J.D. Robb and the In Death series

J.D. Robb is one of the pseudonyms used by the American writer Nora Roberts.

She’s such a prolific writer, that I suspect an army of Fairies take up her job every night when she goes to bed. That, or she doesn’t go to bed at all. 

The In Death series was started in 1995 with “Naked in Death” and isn’t finished yet: the last published book (at the time of the writing), “Faithless in Death”, is, after all, only number 52!



I must confess I’m still at book number 19, “Imitation in Death”, but am planning a binge-reading weekend to reach at least number 30: “Eternity in Death” seems a good title to read before taking another break.


It’s a compelling series, set in New York in the near future: it’s not proper sci-fi, but there are some nice details, such as the AutoChef, a wonderful device that cooks for you! Weapons have been banned, and the police use tasers to stop and arrest criminals. Sex workers and professional mothers are a thing, and people can go-off planet for a business conference in space. 

Of course there are downsides: real coffee is rare and expensive, for example (which is dreadful), and people manage to kill each other just as they’ve always done. 

Here come our two main characters to the rescue: Lieutenant Eve Dallas solves impossible cases and catches murderers; her charming, rich, handsome, Irish husband Roarke provides real coffee – and a seemingly infinite number of useful gadgets. 

Both have a dark and stormy past: they both have faced death and lived through things they wish they could forget. They find true understanding and consolation in each other’s arms. They seem almost too perfect to be true, but you can’t help caring for them!
Roarke is a romantic, and Eve is his one true love, although she’s as romantic as a cactus and easy prey to doubts about their relationship.

Since Roarke is a very resourceful man, and also a very clever one, the two end up working together on cases more often than not, which makes everything very entertaining.

Lieutenant Dallas’s official team is composed of Detective Delia Peabody (of the big butt – her words, not mine) and Detective Ian McNab (computer geek, likes to dress smartly), whose story-lines develop and entwine over time - and give  Lieutenant Dallas more than one headache.

Eve has a best friend, Mavis, who goes rapidly from singer in a less-than-upper-class club to superstar, thanks to Roarke’s intervention. 

She is the opposite of Eve: dresses extravagantly, loves to party, cares a lot for her hair and nails, and she often tricks Eve into a beauty treatment - which Eve, admittedly, probably doesn’t really need. 

Each book deals with a new case, so they can be read independently. Anyway, since there are characters who develop relationships of many kinds, it’s nice to follow the order in which they have been written.



 
Why is the In Death series worthy of your time? 

Well, first of all: with such a long and yet unfinished series, you have a guaranteed bazillion reading hours. If you like the characters, it’s going to be extra-fun.

There’s crime, death, danger. There’s also a steamy romance, and good values like friendship, loyalty, and family find their way through the pages.
Each book normally takes me a couple days to read from cover to cover: I find them relaxing, entertaining, and they make me smile. When I close one, I want to open the next right away! I tend to repeat the process at least 5-6 times, before forcing myself to stop and pick something different from my bottomless To-Be-Read pile – mainly because I don’t want to risk reading all of J.D. Robb’s already existing books and having to wait (God forbid!) for a new one.