Tag: futuristic

Random in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Eriksen

February 7, 2024 / Kaetrin

Random in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Eriksen. Solid entry into a series which is very like catching up with old friends – but with added murder.

Reviewed for AudioGals.

Narrated by Susan Ericksen

Random in Death is book 58 in the In Death series. 58. That’s a pretty amazing feat all in itself. I took a break from the series for a little while (at about book 53 I think) but then came back to it last year and binged the books I’d missed. Now I’m right back into it.

I suppose it’s theoretically possible to start with this book – it does cover a discrete police investigation – but I suspect most of the nuance would be lost. That said, I think one could skip quite a few of the middle books if one was inclined and be just fine with this one.

Eve and Roarke remain happily married and banging regularly; McNab and Peabody are still happy and together; Mavis and Leonardo (with Bella) join the story, as do Charles and Louise and Dr Charlotte Mira – along with more important roles for Nadine Furst and her lover, Jake Kinkade, lead singer from Avenue A – and the rest of the Murder Squad at Cop Central. Knowing who all these people are and watching how they’ve grown throughout the series is half the fun of it.

At an all-ages Avenue A gig, a 16-year-old girl is murdered. Given she dies in Jake Kinkade’s arms, Eve is called in straight away. It quickly becomes clear that the murderer is an incel type and he won’t stop at just one so it’s a race against the clock before more victims end up on Morris’s slab at the morgue.

I’ve always enjoyed how J.D. Robb can make me care about characters quickly and Random in Death is no different in that regard. The family of the murder victim and their devastation got to me straight away.

The In Death series has a romance in it but it is not a romance series as such, not anymore. Now it’s a police procedural set in the near future (with many cool things) with more than a small helping of “slice of life” scenes from Eve and Roarke and their increasingly broad found family. I’ve grown away from police main characters in romance to a large degree but I think that the In Death series is set in the future (albeit only 40 years or so into the future) helps me here; they’re even farther removed from real life.

There’s not a lot more I can say about Susan Eriksen’s narration. She is the voice of the In Death series for me. Even were I to read a book in the series, I would hear her voicing all the characters. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword; she’s so closely associated with In Death for me that I can’t listen to her narrating anything else without thinking of Eve and Roarke and everyone else. On the other hand, she’s just fantastic with this series. She has a large cast of characters of all ages to play with, plenty of accents and the opportunity to grow many of those characters as are they are recurring in the series. She manages to keep all the accents straight as well. Charles and Louise may not appear in all that many books, but when they’re there, their voices are the same from book to book.

Random In Death has an evil criminal, sympathetic victims, an engrossing (if sometimes extremely lucky and possibly quite improbable) investigation and fantastic characters. While it’s not the best entry into the series, it is very solid and is far from my least favourite. Audio is generally my preferred medium for In Death books because Susan Eriksen is so good and this one did not disappoint.

Grade: B

Forgotten in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen

May 30, 2023 / Kaetrin

Forgotten in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen. When I said I was right back into the series, I meant it!

Homicide detective Eve Dallas sifts through the wreckage of the past to find a killer.

The body was left in a dumpster like so much trash, the victim a woman of no fixed address, known for offering paper flowers in return for spare change—and for keeping the cops informed of any infractions she witnessed on the street. But the notebook where she scribbled her intel on litterers and other such offenders is nowhere to be found.

Then Eve is summoned away to a nearby building site to view more remains—in this case decades old, adorned with gold jewelry and fine clothing—unearthed by recent construction work. She isn’t happy when she realizes that the scene of the crime belongs to her husband, Roarke—not that it should surprise her, since the Irish billionaire owns a good chunk of New York. Now Eve must enter a complex world of real estate development, family history, shady deals, and shocking secrets to find justice for two women whose lives were thrown away…

Forgotten in Death is a twofer – two separate crime scenes a block apart, two separate murders decades apart. Are they connected? This one is a less ambitious story than the previous book with a plot which is somewhat disjointed at times but still entertaining. I did appreciate Eve taking the time to go back into the first victim’s past and setting that right (as right as it could be at least).

