dragonfire88's Full Review: J. D. Robb - Conspiracy in Death
I’ve discovered over the years that if I pick up a book that is part of a series and like it, I then feel compelled to read the rest of the books in the series. After loving Naked in Death, I went on to pick up the rest of the books in the In Death series that were available at that time. I’ve been reading the books in the series again and recently finished reading Conspiracy in Death, the eighth book in the series, again.
The In Death series has more than twenty books in it as well as three short stories. Two new books are released in the series each year. Each book has had its own plot while building on what has happened in the previous books. The same group of main characters and some supporting characters have returned for each book. The series has followed Eve Dallas, a homicide detective in New York City in the future. Conspiracy in Death took place in January of 2059. Each book has featured a murder investigation that Eve was looking on while also taking some time to show her relationship with her husband Roarke and her growing friendships. Since the books are set in the future, the characters use different interesting futuristic gadgets.
Eve and her aide, Delia Peabody, were assigned to handle the investigation into the murder of a street sleeper. His heart had been removed. Ellen Bowers and Troy Truehart were the first cops on the scene. Ellen hadn’t properly secured the scene and she received a lecture from Eve over it. Ellen had seemed resentful of Eve even before the lecture and went on to try and cause Eve trouble by filing complaints. Eve and Delia discovered similar murders in other areas around the world. Eve believed that a doctor was removing the organs because of the precision in how it was done. Eve and Delia were checking into a possible connection to medical research involving organs. Ellen continued to cause trouble for Eve which ultimately led to Eve being put on suspension.
The books in the In Death series before Conspiracy in Death firmly established how important being a cop was to Eve. She was dedicated to providing justice for the dead and she frequently over worked herself to close cases. Eve had a well-known reputation for working hard on whatever case she was assigned. For the first time in Conspiracy in Death, Eve’s career was in jeopardy. After meeting Ellen at a crime scene, Eve had to deal with acquisitions while trying to close the investigation. The complications that Ellen caused did become a very important part of the book, especially once Eve was suspended. For the first time in the series, Eve actually fell apart. It was a very different side to Eve and what happened also impacted her relationship with Roarke.
Once again, Eve started a new investigation in the first chapter. Delia continued to work as Eve’s aide and the two women were developing a friendship. It took them a little while to come up with a theory on the motive since the crime was so unusual. Eve decided that a doctor had to be involved and started looking into connections in the medical community. There were some scientific type explanations that didn’t get so detailed that they slowed the pace down. I thought the information was interesting and connected the book to some issues that have been talked about in current times. The mystery was interesting and there were several suspenseful moments throughout the book. There was some violence in a few scenes. That has been done in the other books in the series as well. I didn’t think the violence was overly graphic.
Eve and Roarke met during an investigation in Naked in Death. Their relationship has been very important to the books in the series without detracting from the different mysteries or becoming the main focus. Their relationship has grown and changed a lot since they first met. I have really enjoyed how their relationship has changed. This book did include some sex scenes and sexual situations between Eve and Roarke. The scenes were descriptive and some readers might think they are too graphic. There was a bit of sexual tension between Delia and Ian McNab, a detective from the Electronic Detective Division, that didn’t go anywhere.
Eve and Roarke have been the main characters in all of the books in the series. They have both grown and changed a lot from the first book. They are the most developed characters in the series. Eve was very dedicated to her work as a detective, so the events in this book had a big impact on all aspects of her life. Roarke has always known how important her job was to her, but he was upset when she claimed that she was nothing if she wasn’t a cop. Summerset has been Roarke’s butler for years and the two men have known each other even longer. Summerset was very loyal to Roarke and hadn’t thought that Eve was good enough at first. Summerset has slowly been changing his opinion of her.
Delia has become another very important character since she was first introduced. She works closely with Eve and the two women have started to develop a friendship. Delia enjoys saying things that irritate Eve. Ian McNab was one of the newer characters to be added to the books. He worked with Feeney in the EDD and started working on Eve’s cases. He was a bit flamboyant and bugged Eve and Delia though he was very good at his job. Dr. Mira was the psychiatrist that worked for the police department. She would consult on Eve’s cases, doing profiles of suspects or examining them. Dr. Mira thought of Eve as a friend and was very concerned about her with everything that was going on. Nadine Furst was a reporter that Eve sometimes gave interviews too. Nadine would hold off on reporting something if Eve asked her too. Mavis and Eve had been friends for years. Mavis was living with Leonardo, a fashion designer. Neither of them were around that much. I did wish that Mavis was around a bit more.
When she started writing the In Death series, Nora Roberts decided to use the name J.D. Robb for the series instead of her own. I started off reading the In Death books and then moved on to reading her other books. I have really enjoyed both groups of books and get her new books as soon as they are published. I think that other people who like one group of the books could also like the other since they were written by the same person. Really the only main difference was that the In Death books have been set in the future and have stronger mysteries. Otherwise, the books are very similar. She wrote one book, Remember When, as both J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts. The book started in current times and finished in Eve’s time. Both sections of the book were connected by a mystery. Eve’s part of Remember When took place between Imitation in Death and Divided in Death.
Conspiracy in Death was another entertaining addition to the In Death series. The book is must read for fans of the series.
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