Rating: 
Summary: Eve Dallas Rocks!
Review: A rich, well loved older man is poisoned on his birthday. The family is devastated and Eve Dallas gets the call. Eve quickly realizes who did the deed. The perpetrator is someone who has a personal vendetta against Eve herself and taunts Eve with every body that falls at her feet. Now Eve must find the murderer before they can target Roarke. Also, Eve finally confronts her tragic past. Oh, yeah the final confrontation between Eve and the murderer is worth a couple of re-reads.There are a lot of familiar things about this book. First there is Eve. She is still the tough as nails cop with a deep heart and a bruised soul that we were first introduced to in "Naked in Death." I like the progression I've seen in the books. That first book had a very isolated Eve haunted by suppressed memories of her horrific childhood. This 14th book has an Eve is completely surrounded by friends and people who love her and she (and we) finally get the whole story behind her childhood. Usually Peabody gets the best lines, but in this one Eve gets few. There are some real smile-out-loud moments when Eve is confronted with the wide-open spaces of Texas and cows and horses. And then there is everyone else. The usual suspects makes their appearance. Peabody is still at Eve's side and gets to take on a case of her own; McNab is still flashy; Charles the LC and his new girlfriend Dr. Louise are minor supporting characters and of course Roarke is still the sexiest fictional character around. I really enjoy this series and look forward to the next one in six months. These books are truly Nora Roberts at her best!
Rating:
Summary: A fun read!
Review: I buy each J.D. Robb paperback as soon as it comes out and find the futuristic stories about Eve Dallas, Robb's tough female cop to be truly engaging. The villain of this tale is a woman Eve has faced before, and she is identified quickly, but is not so easy to catch! I really enjoyed the final confrontation between Julianna and Eve,
loved meeting Peabody's warm hearted parents, and found the bit about Eve visiting the wide open spaces of Texas very funny! A really terrific subplot involves Eve giving Peabody her own case, and teaching and delegating in a way that gives Peabody just the right amount of independence. Eve Dallas, repeating the pattern taught by her own mentor.... Not enough Mavis or Nadine in the novel, and Robb backs off of the Charles/Laura relationship, and a little bit off McNab/Peabody that were introduced in prior books. I think the books need more of their support. This book completes the first year cycle of Eve's marriage to Roarke, as they celebrate their anniversary, and we can hope that Robb will not grow tired of her feisty lieutenant before their second anniversary. Definitely worth buying!
Rating:
Summary: 14th in Eve Dallas Series; Great Suspense and Entertainment
Review: J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) is writing this "... In Death" series at the incredible pace of two per year. The debut in 1995 opened us to a new world of NYC homicide crimes set in the year 2058. Various high tech phones, personal air travel vehicles, and human-like "droids" (worker-bees) add an imaginative touch to these police procedurals. In this the 14th of the set, homicide lieutenant Eve Dallas, along with a now familiar cast of regulars, especially her aide Peabody and her zillionaire husband Roarke, is again hard at work trying to run down a killer she sent to jail ten years ago, Julianna Dunne. Out of prison on parole, this time Dunne's hitting random male targets instead of just marrying rich men before she offs them. Eve suspects a personal competition with Dunne, and fears Roarke might be on the hit list with little more than one-upsmanship (with a little revenge thrown in) as a motive. The intensity of the hunt, the interaction of Eve and her cohorts, and the climactic conclusion left us feeling wrung-out from suspense. While these books take on a predictable form, Robb's plots never fail to please. Moreover, we get to know the lead players better with every book, and take some degree of pleasure in their growth and development. (Peabody solves her first murder in this one, to the delight of all, in a small sub-plot.) The relationship studies between Eve and Roarke pose many questions about the solidarity of marriage and the care and feeding of one's partner; the troubled childhoods of our protagonists only add to the complexity of their pursuit of happiness. So add it up -- edgy, compelling stories; torrid romance and relationships; futuristic settings; and intense crime fighting: sounds like a great mystery book!
Rating: 
Summary: She Does It Again!!!
Review: I am truly amazed by Nora Roberts writing. How does she crank out so many books, all with the quality and zest that each and every one seems to have.
This book is the latest in her In Death series written under the name of J.D. Robb.
This time, Eve Dallas faces serial killer Julianna Dunne, whose recent release from prison has not seemed to help. She is out for payback against the one person in the world she respects, Eve. And the payback involves the murderous Julianna playing hardball on Eve's New York City area and she even stalks Roarke. Eve's vulnerabilities are seem to show, to Roarke and the reader.
