There are only a few authors that I will buy in hardcover and J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) is one of them. I am almost 99% sure that I have read every book that she has written and I am still loving her writing style. She has this great skill of making the reader care about the characters and her tendency to write trilogies and series makes me even happier. I had the opportunity to hear Nora speak in Jacksonville when she was touring for the last In Death book and listening to her speak about these characters, that she has created was incredible. (If she’s ever in a town near you, I would encourage you to go and see her.) There is just something special about listening to an author talk, its very much like listening to someone speak about my friends.
Strangers in Death is the 28th book of the In Death series. I am constantly amazed that she has been able to write so many books for this series and still be able to keep the audience interested. I am just as excited to learn about Roarke and Eve’s life now as I was while reading book 10. In this book, Eve is working on a murder of a well-to-do older gentleman, who is well liked and respected by everyone. Watching Eve work her way through the murder investigation was intriguing as always; though I have to admit that what keeps me coming back to this series is the world that has been created and the friends that Eve has made along the way. (including her mega-sexy husband, Roarke)
The year is 2060, but it doesn’t feel like a futuristic story, instead it all just works for me. I have no problem envisioning cars with the ability to fly and man would I love to have an autochef. For those of you who haven’t read this series, an autochef cooks your food for you. A person simply programs in what they would like to eat and it is prepared. Mavis (Eve’s best friend) has a small mention in this book but Peabody and Charles are prominent characters. I would love to share with you all what happens with Charles, but I don’t want to ruin it for you. Please read the book so we can talk about it!
I kind of feel like I haven’t really written a review here…but I feel like if I talk too much about the story, I’ll ruin it. I will say that I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one!
Grade: A-
4 Comments
March 16, 2008 at 12:54 am
I totally agree about Charles! AMAZING! I’ve been waiting for something like that to happen with him! Woot! LOL
While I enjoyed the rest of the story, I felt like some key element was missing..something that made the other stories stand out and re-readable. I’m not sure what exactly, but something was missing. Did you notice that at all?
March 16, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Holly, I did feel that way! There was something that wasn’t there and I couldn’t put my finger on it. But I still enjoyed the book — there was never a time when I wanted to put it down and read something else. Plus I just really love hearing updates on the characters.
I’m definitely a series girl, I don’t like for my stories to end and Nora does a great job of keeping things going.
March 18, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Holly and CR– I must say I shared my surprise at what happened to Charles. Eve was always a little bothered by him and the ability of Dr. DeMatto (forget her first name) to ignore his profession. I must say Nora fooled me too. I made the same wrong assumption that Eve did about what was happening with their relationship. Great surprise, loved it. And, ahhh, if only Roarke was real. Sigh.
Have you listened to the audiobooks version to the JDRobb stories? Great reader who somehow manages from book to book to get her voice around Roarke, Eve, Peabody and now I can’t read the books without hearing those accents in my head. Super,super job by the reader. Check them out. It’s a totally different experience to listen to a book than it is to read it. I like to read it first and then listen so the reading experience isn’t spoiled for me. Somehow listening to it “acted out” brings out different things to me and it seems new and fresh. Also, sometimes makes me want to read the book again–but I’m a re-reader. That’s why I have much too many books in my house.
March 18, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Joy, I haven’t listened to the audio books for the In Death series, though I’ve heard similar things to what you said about them…so I guess I should check them out. I have listened to the Three Sister Island trilogy by Nora Roberts on cd and that was really good.