REVIEW OF AUDIOBOOK; JANUARY 26, 2014: 4 STARSNarrator: Susan EricksenI'm now 150% sure - I do not like Mavis. I found her annoying back in the 90s when I was first introduced to the In Death books, I found her just as irritating when I reread the first three book plus another 6 more in 2008 and now, in 2014 I'm wishing she'd be the next victim!It's not that Mavis is bad or bad for Eve. It's just her personality. I feel as if Robb exaggerated her character quirks just to be a foil to the taciturn, serious Eve.The murder mystery didn't interest me all that much but I still harbored questions about whether the newcomer, Casto, would have a recurring role. Too bad, he won't. I'd give my right nut to exchange Mavis for him! I'd love to see more of a jealous Roarke!Good to see a shaken Summerset, though if IIRC, he's back to his ornery, snooty self once Eve is back to normal. I agree with Mahlet's comment about not getting more of the wedding. I don't mean the wedding prep (because that would mean Mavis' involvement) but the actual ceremony and celebration afterwards. I normally detest weddings in my books but hey, this is Roarke & Eve. They're like the Royal Couple of Romance so yeah, I feel a little cheated:(The narration in this installment was not as good as the first, Naked in Death, and certainly nowhere as good as the second, Glory, which was narrated by Cristine McMurdo Wallis. I wish Audible carried the McMurdo Wallis versions, too, as I prefer her voice. Ericksen tended to sound like she was on amphetamines right through the book - worked-up and panicky even during the narrative portions. It was bad enough making everyone sound harried and pressured even when they were not, Ericksen didn't even slow down or settle her voice down when not reading dialogue. Or perhaps it was Mavis talking too damn much in this book:0I'm very noise-sensitive and react badly to high, shrill sounds so Ericksen, in this recording, gave me heart palpitations. Thankfully, I bought Rowan Speedwell's Love, Like Water and the male narrator, K C Kelly, is a cure for my poor ears! I hope Ericksen will be better in the 4th installment, Rapture In Death because I'm looking forward to that one - the dark side of Roarke peeking out.-----------------------------------------------------------------------REVIEW OF SEPT 2008: 4 STARSIf the rest of the In Death books are like these first three, then I'm going to be in romantic suspense heaven for a long while. Unlike most of my Goodreads friends, I read rather slowly (only have a couple of hours a day) and I have the entire In Death series to get through. Bliss.I'm finding that I'm as engrossed in the murder mystery as I am in Eve and Roarke's romance. Though Immortal (Book 3)focuses more on Eve's current case, Roarke makes his presence felt. I was concerned, before I started the series, whether there would be a balance between romance and suspense. In Immortal's case, the balance is still maintained even though there aren't as many paragraphs devoted to the romance as in Books 1 and 2.I am glad to see Roarke showing a more human side - he gets angry with Eve...really - and is less of a paragon than the first two books made him out to be. Nevertheless, he's still purrrfect for the very reason that he doesn't always put up with Eve's shit quietly.I must say I was attracted to Casto and even wondered if he was going to be a recurring character, meet a girl who would succeed in changing his Casanova ways.I'm starting on Trial by Fire by Jo Davis before moving on to the next In Death book, Rapture In Death.
Mavis gets into a heap of trouble in this book. In love with a soon to be totally rockin’ awesome designer, Mavis is head to toe gag worthy mushy with her new man. Caught covered in blood, fingerprints on the weapon and a whopper of a motive, she’s screwed. Eve becomes primary and as always, becomes obsessed and mostly blind to the rest of the world as it whizzes by. Time is against her (how poetic sniff) as she tries to locate the murder suspect or suspects so that the charges against Mavis will be dropped.Eve describing Roarke:He was entirely too attractive, she thought. Criminally so. The strong face, poet’s mouth, killer blue eyes. The wizard’s mane of thick black hair. If you managed to get past the face to the body, it was equally impressive. Then you added that faint wisp of Ireland in the voice, and, well, you had one hell of a package.Eve talking about Pandora:“And this woman bursts in, all but drooling at the mouth. A jaw dropper-close to six foot, thin as a laser beam, about a yard of red hair and a face…well, I’ll use magnolias again. She’s screaming at him, and this big bull of a guy cowers back, so she jumps me and I had to flatten her.”“You hit her.”“Well, yeah, before she sliced my face with those knifepoint nails of hers.“Darling Eve.” … “What is it about you that draws the beast out of people?”Thrown into joining forces with Illegals, Eve and Caste must work together. You can just imagine how well that worked out, eh? A charming man with a killer smile who enjoys diddling “DeeDee” on the side, pokes his head into Eve’s business and flat-out bugs the hell out of her.Eve to Caste:“So noted,” she said briskly. “Now, go file your interdepartmental complaint, take a walk, or blow it out your ass, but get out of my face.”The relationship between Eve and Peabody progressed really well in this book. My mother told me that Peabody becomes a fun character. I did not believe her After reading this book, she may just be a sedate Lula in the making!Peabody toasting Eve at her bachelorette party:“To the best fucking cop in the whole stinking city, who’s gonna marry the sexiest sumbitch I, personally, have ever laid eyes on, and who, because she’s so goddamn smart, has seen to it that I’m perman’ly attached to Homicide. Which is where any half-blind asshole could tell you I belong. So there.” She downed the rest of her drink, fell backward into her chair and grinned foolishly.“Peabody,” Eve said and flicked a finger under her eyes.” I’ve never been more touched.”Illegal drugs. Mavis in jail for murder. Bitchy models. Roarke and Eve’s wedding. This book is filled with a lot of fun, although in my opinion, it dragged. Something like a car wreck, slow motion but you just can’t look away o.OLine of the book:“I’ve got to find a table dancer with a big dick and a tattoo.”I recommend this book to anyone reading this series. It does not necessarily need to be read in sequence, but I advise it. There is a ton of back story that will leave you intrigued! Some mildish sexual content. Pretty bloody descriptive violence. I do not recommend this book to children or immature adults ~Happy reading!