Julianna Dunne is a brilliant adversary, and she has done her homework well. This installment does seem to drag very slow in the beginning but sure picks up pace. All the characters seem to build and I do enjoy that part and getting to know the crew better. This was not the best In Death book but it was sure worth the read. If you enjoy this series then you do not want to miss it. If you are new to the series then start at the very beginning with Naked in Death and you sure will be delighted!
Rating:
Summary: Starts Slow, But Leaves You Breathless
Review: I am in constant awe of Nora Roberts (writing here as J.D. Robb). How does she churn out book after book of such quality when others in the genre eventually sink into repetitive junk? Whatever it is, it's worked again: "Reunion in Death," although deceptively slow for the first half of the book, picks up in the middle and holds the pace until the very last word. This time, futuristic super-cop Eve Dallas faces serial killer Julianna Dunne, whose recent time in the slammer has done nothing to help her personality. She is out for payback against the one person in the world she respects (and loathes): Eve. And the payback involves the murderous Julianna playing hardball on Eve's New York City turf...stalking Eve's man, the gorgeous and brilliant Roarke. As in the last few books, Eve's vulnerabilities are allowed to show--at least to Roarke and the reader. I found this to be the only boring (to me) part of the book. I think that Eve's horrible childhood has been well explored by now, and it's getting a bit repetitive to relive Eve's nightmares in every book. Even though she supposedly has new revelations about her past in this book, I found nothing really new in this particular set of Eve's flashback horrors, which is not to say that I am bored with Eve herself (a fabulous character), or that I do not sympathize with her fight against her personal demons. But...been there, done that. Nora/Robb needs to come at this from another perspective if she feels there is more to reveal; otherwise, I, for one, have had enough. Same goes for the endlessly fascinating, but now also repetitive, relationship between Eve and Roarke. It's now established that they each have their personal weaknesses, and that their considerable strengths complement their spectacular (in every way) relationship. It's not that their erotic pas de deux no longer interests me as a reader, but I feel that Nora/Robb is again covering old ground. On the other hand, maybe she is setting us up for a surprise? One never knows with her! OK, back to the plot. Julianna Dunne is a brilliant adversary, and she has done her homework well. But she has picked the most formidable opponent on or off-planet... And so can her wonderful team: Peabody (who solves her first case on her own!), the ever-randy MacNab, the elegant psychologist/profiler Dr. Mira, hardbitten and loyal Feeney, and all the rest of the crew. But now Julianna has aimed at Eve's Achilles Heel: her love for Roarke. What better way to destroy Eve than to destroy her man? The eventual standoff between Eve and Julianna is sort of like the Clash of the Titans, and no less exciting. Who wins? Do you have to ask? Another winner from Nora; another treat for her legion of readers. Where's the next one?
Rating:
Summary: I can always count on JD Robb to suck me into a story....
Review: I can always count on JD Robb to suck me into a story and this book was no exception. It seems that her villains are becoming more focused on revenge against Eve as this series develops. In this story, the villain is someone who Eve caught years ago and wants to get even on a personal level - by going after Roarke. It definitely kept the suspense up! More of Eve's childhood came out in this book as well, so that was an interesting twist. This is definitely JD Robb formula writing, but still a pleasant way to waste a day.
