Loyalty in Death

Rating:
Summary: The "past" of this future is scary
Review: In this volume of the "in Death" series, we learn far more about the "past" of the series - their past history, still in our future. The series is set in the 2050's; however, the events of this book flow from events thirty years in their past, in the 2020's. This gives us more of an idea of why the New York of Eve Dallas' time is the way it is.

If you are new to the series, you may find it helpful to read some of the previous books as well - while each book in this series can stand alone as a police procedural/thriller, it is more fun if you can also follow the background stories of the personal lives of our characters. Eve Dallas is our police lieutenant hero, of course, and her husband Roarke (just Roarke) is his rich, enigmatic self. The interaction between Eve's sidekick/aide Peabody, and fellow cop McNab, gets tenser in this book (think elevators!). Mavis, Eve's best friend, is having success with her singing career. All of these background sub-plots are one of the fun parts of the series. It's a tradition that hangs over from police procedural series started more than 40 years ago, such as Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series, and it's nice to see Robb pay homage to that great tradition.

The plot of this particular volume involves a terrorist group destroying New York landmarks, a theme that will perhaps resonate even more with readers now (I write this review in Jan 2002) than it did when the book was first published. It is poignantly sad to see that on the list of proposed targets is the Twin Towers - I had to shake my head and say, sorry, the terrorists didn't wait that long... The final target, and the culmination of the book, will keep you awake and reading. And who the terrorists are will make you think, about how such things carry on through the generations, and contemplate how we could go about trying to break that cycle.

Rating:
Summary: Another "Death" series winner...
Review: Jd Robb's 9th entry in her "Death" series has Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her husband Roarke receiving threatening letters from a terrorist group. Each letter brings about a public threat/bomb that threatens civilians, property and the city.

Like all the "Death" novels, the mystery and relationship between Eve and her husband are effectively blended. There is also a subplot involving Eve's police partner, Peabody and her brother. The main plot of the terrrorist threats and the subplot advance and blend seamlessly--until the end where they are eventually connected and intertwined. Its nice to get some background on Peabody and her life--each book in the series gives us more and more information on the secondary characters.

In the wake of 9/11, I found that the plot of the book hit all too close to home, as New York was again targeted by terrorists. It was almost painful to read about the bombs and chilling when they go off and harm innocent civilians. Loyalty in Death is definately one of the better novels in this series.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely worth the wait
Review: This book was really excellent, the only problem was that there wasn't enough of Eve and Rourke. I love to read about them as a couple, as much as I love reading all the police procedure parts etc. The secondary characters are great, and I enjoyed the way McNabb put a stop to all of Peabody's griping at last. The way JD Robb described the bombings and aftermath was really realistic. I love this series, but it's a real bummer that we now have to wait again. I feel like going into mourning. Can't get enough of Eve and Rourke,looking forward to Rourke finally getting a taste of his own medicine when he laughs at Eve getting jealous about his ex lovers, be worth a price of a ticket when he meets one of hers, didn't really cover that in 'Conspiracy' keep up the good work Nora. Maybe you can think about bringing these out every three months.