When one of her fellow cops dies of seemingly natural causes, Lt. Eve Dallas, is surprised that his granddaughter insists on meeting with her, claiming that her grandfather did not die of a heart attack, but was killed by occult means by an evil cult of Satan worshippers intent on getting back on Alice (the granddaughter). Eve is deeply pragmatic and does not believe in anything spiritual or occult. She believes Alice was drugged and manipulated, and sexually abused by said cultists, but refuses to contemplate anything supernatural. Shortly after, Alice turns up dead, and Officer Peabody, who'd been set to tail the girl, says that she ran into oncoming traffic after seeing a black cat.Eve asked by her superior officer to investigate whether Frank had been involved in illegal drug trafficking, after it becomes clear that he had been witnessed purchasing something from Selina, the leader of the Satanist coven in a seedy club. Neither her superior, nor Eve, believe Frank was a dirty cop, but Eve is forbidden to tell anyone about her investigation, especially not Feeney, the cop who trained her, and who was Frank's old partner. During her investigation, Eve has to interview the self-styled sorceress Selina, who becomes very upset with her treatment, and Eve's obvious disdain for her. Soon after having questioned Selina, a corpse is left on the pavement outside her and Roarke's mansion, and the case takes on a much more personal note.Ceremony in Death is different from several of the other Robb books in that the reader fairly early on is given an idea of who the murderer is. Eve is pretty sure she knows who the killer is, the problem is that she has to prove it. She also has to come to choose between her job and her friend, and deal with the ugly aftermath of Feeney discovering that she's been set to investigate his friend. While she completely disregards any belief in the occult or supernatural, she comes into contact with several witches, of both the dark and white persuasion, and discovers that while she is pragmatic and disbelieving, Roarke may have more spiritual beliefs.
Here again was a murder mystery that wasn't my favorite. There was no mystery. The murderer is clearly defined, and we even get glimpses into their head without Eve standing between us. The rituals and heebie jeebies was...okay. It was different and sort of throwing the brakes in this world of the future. I loved the glimpses it gave us of Peabody. I absolutely adore Officer Peabody and am so grateful that she's taken the place of Mavis. But I found myself getting pretty frustrated with Eve for the direction she let her investigation take with one of the suspects. I get the reasoning, I get why even Roarke tried to console her, but...still.Even with those frustrations, it's still difficult for me to put these books down. Here it is, in the most basic of reasons, these stories are completely readable. They are structured, drawn, and flow in a really believable way. I'm falling deeper and deeper with each book, so it's not really contingent on each one having to be the best thing ever, it just has to remain good, and they do. There is enough intrigue and suspense, but there's also these exceptionally drawn characters who make disappearing into these stories a hundred percent worthwhile. I love Eve. I love Roarke. I love Peabody and Feeney and even Summerset. This New York is a fascinating one that is different and familiar and is never dependent on giving me an info dump to define itself. J.D. Robb has finesse and such amazing control in writing these books that I'm consistently entertained, surprised, and one day hope to be as quick with the quip as Eve.
What do You think about Ceremony In Death (2003)?
In Death: 5 (reread)Set less than a month after the previous book. This one is not so much a mystery story, as Eve has a good idea of which of the possible suspects is the most guilty. She just has to prove it while navigating the line between duty and loyalty. The relationship between Eve and Roarke continues to grow and strengthen. I'm glad the author didn't take the cheat of throwing trumped up romantic woes for unnecessary drama. I also like how the author manages to develop Eve's various relationships to the growing cast of recurring characters in and around the main plot. This book has a mix of solid investigative work, heart touching scenes, bits of humor, and a sprinkling of spookiness - appropriate, as it's set just before Halloween.
—Aya
Dyan wrote: "This series is on my list of books to check out."Totally worth the read! And if you like the first one, it stays consistent without being repetitive. So I've heard.
—Cara
La quinta stella è dovuta soprattutto alla continua happydance che ho fatto da giovedì a questa parte, nell'avere tra le mani un nuovo volume della serie In Death, dopo così tanto tempo di stop.Riavere Roarke, uno degli uomini da libro più fantastici mai trovati, è stata un'emozione non da poco. E pure riavere Eve, una delle mie protagoniste femminili preferiti, tostissima quasi fino a diventare fastidiosa, ma anche per questo molto amata.Si aggiunge una versione sempre più accattivante e divertente di Peabody e l'alchimia è perfetta.L'ambientazione è ambigua, il continuo cambio di direzione delle indagini rendono il romanzo, se non meno prevedibile dei precedenti, almeno più difficile da inquadrare. Tutto sembra scorrere su binari troppo ovvi, poi cambia lo scenario e ancora tutto sembra troppo facile, fino al colpo di scena finale, non originalissimo, ma certamente molto riuscito.Insomma, la soddisfazione finale è immensa e prego di avere, se non tutta la serie, perché data la lunghezza è un'utopia, almeno il prossimo romanzo in tempi brevi.P.S.: ci sarebbero da controllare alcune note che stonano, non capisco se dovute alla traduzione o a disattenzione in fase di editing, ma sinceramente sarebbe solo per togliersi la curiosità, perché alla fine non influiscono sul giudizio finale.
—Martina Nix Govoni
