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In Death #16-20
Portrait in Death / Imitation in Death / Divided in Death / Visions in Death / Survivor in Death
Take a trip to futuristic New York City and experience the thrill of the chase as Lieutenant Eve Dallas captures the worst kinds of criminals in this collection that includes books 16-20 in the #1 New York Times bestselling In Death series from J. D. Robb...PORTRAIT IN DEATHIMITATION IN DEATHDIVIDED IN DEATHVISIONS IN DEATHSURVIVOR IN DEATH
1992 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 2, 2011
529 people are currently reading
494 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Robb
180 books35.3k followersJ.D. Robb is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling In Death series and the pseudonym for #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts. The futuristic suspense series stars Eve Dallas, a New York City police lieutenant with a dark past. Initially conceived as a trilogy, readers clamored for more of Eve and the mysterious Roarke. Stolen in Death (St. Martin's Press, February 2026) will be the 62nd entry in the series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 29, 2012
i read these books to be totally entertained and am never disappointed... Not a hard read, not an intellectual read, just a fun read....
March 26, 2025
I was worried that these stories were becoming repetitive, but this batch has much more variety and were truly intense. The long-term character development is delightful. I think the last story was the best, but all were 4+ stars.
May 28, 2020
Love these books and the characters. The author writes in a way that doesn’t get too bogged down in excessive details and the story moves at a pretty good pace. As the series goes on she introduces new characters and expand the principals’ stories. I’m now on to the next five books
March 7, 2022
Portrait in Death:
Since I’ve been reading this series pretty much since it debuted, I’m fairly familiar with all the characters and the varied nuances. One thing that still bothers me is how much Roarke always drops what he’s doing to help Eve, but she still struggles with even the basic parts of being a loving partner. It screams selfish to me, even though I know she’s not.
This is the book where Summerset’s supposed to go on a three weeks vacation, and Eve is ecstatic, but he trips over the cat, falls down the stairs, and breaks his leg. Oh boy!
Oh, I think this is the book where Roarke meets the woman who knew his bio-mom. Yep, I was right. Throws Roarke for a massive loop!!
Tears began to run down her cheeks now. “He killed her—because she left, because she came back. Because he could. And kept you, I suppose, because you were the image of him. If I hadn’t pushed her so hard, had given her more time to heal. To think . . .”
She wiped her face, and rose to go to her desk. From a drawer she took a small photograph. “This is all I have. I took this myself of the two of you the day before she left the shelter. You should have it,” she said, and handed it to him.
He looked down, saw a young girl with red hair and green eyes still bruised from a beating. She wore a simple blue shirt with that red hair falling over its shoulders. She was smiling, though her eyes were sad and tired, she was smiling, with her cheek pressed against that of her baby. A face that was still rounded and soft with innocence, but unmistakably his own.
So he was smiling as well. A bright, happy smile. And the hand that cuddled him close had a silver claddaugh on its long, delicate finger.
Wow, I didn’t realize it was so early in the series that Eve figured out Summerset killed Patrick Roarke. It’s was later before Roarke learns of it.
But her eyes showed him nothing as she stepped forward, leaned down, spoke quietly. “Did you kill Patrick Roarke?”
Like hers, his face stayed blank. “There is no statute of limitations on murder.”
“It’s not the cop who’s asking you.”
“I had children to protect.”
She let out a short breath. “Roarke doesn’t know, does he? You never told him.”
The scene where Roarke meets his aunt, his family on his mother’s side, is heartbreaking and beautiful. Typical of this author.
Shit. I’d forgotten this is the book where Crack’s baby sister is one of the victims. 😢
“This is my baby. My baby girl. My heart and my soul.” He leaned over, touched his lips to her forehead.
Then he simply slid down, nearly seven feet of solid mass, into a weeping puddle on the floor.
Eve knelt beside him, put her arms around him.
Through the glass, Roarke watched as the huge man curled into her like a baby wanting comfort. And she rocked him while he wept.
Aw, the first mention of Yancy as the cop artist! 😍
Sad and pathetic murderer. Excellent ending though and I do adore Trueheart.
Imitation in Death:
Interesting that I can’t remember this story at all. So strange when that happens particularly since so many of these earlier ones I can recall with clarity.
Aw, Peabody studying for the detective exam. Adorable.
Forgot about Eve’s dream and her clear memory of her mother. Such sadness. Such an awful childhood for this incredible woman.
Oh goddess, I’d forgotten about Roarke trying to grill dinner for them…like Dennis Mira had done at the barbecue they went to at the Mira’s. 😂
I loved the way Eve could hammer at suspects in interrogation. Some of that fire seems to be lost in the later installments.
Even though I hadn't remembered this story, it’s nice to see the one I wanted it to be is the murderer. Eve hangs his ass up! Excellent ending.
Loved this part…
“I’ll settle things here and follow you in. I think you should be able to handle him, Detective.”
“I think a ten-year-old boy could handle him in this shape, sir.” She shook her head as Renquist continued to sob and drum his feet like a child in the throes of a tantrum. Then her head snapped up. “What? What did you say?”
“Do I have to repeat a standard order for prisoner procedure?”
“No. No, sir. Did you . . . did you say ‘detective’?”
“Something wrong with your ears? Oh, by the way, congratulations.
This is the book where Roarke sees Eve in her full uniform for the first time. I’ve always loved that scene.
Divided in Death:
Peabody and Eve have always had such marvelous dialogue, back and forth, between them.
Peabody hurried out again, carrying an enormous take-out bag. “Got hoagies.”
With a grunt, she dropped back in the seat.
