This is the 16th book in the In Death series.It is August 2059 and it is hot in the city. Eve catches a case where a killer kidnaps, kills and then photographs young college students. And while Eve is busily off tracking down a serial killer, Roarke learns a devastating truth about his past.JD Robb continues to march on with her crazily addicting series featuring the tough as nails bitch cop, Eve Dallas and her seriously delicious billionaire husband Roarke.The mystery/slash police procedure in this book is pretty standard fare for this series. By now the character of Eve and her methods are very much established. For those who've read the other 15 book in the series, the solving of this crime and the motives behind it are quite familiar and truthfully break no new ground.However, I am compelled to give this installment five stars for several reasons:1)I thought she did a great job of making the victims extremely sympathetic. As I was reading, I actually felt sorry that these kids were dead. She painted a picture of people who were very vital while alive. Maybe it was because of their ages, but I think she took pains moreseo in this installment than in previous ones to capture this.2) Great use of recurring characters. Trueheart! goes undercover and the ending is bite your nails suspenseful. Also, Crack makes an incredibly memorable appearance in this one.3) Humor. The recurring theme of Peabody injecting information about her love life with McNabb and Eve's reactions are priceless. And i enjoy Eve's interaction with the temperamental photographer Hastings.4) Eve and Summerset have a Moment. I continue to enjoy the rather prickly respect/hate relationship these two have. I also like that Robb doesn't have them suddenly liking each other in a flash of understanding. I also love that there is the likelihood that this will never happen. But these two both love Roarke so they have some common ground and they meet on that ground every so often. This installment had some excellent meeting of the minds between these two.But most of all, the part that made this book for me was5) Roarke learning about his past. All along in this series, we've been watching as Eve learned dribs and drabs about her past. She's been remembering her horrific childhood in bits and pieces. But there has never been a real mystery about Roarke. The only thing he's tried to keep from her has been some parts of his own criminal past. But out of the blue he learns something and it is a biggie. The scenes where he first finds out, his reaction to finding out and his interactions with Eve upon finding out are absolute stand-outs. And once again we are confronted with the fact that Roarke is a stone killer. Loved his interrogation techniques when he goes back to Dublin to find out the real truth.Highly recommended.
4.5 STARS "After a tip from a reporter, Eve Dallas finds the body of a young woman in a Delancey Street dumpster. Just hours before, the news station had mysteriously received a portfolio of professional portraits of the woman. The photos seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary for any pretty young woman starting a modeling career. Except that she wasn't a model. And that these photos were taken after she had been murdered. Now Dallas is on the trail of a killer who's a perfectionist and an artist. He carefully observes and records his victim's every move. And he has a mission: to own every beautiful young woman's innocence, to capture her youth and vitality - in one fateful shot..." (From Amazon)This has to be one of my favourite novels in the IN DEATH series so far. While the murder case in this book is interesting and suspenseful it is the secondary storyline that makes this novel so exceptional. Each novel gives us a little detail of Eve and Roarke's background so I am always ready for something new. Yet the news that Roarke finds out about his parents left me with my jaw to the floor. I was both heartbroken and inspired by and for Roarke. I recommend this series to anyone looking for realistic characters and storylines with a lot of heart. I also enjoyed the humor of Sommerset and Eve to balance the rest of the novel.
What do You think about Portrait In Death (2003)?
I enjoyed this one. The balance between Eve and Roarke is getting better. And the Eve/Somerset dynamic continues to be amazing. Particularly as Somerset gets hurt (broken leg) and requires care. That was the best part of the book for me, the Eve/Sommerset dynaimc. It's really charming. Then Roarke has a family crisis. And Eve takes care of him (complete wtih drugging his drink), AND Sommerset and Eve ally themselves together and it is great. Not sure how I feel about Roarke (view spoiler)[suddenly finding a family on his mother's side, but just as long as they don't ty to pull that exact plotline for Eve in a dozen books or so. (hide spoiler)]
—Andree
This was possibly my favorite In Death book yet. The murder mystery seemed secondary to the advancement of Eve and Roarke's relationship, which is pretty exceptional considering the pair has been together since book one. We got a big surprise about Roarke's past, and we got to see him fall apart a little. This was a relief, since it's usually Eve doing the falling apart. His more paternalistic traits can be irritating, so it was nice to see Eve dose his soup with a tranq instead of the other way around. Lots of emotion in this book.
—Laura
This one wasn't as good as the others. Mainly because half the book was about the murder/mystery and the other half was about Roarke's back story. Don't get me wrong, I love a bit of Roarke but this story wasn't doing it for me. It made him seem real instead of this ultimate perfect man (that's just my opinion :-P) Eve & Roarke have a huge fight in this too, it made me a little upset (not crying upset but weird feeling upset, if you get me). Also, the basis behind the killers motive sounds a little like a book I read by Alex Kava called 'The Soul Catcher' and I'm pretty sure Kava's book was written first. Other than those few complaints, I enjoyed it as always! Can't wait to listen to the next one!
—Sam
