to amuse. Her witty characterization and solid plots make this series light reading with a heartfelt emphasis on empathy and love. I whizzed through the book in a couple of days. Definitely recommended.So, just for a bit of light relief, I'd like to share with you my Stocking Fillers list from Eve Dallas' New York1/ Roarke (Who wouldn't want a Roarke in their lives?)2/ Somersby (a live in tactful and loyal butler who can cook and is would save the need for a burglar alarm as he's handy in a tight corner)3/ Eve Dallas' long, leather coat (but in Peabody's pink)

Eve caught her latest case when she was out having a drink with a colleague and a woman literally staggered out of the ladies room and bled out on the floor at Eve's feet. Lucinda Mars was a well known journalist who loved to dig up the latest celebrity gossip so as you can imagine she has plenty of enemies for Eve to try and eliminate from her enquiries, and that was before Eve discovered that Mars had a nasty habit of blackmailing people for a mixture of cash or other people's secrets. The deeper Eve digs the more she wishes Mars was still alive so she could be thrown in a cage just like she deserved but no matter how despicable Mars was she didn't deserve to die and Eve will bring her killer to justice.It's always interesting to see Eve work a case for a victim she doesn't like, she has such a strong moral code that even when the victim brought their death upon themselves she will stand up and get justice for them. This case throws up some surprising emotions from Eve though, partly about her own past but also to do with her relationship with Summerset which I found really interesting. We actually get a huge revelation about him in this book and I loved the way Eve and Roarke handled it. I absolutely love Roarke, he and Eve are right up there as one of my favourite fiction couples ever and their relationship is totally swoonworthy.All my favourite side characters put in an appearance and as usual there are some fun scenes with Eve and Peabody. I'd actually like a bit more of Peabody and McNab (wouldn't it be amazing to get a book or two that focused mainly on them!) but I'm happy with where they're both at. The mystery side was more slow build in this book but it was nice to see Eve not quite as stressed as she often ends up getting mid case. There weren't multiple bodies piling up so there was less urgency in tracking down the killer, of course you know all along that Eve will catch her target but she's not racing against time trying to save other potential victims.I'm still totally hooked on this series and ready to dive straight into the next book!

Another really good read from j d Robb. As good as the early stuff, which I'm glad to see the return of. Peabody is not trying to compete for the lead character, but rather almost takes a step back since her own promotion. Yet again, future inventions are kept to a minimum, just the ventricle driving and drying tube as usual. I must admit, I keep looking for more hi tech items, as I feel it sets the mood. Or maybe with such a wonderfully descriptive story, I just see it in my mind like a movie... and I want to see more to get a better idea of the future in which h these stories are set. I still give it 5 stars, as I do like the mood set back to Dallas is in charge. A previous novel, set Peabody up with more of a joint role, and I had this deep fear that Peabody would start to take over and then all the novel's would stop, as Dallas and Roarke became pregnant..phew! Glad that hasn't happened yet. Having read all these books, I do remember some delightful characters, like Peabody's folks, and I look forward to reading another novel and hopefully revisiting these characters along with Charles L.C. and Mavis and her family. Please Nora, I need more futuristic details, even if it's just to give a movie producer a few headaches! Lol. Keep writing and spreading the joy xx

The usual cast of characters solve a mystery with lots of twists and turns led by the amazing yet endearingly human, Eve Dallas whose logic, powers of deduction and intuition got them there in the end. I love the relationships in these novels, however spiky and the way they develop over time. The plot lines are sometimes complex but logical, after all they are mysteries and I don't want to guess who did it in the first couple of chapters. I admire JD Roberts' writing so much with the flashes of humour and descriptive depth which makes it all seem real and possible. You won't catch this author out with a sloppy sentence or metaphor. Each novel is well crafted and this is no exception. Loved it.

My Thoughts:Forty-five books down the line and and I am still buying the In Death series books. Shouldn’t it have waned by now? But the thing is, I still look forward to it every year. I like the way their lives evolved and its like meeting old friends again. Once a year. A lot of the scenes are unrealistic of course, something that would only happen in a book but never in real life, so why is it so easy to suspend disbelief? The only answer I could find to that, is that the author has a way of telling things and weaving a story that makes it easy for readers to believe in it. It’s masterful story telling quality! And that probably also explains the staying power of this series. However, this particular book seems to have a… just slightly…a tiny tinee… predictable villain. Or maybe I am just reading too many In Death books…Empirical Evaluation:Story telling quality = 5Character development = 5Story itself = 4Writing Style = 5Ending = 5World building = 5Cover art = 4Pace = (13 hrs & 2 mins listening time)Plot = 4.5Narration = 4.5Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5