dragonfire88's Full Review: J. D. Robb - Imitation in Death
A few years ago I discovered a futuristic suspense series by J.D. Robb. I had heard that the books were good, so I decided to try them. I read the first book, Naked in Death, and was hooked. I got the rest of the books in the series as fast I could and have been reading the series ever since. I just finished reading Imitation in Death.
The In Death series is set in New York in the future. The first book took place in 2058. Imitation in Death took place in the summer of 2059. It is the seventeenth book in the series. There have also been two short stories in the series. In each book, Eve Dallas, a lieutenant on the New York police force, works on a new murder case. The books focus on whatever case Eve is investigating, but things from her personal life, like her relationship with her husband Roarke, are also included. Each book has its own main plot, but there are some subplots that continue from book to book. In addition to Eve and Roarke, there are several other characters who return for each book. The character’s relationships with each other continues to grow and change in each new book. I do think that the books in the series should be read in order.
There are a lot of futuristic gadgets and items included in each book of the In Death series. Cars drive like they do now, but they also have the ability to fly. Computers are everywhere, very advanced, and have to be registered. A machine called an AutoChef prepares food. Space travel is common and there are many settlements and resorts in space. Guns are outlawed, but murders still happen. The police have some new ways of investigating crimes. Prostitution is legal. They are called licensed companions or LCs. They have to get a license to do the work. I found the futuristic stuff very interesting.
Jacie Wooton, a street LC, was working at 2 a.m. She hated working the streets, but she been busted for using drugs and she’d lost her A-grade license. She was determined to get it back and be living in an expensive apartment again. She wanted to quit for the night, but she had rent to pay, so she was going to wait for one more score. A man wearing a cape and top hat approached her. They headed to an alley to take care of business and he brutally murdered her. Eve got the case. She and her aide, Delia Peabody, arrived at the scene and started to investigate.
Jacie’s body was in bad shape. The killer had copied a murder committed by Jack the Ripper. A note addressed to Eve was discovered on the body. The killer wanted Eve investigating. He wanted the publicity he thought the case would get with Eve involved. Eve made a decision not to tell the press much about the case. The note was written on distinctive stationery. Peabody tracked down sources for it and they found four men living in New York that had bought the paper. One was a diplomat, one a singer, and one was involved with an actress. Eve and Peabody investigated the men despite them being public figures. Some of the men weren’t happy about being questioned and complained to Eve’s superiors.
Another woman, this one an older grandmother, was found murdered in her apartment with another note to Eve. She was murdered in a different way, but it was still very brutal. That time the killer copied Albert DeSalvo. Eve had thought that the killer would copy all of the Ripper’s murders. She kept at the investigation, questioning the men again. She even talked to a few of the wives. Roarke knew some of the men and shared what he knew about them. Roarke also used his expertise with computers to help Eve uncover more information to help her investigation. Another woman was attacked, but she wasn’t killed. Eve then figured out who the next target was soon after that.
Peabody was jittery because of changers going on in her life. She and Ian McNab, a detective who worked in the computer division, had been dating for a while and they decided to move in together. They had been looking for apartments. She was having a few panicky feelings about the move at times. Delia was going to be taking her detective’s exam soon and Ian was helping her prepare. She was worried that she would mess up and disappoint Eve.
I loved Imitation in Death. It was very descriptive. I had no trouble imagining what was going on. There was a lot going on in the book, including a few subplots. I had no trouble keeping track of what was going on. The book grabbed my attention from the first page. I was so hooked on the book after just a few chapters that I found a way to keep reading it during a power outage. I sat next to a lantern type flashlight. I did have to hold the book at a certain angel, but I was able to read it. Being able to read this book during the outage kept me from going nuts. I hate it when the electric goes out.
Imitation in Death is considered a romantic suspense book. I really think of it, and the other books in the In Death series, as mysteries. The case Eve was investigating was the main focus of the book. It followed Eve and Peabody through the murder investigation. Peabody’s preparations for her detective’s exam were brought up at different times, but it didn’t detract from the mystery. Two murders were brutally murdered and a third was attacked. There was some description of the beginning of the first murder. There was none of the second. The attack was described as it happened, but it wasn’t in great detail. The bodies of the murdered women were described. Horrible things were done to them. It was a bit disturbing to read those things at times. Some readers could be offended by those things. There was some swearing in the book, but it wasn’t that bad. Some of the earlier books in the series have had a lot more swearing. The word that rhymes with luck was used a few times. That word has shown up a lot more in a few of the earlier books.
Eve and Roarke have been married just over a year in Imitation in Death. They are still adjusting to married life at times, but they love each other very much. Eve seemed to be doing more adjusting than Roarke at this point, but she was much more comfortable with married life than she has been in the past. There were some sexual situations and acts between them in the book. The scenes were descriptive. Some readers may find them too explicit. Peabody and McNab had been dating for a while and were getting ready to move in together. There were no sex scenes between them, but there were a few things said that hinted at their sex life. I would have liked for there to have been more about Peabody and McNab in the book.
In the last book in the series, Portrait in Death, Roarke learned something surprising about his past. Roarke did not have a happy childhood. He met a woman that told him something about his past. Roarke didn’t believe her at first, but he did some investigating and discovered that she told him the truth. Something about his past, related to his mother, was a lie. That revelation lead to some other things that did open some other possibilities for Roarke. Those things weren’t really explored in this book. Roarke had one discussion about it with someone and that was it. He didn’t even talk to Eve about it. I would have liked if there had been a bit more about that in the book. I do think that this situation will turn up again at some point in the series.