Rating:
Summary: A Series That's Getting Better As It Goes
Review: As some may have noticed from my other reviews of this series, I'm not reading them exactly in order. I read 4 from the middle of the series in order, with some skips, then picked up 4 more and put them in chronological order. I read Purity -- then Reunion and Portrait, bracketing Purity. Hey, folks -- I do seriously recommend nabbing this series as a set and reading them in their proper order. There's a major story-arc involving the two main characters, Lt. Eve Dallas and a financier named Roarke, and piecing their story together is not nearly as enjoyable as reading it straight forward. However, each book does stand alone as a Police Procedural Mystery. And the Mysteries are solidly plotted and well turned at the end. There's enough background of previous books so you can read out of context without being bewildered. The third element in these novels that makes them of primary interest to me is that they are set in 2050's and beyond, where Earth has business interests on other planets. I so far have not read a story where Eve goes offplanet with Roarke, but I saw a reference to such a visit. But I don't have much hope for that novel because of the short-shrift given the third element in this series. That third element is the weakest part of these novels, and if futurology matters to you, skip this series. The author has not done the sf novelists' mental work -- extrapolation, or "What if ..." So the series as a whole does not make a solid, well developed argument for future history taking a particular track. The kick an sf reader looks for in a near-future novel just isn't there. There are bits and pieces of what looks "futuristic" but isn't really. Much of the fashion and computer technology assumes that things won't change as much in the next 50 years as they have in the previous 50 years. Each futuristic item is apparently chosen from a different extrapolation line than the others, so they clash instead of adding up to a vision of the future. At this point in the series though, I think Roberts/Robb is paying attention to complaints about the futurology and really trying to include some. The strain shows, to those who look for the bits and pieces to explicate some sort of theme. She knows how to use theme. Her mystery plot has a thesis and makes a statement about that thesis. Her romance plot zeros in tightly upon a very sharply defined thesis about Relationship and shows character development with a grace and style any writer could envy. But she doesn't use those same skills on the futurology. She has not even attempted the 3rd of 3 major requirements for writing an science fiction/ fantasy novel -- "What if ...?" "What if the Homeland Security department concept succeeds?" "What if the Homeland Security department concept fails?" OK, she's inserted a historical event known as the Urban Wars -- but that doesn't qualify as good futurology without considerable support within the other elements of the story. And she ignores today's headlines as sources of "What if ...?" She has done "If Only ..." (the 2nd of the 3 requirements for an science fiction/ fantasy novel). Her Relationship extrapolation is definitely an "if only..." statement. If only men and women could get along like this! But she hasn't applied "If Only ... " to any other element in the story. "What if ...?" "If Only ..." and "If This Goes On ..." are the 3 most important elements in sf/f. A novel which has all 3 done to perfection is always considered a classic, and few writers achieve all 3 in one novel. I would expect of a New York Times Bestselling author a much better performance than this. OK, I am holding her to a very high standard, and perhaps that's unrealistic, but it's my expectation as both a professional sf/f writer and as a reader. So for these lacks, I have to withhold a star at least, maybe two for some novels. However, I have to give her credit for playing another game that sf/f writers and readers love. She's playing up the in-group jokes for all they're worth. She's borrowed from a number of classic novels, from TV shows, and other well-known sources. If you're not widely read you'll miss the best parts of these novels! As I said in a previous review, she has given Ayn Rand a nod with the Roarke character's name, profession and attitudes. And I doubt anyone has missed the Elizabeth Peters nod with the name of the Peabody character. Amelia is of course an Egyptologist, so I keep expecting Peabody to turn up with some marvelous incidental knowledge that can be put to use. However, Peabody does have these fascinating parents -- one of whom is a psychic Healer, the other very wise. One of the disconnected and apparently random bits of futurology that doesn't "add up" to any statement but is "borrowed" from major sources is the way Peabody's father's healing talent is taken for granted by everyone. And Elizabeth Peters doesn't shy away from occult undertones. Yet Roberts/Robb does nothing with that except that fabulous concept Dallas gets healed so she can close a case. This series is soooooo goooooooodddd! "If Only ..." it's futurology was as good as the romance and mystery, it would be a solid 5-star all around great, an immortal series that would live forever. As it is, I'd advise you to buy the paperbacks, even used copies, and not bother to try to save them for your grandchildren. They will not understand what you think is so great about them. Alas. Live Long and Prosper,
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
Rating:
Summary: Potrait in Death
Review: This was the first book in the series that I read. I got hook on the series. I have read three other books in this series. The storyline is great.
Rating:
Summary: Eve Dallas keeps on keepin on
Review: Reunion in Death is another page turning fun mystery read with a murder for Eve Dallas to solve that has a suspect that is part of her past. A serial murder killer who enjoys HER self-chosen work is at large, and Eve believes that her ultimate target is her own Roarke. The series is great Nora Roberts. I'm on to the next one
Rating:
Summary: Love it!
Review: There are just some books that leave you with a vuege feeling of enjoyment months after you read them, most of the In Death series has that quality, and the 14th insalment is no exception. I can easily say that Reunion is one of my favorites.
Like "Suduction" it takes a different route with the mystery. Instead of pieceing a puzzle together to find the identity of the murderer, Eve, Roarke, and company play cat and mouse with one of Eve's first collars out on good behavior.
I always think the chase is most of the fun so this book was perfect! A good chunk of Eve's past is filled in too. We get everything we've come to love. Action, a good dose of humor, (I have to say that Eve tranq'd are some of the funniest scenes I've read!) and of course romance with our favorite couple.
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