Witness in Death

Rating:
Summary: WITNESS is a WINNER
Review: When I first received my copy of WITNESS IN DEATH several weeks ago, I raced through it--literally reading it from cover to cover, frantically.

Since then, I went back to re-read it so that I could pick up the nuances I missed, and so that I could write a review. J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) has a way of doing that to me--making me read a story so frantically that I have to go back & read it again. Why? Because the writing takes me away. I want to--no, NEED TO, find out how it all ends up.

In WITNESS, the "bad guy" is murdered in front of 3000+ witnesses, including Eve & Roarke. I say the "bad guy" simply because Richard Draco (aka Leonard Vole in the play) was evil. He may have been the murder victim, but very few are as deserving of being murdered as he.

Eve, being Eve, fights for the damned as well as the innocent, so it is fascinating as she pieces together bits & pieces until it all fits together for the grand finale. Without giving anything away, how the story ended was perfect in how Eve ultimately saw Draco & his murderer.

WITNESS also sheds light into the background of Eve--especially when she comes face-to-face with incest---which conjure up the nightmares of her past. She also has to ask herself about a mother's love for her child when adoption becomes part of the plot.

Ultimately, it leads Eve to realize this: she hasn't given Roarke enough romance. So, in the words of Nora (in a teaser she gave to us on ADWOFF's messageboard), imagine what would happen when Eve realizes that she needs to give Roarke a touch of romance.

The results are priceless--and again--one of the highlights of the evolving saga between Roarke & Eve.

Eve also delivers a couple one liners to Roarke that show her ever growing level of comfort with the love of her life. I'd share them with you, but suffice to say, I don't want to spoil the magic of the moment.

As usual, WITNESS has all the cast of characters present in the DEATH stories--including drama into the background of Nadine Furst--and a reappearance of Troy Trueheart from CONSPIRACY. It is the constant layers of these characters being peeled back (and not just w/Eve & Roarke) that make the DEATH books & the characters so alive.

Rating:
Summary: Best "In Death" Yet!
Review: I just finished the book and it is definitely my favorite of the series.

The character development just keeps getting better. Not just Eve's relationship with her hot husband, Roarke, but also with her ever-faithful aide, Peabody. Peabody's hot encounters with McNab are a source of hilarious chagrin to Dallas. One of my favorite lines of the book is when Peabody starts describing McNab's physique, and Dallas tells her to cut it out, because she doesn't want to start imagining a naked McNab. Then the next line is "Damn it, there he is!"

Great plot, good twists, and the killer is a real surprise. Looking forward to the next installment.

Rating:
Summary: I worship J.D. Robb
Review: If I purchase a J.D. Robb novel, I know I'll spend the rest of the day in delighted silence, entertained by Eve and Roarke and Ms. Robb's deft, intelligent prose for several hours. This tenth installment in the series is not any different; Eve and Roarke settle into married life with humor and tenderness. I think if I had to choose one thing I like best about the "In Death" books it would be how Robb doesn't give away the villain on the first pages, like so many "mystery" books I read these days. Also, there are always interesting twists and supplementation in the plot, and secondary characters whom I truly care about (Mavis and Peabody, notably). I can't wait for Ms. Robb's next Eve Dallas novel.

Rating:
Summary: Eve & Roarke Are Back!
Review: What a great treat to revisit Eve and Roarke in their newest adventure! Witness in Death continues the wonderful saga of the greatest pair since Nick and Nora Charles. This time Eve must solve a mystery within a mystery as she enters the world of the theatre (which, of course, Roarke owns!). Get ready for another exciting page-turner that you can't put down, as all of our friends, Peabody, McNabb and Somerset play their parts in another great addition to the J. D. Robb series!

Rating:
Summary: Good and Bad
Review: The good first: J.D. Robb is showing improvement in plotting mysteries. Instead of allowing the crimes be committed by psychopaths of various breeds - which in my opinion is a cop out - the motivation behind the crime in WITNESS actually makes sense. As a result, I find WITNESS to be the most mature and entertaining book in the series so far. Like other readers, I like Robb's way with dialogue which is unfailingly sharp as well as her imagination in creating a New York of the 2050s. The growing relationship between the two main characters, and the network of supporting characters, are also extremely well done.

