Time for the first blog review for an installment in one of my favorites series! I have been slowly making my way through JD Robb's lengthy, but addictive In Death series for almost five years now. I have recently had an epiphany that I am never going to catch up with these books unless I buckle down and get serious. I absolutely adore these books and I'm happy to feature them for the first time on my blog...at least through a review.For newbies to the series, I'm going to provide a quick introduction to the world and the main players. Fans can feel free to skip this section of the review. The In Death series is a unique combination of romantic suspense and science fiction that is approaching the forty book mark at this time. It follows Lieutenant Eve Dallas, a homicide detective for the New York Police and Security Department, during the mid-twenty first century. Each installment focues on a specific murder mystery that Eve is trying to solve with the help of her colleagues and friends. Another major aspect of the series is Eve's relationship with Roarke, the original sexy billionaire hero. Christian Grey and Gideon don't even come close!Seduction in Death deals with the trend of cyberdating (online dating) and how it can go terribly wrong. The victims in this installment are women who meet the perfect guy through the Internet and, during their first date, are drugged, raped, and eventually murdered in their own homes. I found the cyberdating concept to be one that many people can relate to nowadays. It is thought-provoking to imagine both the benefits and the unfortunate dangers of searching for a soul mate online. I just thought the whole story line was intriguing and creepy. It is a joy to watch Eve work her way through the finer points of the murder to decipher the motive, potential future targets, and ultimately the identity of the killer. The only issue that I had with this plot was the fact that readers get to see inside the killer's head from time to time. It was definitely an interesting depiction, but hard to listen to at times.Besides the mystery, this installment (like the others) focuses on Eve and her Irish billionaire husband, Roarke. I absolutely adore this couple and love seeing how their relationship develops from book to book. By this time, they have been married for a year and are pretty comfortable in their personal lives. But, that doesn't mean things are always perfect in paradise, these two are notorious for getting into minor spats that show how much they truly care for another at the end of the day. JD Robb does a great job showing that there is plenty of interesting stuff to show about a couple even after the happily ever after. For this particular book. I loved how the author showed the parallel between the 'love' that the killer felt for the victims and the love that Eve and Roarke have discovered. The sexual nature of these murders opens up more wounds from Eve's own childhood trauma and it was great to see her lean on Roarke during her times of need. At the beginning of the series, Eve would have done anything to avoid showing weakness to someone else. These scenes show how much she has grown as a character and how well-connected she and Roarke are.There are also many side characters that make up the eclectic and well-developed cast of the In Death books. For Seduction in Death, readers get to see Eve's assistant, Officer Delia Peabody, finally come to a conclusion about her on-again, off-again relationship with E-Detective Ian McNab. There is the reintroduction of fan favorites like Dr. Louise Dimatto (Conspiracy in Death) and licensed companion Charles Monroe (Naked in Death, Holiday in Death). And plenty of other great characters make fun cameos with my favorites being Roarke's snooty butler, Summerset, Eve's kooky best friend, Mavis, and the terrifying, but brilliant cosmetologist, Trina.One reason that it is taking me awhile to catch up on this series is the fact that I prefer to listen to the audiobooks. Susan Ericksen is a true genius with this series. She excels at providing unique voices for the all the characters that I am easily able to imagine while reading the print copies. Her Irish brogue for Roarke is particularly impressive and swoon-worthy. I do want to warn potential listeners that Seduction in Death was the first book that Ericksen recorded years ago and she wasn't as in tune with the characters at that time. She has re-recorded this and the next book to showcase the character voices that are so familiar so make sure you buy/borrow a version that was released in 2013.Overall, I cannot recommend this series enough! It is entertaining, creative, and very romantic. The murders do get a bit graphic so be forewarned on certain books. While I am OCD about series and am starting from the beginning, I believe that they are written in a way that new readers can jump in at any time. If you like developed (and realistic) characters, a romance that is sexy and believable, and plenty of action, I think you should give the In Death series a try.
4 I Love A Good Mystery StarsI love these books! They are interesting and fast paced and although Eve does what cops all over the world do in reality, which is investigate, not going around beating up guys until someone talks, the books manage not to become tedious.And although I love the mystery suspect of the books, I enjoy watching Eve work, I find her fear of primping hilarious and I always have a good laugh with Peabody's and McNab's antics, there is one aspect of the book that is beginning to wear itself thin.I'm not insensitive to the trauma Eve's past has left behind but I'm starting to get fed up with all the drama. I'm not saying that she HAS to get over it, it's obviously something you don't get over easily. But I would prefer if such big parts of the book weren't dedicated to Eve being hurt and having nightmares and needing Roarke to fight them back and making comparisons between the victim's and her situation, etc. Not because I can't take the drama but because it is the same thing in every book over and over again. 13 books in and nothing has changed in that respect so I would prefer it if the nightmare became something that is just there and doesn't need a 10 page space to be developed only to essentially prove to be just another nightmare like all the other ones before it.Is this a deal breaker? Of course not. But it may be if this goes on for 30 more books.
What do You think about Seduction In Death (2015)?
Another great 'Eve Dallas' novel. Firstly I have to say that as always I listened to this on Audio like the rest of the series and one of the secondary characters voices has changed!! I later found out that this book was the first one that Susan Erickson (the narrator on Audio) recorded and after the 14th book she got the voices right and went back to record the 1st - 12th. So I only have to put up with that terrible rendition of Peabody for one more book before it goes back to normal for the 15th onwards. Other than that small issue I really enjoyed this. Although I don't like how the killers are introduced to us but not to the main character so we know who they are, for me I like to find out clues as the main character figures it out.
—Sam
I started listening to this book & had to do a double take on the narrator. Yep, it's the same woman as all the previous books . . . but she's completely changed the "voices" for all the characters.I miss Peabody's gruff character voice. Eve sounds a lot "weaker", Ian is a lot different. Feeney & Roarke are the only recognizable characters she's reading. I REALLY hope the rest of the books aren't like this one. Very disappointed so far with this reading.The story, however, is pretty awesome though.Well, I got used to the voice changes ... but I still miss the original inflections. Oh well, Peabody does sound a little better.Great book & a very disturbing crime Eve needed to solve. I love how Roarke's help is starting to become a given with her now. She wants to fight it, but she's starting to depend on it now.Peabody & McNab are such a great couple. I love this series.On to Reunion in Death
—JazzRizz
This is #13 in the Eve Dallas/Roarke series, this time about two sociopathic serial killer friends. By 13 I thought they should be moving things along a bit, it's getting pretty repetitive. I understand that in series they need to repeat things a little bit to keep people up to date who are just joining in, but the characters need to move along a bit too. Everyone here needs one giant therapy session because they're all getting more moody, needy and neurotic. Maybe it just seems that way because a lot of mystery series leave some time between the books. When one ends, the characters live on their own for some weeks, months, or whatever before the next one begins. This one goes right from book to book. One guy died in #12 at the very end and at the start of 13, Roarke is at his funeral. In fact, after 13 books only a year has gone by. This wasn't a bad book but it did feel kind of filler to me, like nothing was moving along. I'll still keep reading because I like the characters but they need to be a little less exasperating.
—Merredith
