Down the Rabbit Hole

This collection is of five novellas that have as a starting point Alice in Wonderland. The stories are not retellings of Alice in Wonderland but rather have some thematic connection to that novel.WONDERMENT IN DEATH by J.D. Robb -- In number 41.5 in the In Death series, Lieutenant Eve Dallas is investigating a murder suicide. She takes the case because the victims are close to her friends Dr. Louise and Charles. Once Eve begins to investigate things become strange. Although the case should easily be explained away, something bothers Eve. Her investigation leads her to the Mad Hatter and a man who believes death is his domain. I didn't think this novellas was as strong as other novellas in the series. The mystery is given away from the beginning and there is little intriguing interaction with Eve's supporting cast to sustain the story. I prefer stories focusing on Eve and Rourke, but this one is mostly case investigation. Rating: 4 stars.ALICE AND THE EARL IN WONDERLAND by Mary Blayney -- This is a companion novella about time travel. This is the story of the Earl Weston and his love Alice Kemp who are transported from the 1800s to present day. Alice has refused to marry Weston because her parents are divorced and thus she will causes scandal. Weston is determined to take this opportunity to convince Alice to marry him. This story wan't that interesting to me. The whole story is about the two finding out that in modern times things are different about women's roles and divorce. I didn't feel any connection between the characters and found the whole story pretty dull. Rating: 1.5 stars.ILOVE by Elaine Fox -- Jeremy Abott and Mary Serafini breakup because Mary thinks Jeremy pays more attention to his cellphone than her. Jeremy gets sucked into an alternate world where he is trapped within the Wonderland of his cellphone. He needs to have a true relationship in order to escape. Can he convince Mary to give him another chance? This is a strange little story. It has in interesting premise but it reads more like a complaint about cellphone addiction than a romance. Rating: 2 stars.A TRUE HEART by Mary Kay McComas -- Elisa is a woman who is guarding herself from fears of being hurt and disappointed. She has just broken up with Max who she liked but was unwilling to risk herself. When she steps into a costume shop, she falls into a world where with the help of a costume guide she uncovers what is actually in her heart. I really liked this story. Really a story of self-discovery, with a touch of a Christmas Carol, this novella tells the story of a romance from a different perspective. Rating: 4 stars.FALLEN by R.C. Ryan -- Beth Campbell, a lawyer, is sent by her aunt's firm to negotiate the sale of a piece of ancestral property from Colin Gordon in Scotland. On the way there, Beth hits her head and falls into a whole and awakens in the past amongst the Highland clans. In a magical world where people transform and dangerous plots emerge, Beth learns about what is important to her heart. This was my favorite of the anthology. It is romantic and clever with a lot of story and romantic connection in the short novella. The story ultimately resolved differently than I expected and I like when a story can surprise me. The story has a dreamy fairy tale quality to it. It also manages to be sad and then resolve so perfectly that I walked away from the story with a smile. Rating: 4.25

Every story was unique and made you sad when it ended ,wishing there was more to read to all the stories!

Wonderment In Death is a classic in Death short. The story is there, it’s entertaining and intense – in many ways a mere shortening of the full length in Death novels. Unfortunately for me – for me – the other stories in this anthology just didn’t do much for me in entertainment value or in the connection felt with the stories. I feel badly saying that because I’ve purchased these anthologies with these writers before and they’ve always been enjoyable and entertaining – this time, only the Wonderment in Death story made this one worthwhile for me. And in absolute truth I’ve always bought them solely for the J. D. Robb story, the others were bonus material for me but still enjoyable. It’s a reality that sometimes the stories just don’t click. I did give this a 5 star rating – based completely on Wonderment in Death.If it wasn’t for the insistence of her friends Charles and Louise, Eve Dallas would have taken bet that this case was an open and shut murder/suicide of a brother and sister with family troubles. Or for that one little piece of busted up technology that made no sense for a woman bent on murder and then killing herself should have had on her person. Then there were the drugs in the woman’s body that made absolutely no sense for a woman that everyone who’d known her swore she never took anything stronger than a blocker. But no matter, Darlene and Marcus were hers now and she would find out what had happened to this brother and sister.Almost all of the characters from the Eve and Roarke universe got some air time in this novella. And I love seeing them, even if only for a scene or line. The team quickly begins to follow what leads there are in this case that just gets weirder and curious-er as they delve further into this mystery. With a lot of Alice in Wonderland phrases and clues this one was indeed a trip down the rabbit hole and at the end was a very mad hatter.If you are an Eve and Roarke fan you will find all the touches of their unique sense of humor, the obvious love between Eve and Roarke, the cuteness of Peabody as well as the obvious workings of a team that knows what the job is and they go out and get the bad guys. I enjoyed this one completely and I already know that it will be re-read, because it’s that perfect length for a taste of a world that I enjoy when I don’t have the time for a re-read of a full length in Death novel.

A collection of 5 stories by 5 different authors, all with shades of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. J. D. Robb – “Wonderment in Death” – Lacks full development, but good; interesting use of ALICE IN WONDERLAND references. Mary Blayney – “Alice and the Earl of Wonderland” – Time travel. A couple from 19th Century England (1805) travels to the future, the 21st Century, ending up in London in 2005. Weston, an earl, wants very much to marry Alice, who is hesitant to commit. This was my least favorite story. I found it dry and dull, despite its references to AIW. Elaine Fox – “iLove” – Cute! Prophetic? The guy is sucked into his Smart Phone, a good lesson to the all-engrossed cell phone users. Mary Kay McComas – “A True Heart” – Elise solves her problem of not being able to trust again after being terribly deceived by her first husband. She faces her problems in daydreams, taking on the persona of fairy tale characters. R. C. Ryan – “Fallen” – Beth of 1990 New York travels to Scotland to effect the purchase of some valuable property. Arriving there, she rents a car to drive to the estate; but arriving at a place where she cannot continue in her rental car, she falls, and blacks out. When she is awakened and rescued, she discovers she has traveled back in time, where she falls in love with the laird of the estate.

Loved all the references to 'Alice in Wonderland'! All the stories were about that book. The connection was easy to see. The characters were great and so real. Great stories, characters and adventures. A good read.

Only bought it for the J D Robb element. The other stories had mixed appeal.

Another set of novellas from five different authors, mainly bought by me for the "..in Death" series by J.D. Robb, but I have come to appreciate the other authors as well and was quite looking forward to this one.I was a bit disappointed as - although the stories were not bad as such - they did not meet the standards of the previous 5-in-1 books, which is a pity. The overall theme for all of them was Alice in Wonderland, which most of them interpreted into "down the rabbit hole" stories. The last one, I would actually have liked if it had been longer, which might have prevented the quite abrupt ending.All in all, not bad stories, but I am used to better ones from these authors.

I love this series by J.D.Robb and although some of the subjects are not my favorite circumstance I love the regular cast in each story and feel like I know them personally. If J.D.Robb could write a book a week with Eve Dallas and Roarke et all I would be reading a book a week!

J.D. Robb's story is the only story in the book worth a look see. The other four stories are just plain weird so unless you are a big fan of these authors, give this book a miss.

JD Robb is an incredibly talented author. I cant say I like this narrative much but its always good to read and enjoy the characters.