What do You think about Immortal In Death (2003)?
Eve is getting married, Mavis is in love, Peabody made a joke and a top model is DEAD. Ok, first things first. I freakin’ love Peabody.“And Peabody, we've been naked together. Drop all the 'sirs,' will you? Make it Dallas.""Yes, sir, Lieutenant."Okie, now to the mystery. I for one think it was great. Really nice executed, kept me guessing who dunnit, most of my suspicions were wrong. Ok, it did cross my mind that it could have been that person and there was a clue that came pretty much out of nowhere at some point but overall it was a good day in mysteryland for me.Eve… Poor girl can’t catch a break. In the first two books it was her boyfriend that was a suspect, now it’s her best friend. Good thing for them that she’s made from all kinds of awesome when it comes to clearing crimes. Scratch that. She’s made from all kinds of awesome, period. She is definitely one of my favorite heroines and one that I can relate to - sans the traumatic past. Speaking of that past, we did know a few things about it from the previous books but I so wasn’t ready for it. Broke my heart, it did. As for Roarke… What can I say? He’s totally fictional and that is kind of a turn-off for me. Gorgeous, billionaire with a killer body and an Irish accent who is truly, madly, deeply in love with Eve… C’mon, that’s Harlequin stuff. I liked him even less in this book. At least when he was a suspect he had a certain kind of mystery about him. I know he has a huge fan club around here but I wish Eve had a more realistic love interest.
—Alkyoni
Yet another great installment in the In Death series by J.D. Robb, Immortal in Death is the third book featuring Lieutenant Eve Dallas, Roarke, and the members of the NYPSD. While all the books in this series focus on murder, there was a twist to this one, bringing it close to home when Eve's best friend Mavis is implicated as the murderer. I thought that this was a pleasant change because, really, it would have been really obnoxious if Roarke was one of the suspects again. There are only so many time he can be implicated. So yeah, I liked that change. I liked, also, that this case was even more personal for Eve than the last. She had to deal with arresting her best friend, for heaven's sake! On top of that, she was planning her wedding to Roarke. Such a busy, busy girl. So busy that she missed who the real murderer was until he was trying to kill her too! (Naturally I had this figured out way beforehand since it was painfully obvious.) I have to say something about Summerset before I go on with this review. I cannot tell you how much I wanted to punch that man when he bitched Eve out for arresting Mavis when she had no choice. Damn you, Summerset! I was very upset about this. Just ask Sam. But, I suppose I have a rather small liking for him now after he took care of Eve when she had a nightmare and Roarke wasn't there yet.As always, I adored Roarke. I don't know how you could not love this man. He's so...special. I don't even know what to say about him. He's just so damn awesome. And Eve, just I keep on loving her more and more. Seriously. If I was into girls, I would totally go for her. I continue to love and adore Feeney and I'm starting to really like Peabody. Also, I'm glad to have back the Commander Whitney that I know and love, and the new chief is really great too. Just an all-around great cast of characters.I wish I had learned of this series early on so that I could have started following it much sooner, never mind the fact that the first book was published when I was only three years old, because now I'm forced to catch up! However, I am making very good progress if you ask me. Case in point, I got the next five just yesterday! Roarke, here I come!
—Leah
I keep saying that I'm not going to read these books. After finding out that this is a 38 part (and counting) series, I said 'No way!'. Then I read the first one. Well, I liked the second one even more. If I could just read one of these that I don't like, I could stop. Well, it won't be after this one. Eve Dallas just keeps growing as a character. Roarke is still perfect. I just like the way everything comes together. From the futuristic setting to the secondary characters it is well written and well laid out.
—Jim son of Jim (formerly PhotoJim)