Susan Ericksen’s narration is a large part of the enjoyment. I recognised the regular characters by voice alone and I love the way she helps me connect to the new characters – some of whom have only very brief airtime. I know that she will deliver a great narration – it’s part of why I keep coming back.

I get through an In Death book very quickly – 3 or 4 days tops – and after 53 books, it’s impressive it still holds my interest so well.

Grade: B+

March Round Up

March 26, 2018 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Dark in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen – B- I’m still in for this series but Dark in Death was one of my least favourite books so far. In terms of romance, there wasn’t any conflict or tension between Roarke and Eve. They’re happy, having great sex and enjoying their marriage. That’s good and it’s not exactly that I get sick of it, but at the same time, I’d like a bit of conflict (with a happy resolution of course!) to shake things up a little. The main issue I had with the book however is the premise. A killer is recreating murders from a police procedural series and particularly the section where Eve is interviewing the author and talking about fan expectations and the challenges of being an author were just too meta for me. (I had a similar issue with the latest Suzanne Brockmann.) I can’t help but feel like the actual author is talking to the reader this way and even if that is only in my imagination, it makes me uncomfortable. There wasn’t really anything objectionable in what was said but I want to be immersed in the story and forget about the author altogether when I read/listen and I couldn’t here.

The other thing to mention is that a member of Eve’s squad, Jenkinson, uses a transphobic slur twice in the course of a conversation with Eve and there was zero narrative pushback on it. I do not accept that such slurs are okay in 2062 – they’re certainly not okay now. I dearly wished Eve would have told Jenkinson off about it. Continue reading

Brotherhood in Death by JD Robb

April 18, 2016 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I love Eve and Roarke so I bought it as soon as it was available.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Sometimes brotherhood can be another word for conspiracy…

Dennis Mira just had two unpleasant surprises. First he learned that his cousin Edward was secretly meeting with a real estate agent about their late grandfather’s magnificent West Village brownstone, despite the promise they both made to keep it in the family. Then, when he went to the house to confront Edward about it, he got a blunt object to the back of the head.

Luckily Dennis is married to Charlotte Mira, the NYPSD’s top profiler and a good friend of Lieutenant Eve Dallas. When the two arrive on the scene, he explains that the last thing he saw was Edward in a chair, bruised and bloody. When he came to, his cousin was gone. With the mess cleaned up and the security disks removed, there’s nothing left behind but a few traces for forensics to analyze.

As a former lawyer, judge, and senator, Edward Mira mingled with the elite and crossed paths with criminals, making enemies on a regular basis. Like so many politicians, he also made some very close friends behind closed—and locked—doors. But a badge and a billionaire husband can get you into places others can’t go, and Eve intends to shine some light on the dirty deals and dark motives behind the disappearance of a powerful man, the family discord over a multimillion-dollar piece of real estate . . . and a new case that no one saw coming.

Trigger Warning: Graphic sexual violence against men and women

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I was so excited about this book because it promised to have lots of Dennis Mira and he’s been a favourite character in the series for some time, even though he’s not in it very much. I’ve always kind of wondered how the absent-mindedness works when he’s clearly so capable so much of the time. (The first time I encountered Mr. Mira in the series, I thought maybe he had a brain injury or maybe early onset Alzheimer’s or something but it became clear that neither of those things apply.) And, while Brotherhood in Death did have more of Mr. Mira in it than any of the earlier books (including a particularly touching scene between he and Eve later in the book), he still wasn’t in it all that much. Sadness!
Continue reading

Review at Dear Author

September 25, 2015 / Kaetrin

I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Devoted in Death by JD Robb. Not a lot of romance but a cracking suspense read. If readers can cope with the violence (which is pretty graphic) it’s a definite recommend from me.