It was mentioned several times in Imitation in Death that Peabody was going to be taking her detective’s exam soon. There wasn’t a lot said about exactly what would on the exam. There were written and oral parts, as well as a simulation of a crime scene. I was wondering what sort of things would be on the written and oral portions of the exam. I also wondered if Peabody would have do more than one simulation. Peabody was understandably nervous about the exam. She was only shown preparing for it once. She went through some simulations at home, but it wasn’t said what else she did to prepare for the simulations. Peabody has become an important character and I would have liked to know a little more about what she was going through. I really wish there had been more shown between her and McNab away from the station and the investigation. I really would have enjoyed reading about their apartment hunting. I know that was more of a subplot, but those two are returning characters that I really love. I just want them to get some more time in the book away from investigations. I am really hoping for there to be more about them in the next book. I think it will be very interesting to see them adjusting to actually living together.
Mavis Freestone, Eve’s best friend, turned up in Imitation in Death, but she was only in one scene. In the first few books of the series, Mavis was always popping up. I loved how she and Summerset bonded. She has been turning up less often and was even absent from some books. It seemed that while Peabody grew and became more prominent, Mavis disappeared more. I miss Mavis. She is a unique and interesting character. I was glad to see her in this book. In one of the other books, I think it may have been in Purity in Death, Mavis shared that she was going to have a baby with Eve. Since then, there hasn’t been too much else said about Mavis and her baby. I hope that changes as her pregnancy progresses. It should be interesting to see Eve, and even Roarke, react to the baby after it is born. There was one thing about Mavis in this book that I’m wondering about now. At one point, her husband Leonardo was mentioned. I don’t know when she got married. Mavis and Leonardo met and fell in love during some of the earlier books. Then they decided to move in together. They did not get married. I don’t remember a wedding being mentioned, or that they were even thinking of getting married, in any of previous books. So now I’m wondering if that was a little goof on Robb’s part, or if Mavis and Leonardo did get married at some point. And if they did, why wasn’t the wedding part of a book? Mavis and Eve are best friends. Her wedding, if there was one, should have been included in a book.
Summerset, Roarke’s butler, has been in every book in the series. He was hardly in Imitation in Death. He was on vacation for most of the book. Eve acted like she was happy he was gone, but I think she secretly missed him. At one point she was thinking about how he would always have her car brought out of the garage and waiting for her when she left for work without her ever asking for that to be done. They grumble at each a lot, but I think they really like each other. Every so often one of them does something or says something that illustrates that.
J.D. Robb is really Nora Roberts. I read that she decided to use a different name for the In Death books at first because she wanted to see if people liked them without knowing she was writing them. These books are different from the books she writes under her own name, but there are some similarities. People who like the books of one should give the other books a chance. I started with the In Death series and after I read all of them, I moved onto her other books. I love all of them. She has written one book, Remember When, that is listed as being written by bother authors. The beginning of the book took place in current time and the second part took place in Eve's time. The two halves of the book were connected by a mystery. A few important developments happened during the second part of Remember When, so fans of the series should read it too. It took place between this book and Divided in Death.
For the last few years, at least as long as I have been reading them, there have been two new books a year released in the In Death series. I recently found out that the Nora Roberts book that will be out in September will tie into the In Death books in some way. Eve will be making an appearance in it. I’m really looking forward to that book. I also found out that the next book in the In Death series will be released as a hardback in January.
There are several returning characters in Imitation in Death. Eve and Roarke have been in every book in the series so far. They have been developed over all of the books and are very well rounded characters now. Peabody first appeared a few books into the series. She was a small character at first, but she has become much more important as the series continued. She is on her way to becoming well rounded as well. McNab hasn’t been around for as long, so he isn’t as developed yet, but he is on his way. I really love that the same group of main characters returns for each book. It is like I get to visit friends when I read each new book.
CHARACTERS
Eve Dallas - Homicide detective on the New York police force. She is dedicated to her job and determined to catch the murderers for the cases she investigates. She wants to get justice for the murdered. She is married and happy with her husband, but she has had to do a lot of adjusting to married life. She isn’t thrilled when she has to go to some society events with Roarke. She had a horrible childhood and that still affects her. She has trouble dealing with having friends at times.
Roarke - Eve’s husband. He is very rich and successful. He had a horrible childhood as well, though he recently learned something surprising about his mother. He did some things that were illegal earlier in his life, but he changed his ways once he fell in love with Eve. He won’t hesitate to bend the law if that means helping or protecting Eve.
Delia Peabody - Eve’s aide. Peabody works hard and enjoys working with Eve. Peabody does doubt herself at times. She is preparing to take her detective’s exam. She likes to irritate Eve by saying things about her relationship with McNab.
Ian McNab - He is a detective in the Electronic Detectives Division of the force. He is a bit goofy at times, but he is good at his job. He likes it when Eve decides to work from her home office.
Mavis - Eve’s best friend. She is expecting a baby. She wears some wild outfits and changes hair color frequently. She is a singer. Roarke helped her get her career off the ground. She is either living with or married to Leonardo, a fashion designer.
Summerset - Roarke’s stuffy butler. He and Roarke have been friends for years. Summerset is devoted to Roarke and would do anything for him. Summerset doesn’t want to see Roarke hurt. Summerset wasn’t happy when Roarke and Eve became involved, but he adjusted because Eve makes Roarke happy.
I loved Imitation in Death. It was a wonderful addition to the In Death series. I’m already impatient for the next book.
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