The bad: A lot of readers seem to enjoy the fact that Roarke is such a gorgeous hunk, but I find Eve to be a much more developed, layered and compelling character. It is for her that I keep coming back to this series. I don't know if I'm the lone voice out here, but I wish J.D. Robb would make Roarke less of a cardboard cut-out romance hero -- all good looks, wealth and an enigmatic background. Can't he not own everything in sight and still be an interesting character? I consider his apparent perfection an irksome flaw that prevents me from liking and understanding him as much as I like and understand Eve. Regardless of his money and devotion to Eve, I don't find him to be an equal match for her. Her passion is seeking justice for the dead, standing up for people no one else would care about -- what is his, except perhaps making money? Here's to hoping for a more human Roarke in the next installment, JUDGMENT IN DEATH.

Rating:
Summary: Sweetly Subtle
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It's sweetly paced like a slow-rolling ride after the hectic madness and tension of Loyalty in Death. This is superb orchestration on J. D. Robb's part, letting the readers catch their breaths, letting the characters develop, and letting folks just enjoy a plain ol' darn good story.

Loyalty was explosive <g>, but this one was warmer, more thoughtful, and more complex with the lines blurred and the sharp demarcation line between right and wrong smudged a bit. Moreover, Witness pushes Dallas, Peabody, and McNab forward, it reintroduces Charles -- an entirely sympathetic and likeable character whose occupation makes the reader wince a bit -- and through him reveals Dallas a bit more.

When I was reading this, I was caught off-guard waiting for the sharp peaks; gradually, I realized that this was a different story, the subtext of which was that sometimes true justice can only be obtained outside of the Law, and it wasn't going to have the riveting dramatic tensions of some of its predecessors. Perhaps, even, it might be argued, that the climax of the story comes at the end when readers are made most aware of the distinction between Law and Justice.

This is a lovely story! Bring on Judgement!...

Rating:
Summary: Eve Dallas and Roarke do Broadway....
Review: I was shocked when I began to read the series, needless to say that the latest installment from my favorite author does not fail to please. Eve and Roarke settle into the life of marrieds quite nicely as J.D. Robb paints the life of an atypical husband and wife in the 21st century. The best line of the text has to be when Eve tells Roarke "You are such a wife" or maybe it's the line when Eve refers lovingly to her husband as "A Walking orgasm" I don't know, but whatever J.D. Robb is doing she should keep doing it. I wonder if she's considered selling the rights and letting someone make a movie out of her great series...I wonder who would play the happily married couple? Enjoy...J.D. Robb has done it again. A mix of mystery and marriage; compelled to go to the theatre Eve plays the best part in a murder mystery...the witness. I couldn't put the book down let alone imagine what would happen next. The parellelism between the victims in this book and Eve's own life leave us the readers praying for more insight into her past (and Roarkes). Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to wait for the next installment.

Rating:
Summary: Series just keeps getting better
Review: It's a pity so many romance novelists shy away from revisiting the lives of their characters in subsequent books. When a writer creates a compelling hero and heroine, brings the reader into the world of those characters and makes us care about them...why not bring them back? Thankfully, Nora Roberts (as JD Robb) continues to do just this with NYPSD homicide detective Eve Dallas and her gabillionaire husband, Roarke. Over the course of the In Death series, we have watched their fascinating relationship begin, bloom and grow. As a married couple they are even more exciting than they were in the beginning. Surrounded by a strong supporting cast, Eve and Roarke are two of the most fully realized characters in all of fiction. In WITNESS IN DEATH, a murder takes place on stage during a live theatre performance in front of an audience of thousands. Following Eve's relentless pursuit of the truth, while continuing to battle her personal demons, is fascinating as always. Roberts continues to flesh out Peabody and MacNab while keeping the focus on Eve and Roarke. Romantic suspense, heck, fiction doesn't get much better than this.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the best!
Review: Eve and Roarke triumph again. I have read each and every one on Robb's (aka Nora Roberts) Eve Dallas & Roarke "... in Death" books and am always eagerly awaiting the next. I find myself in that delightfully frustrating, anticipatory mood again. This latest book is a wonderful visit with Eve and Roarke, but as an added bonus, the mystery/suspense elements are much more interesting and not as off-putting as her previous "crimes" since the "blood and gore" factors are considerably diminished given the nature of the homicide. I can't see anybody being disappointed with the story and the marvelous conceit of the Witness for the Prosecution play-within-a-play plot. Now, I have to begin rereading the older volumes in order to keep my addiction under control until "Judgement ...." comes.

Rating:
Summary: MORE! MORE!
Review: I have bought every one of J.D. Robb's Lt. Eve Dallas books because it provides everything that I like in a fiction book - romance with a touch of risque innuendo, nail-biting action, a lead female character that is confident yet with vulnerabilities and a good-to-the-last-page mystery. I hope Nora never stops writing books for this series. My only complaint is that a new one doesn't come out every week.