“What, for the whole squad?”
“And other provisions.”
“Because we’re going on safari?”
With some dignity, Peabody pulled out a tidily wrapped hoagie and passed it to Eve. “Drinks, and a bag of soy chips, and a bag of dried apricots—”
“Dried apricots, in case the rumor of the coming Armageddon is true.”
“And some damn cookies.” Peabody’s face closed in on a scowl that was edging toward pout. “I’m hungry, and when you’re on a roll like this I might not see food again until I’m a withered sack of bones. You don’t have to eat, you know.” She made a fuss out of unwrapping her own sandwich. “Nobody’s holding a blaster to your head.”
This is the book where Roarke and Eve find out that a) her dad’s name was Richard Troy, b) he and Patrick Roarke knew each other and worked together, and c) Homeland Security had agents monitoring the hotel room in Dallas, were aware of the female minor in the room and cleaned up after Eve killed her father. But, they did nothing to interfere with her abuse. 🤬
Aw, the scene with Mavis and Eve ❤️ Mavis feeling scared about not knowing how to be a mom and then the baby (Bella) moving for the first time was beautiful.
Damn spooks! I had forgotten that Commander Whitney was aware that Eve had been raped by her own father before she was found in Dallas. He doesn’t know that she killed him in self-defense.
You read the file?”
“I read it.”
“And you stomached it.”
“Actually, Lieutenant Dallas, I couldn’t quite stomach it. I believe in the work we do, and I know that sometimes sacrifices have to be made, that choices are made that seem—that are—cold. However, I could find no rationale, no purpose, no excuse for the lack of intervention in your case. Knowingly leaving a minor in that situation was . . . inhumane. You should have been removed, and the decision to leave status quo was ill-advised.”
“The HSO was aware of your situation in Texas?” Whitney asked.
“They were surveilling him, due to his connection with Max Ricker. They knew what he did to me, they listened to it. They listened while he raped me, and while I begged. While I begged.”
And here again I have to say that sometimes I get pretty frustrated with, what I see anyway, as a serious power differential in Eve and Roarke’s marriage. He’ll do anything to protect her, and even when they’re standing on two sides of the line, his first thought is always about protecting her, not just physically but emotionally. He’s so furious that the HSO knew what was happening to her in Dallas and he wants to murder someone. She can’t understand this, and yet, when Roarke knows the AD of HSO could come back at Eve about their files on her and suspected patricide, his first thought is to ask her if she wants the files gone. Of course she says yes, but the divide between them is still there. I get angry with her sometimes over these things. It feels like he’s being used.
“Yes, they deserve to pay!” The words burst out, hot as the tears that burned behind her eyes. “They deserve it. Is that what you need to hear? They should fry in hell for what they did. But it’s not up to you, and it’s not up to me to send them there. If you do this thing, it’s murder. It’s murder, Roarke, and their blood on your hands changes nothing that happened to me.”
He paused a long, long moment. “I can live with that.” He saw her eyes go dark, and dead. “But you can’t. So . . .”
He snapped the disc in two, then shoved the pieces into the recycle slot.
She only stared, and in the silence there was only the sound of her own shaky breaths. “You . . . you’re letting it go.”
He looked down at the slot and knew his rage would never be so easily destroyed. He’d live with it, and the impotence that walked with it, the whole of his life. “If I did anything else it would be for myself, not for you. Hardly a point in that. So yes, I’m letting it go.”
“You think I don’t know, that I don’t understand what that cost you. But you’re wrong.” She couldn’t keep her voice steady, gave up trying. “You’re wrong, Roarke. I do know. There’s no one else in the world who would want, who would need to kill for me. No one else in the world who would step back from it because I asked it. Because I needed it.”
She turned, and the first tear spilled over. “No one but you.”
“Don’t. You’ll do me in if you cry.”
“I never in my life expected anyone would love me, all of me. How would I deserve that? What would I do with it? But you do. Everything we’ve managed to have together, to be to each other, this is more. I’ll never be able to find the words to tell you what you just gave me.”
Visions in Death:
Eve and her horrible fashion sense cracks me up!
Darling, not that jacket.” More resigned than appalled, he rose to take the one she’d yanked out of her closet, and after a quick study, drew out one with pale blue checks over cream. “Trust me.”
“I don’t know what I did before you were my fashion consultant,” she told him.
“I do, but I don’t like to think about it.”
“I know a dig when I hear one.” She sat to pull on her boots.
OH, the part where Mavis and Leonardo tell Eve and Roarke that they want them in the delivery room!!!
“Mavis, since you got pregnant, when haven’t you wanted to talk about the baby?” Eve leaned over, took a canapé from her plate. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
“Yeah, but this is a specific thing, that involves you.”
“Me?” Eve licked her thumb and decided to steal another loaded cracker from Mavis’s plate.
“Uh-huh. We want you to be my backup coach.”
“You’re taking up baseball?” Eve bit into the salmon thingy with the stuff, and decided it wasn’t half bad. “Shouldn’t you wait until you get the kid out of there?”
“No. Labor and delivery coach. You’d back up Leonardo when I have the baby.”
Eve choked on the canapé and turned white.
“Take a drink, darling,” Roarke said with a laugh in his voice. “Put your head between your knees if you feel dizzy.”
“We want Roarke there, too.” Mavis sniffed into her cloth.
“Me? There?”
Eve turned her head and saw—with pleasure—the rare sight of utter panic on his face. “Not so damn funny now, is it, ace?”
“We’re permitted, even encouraged, to have family present,” Leonardo explained. “You’re our family.”
“Ah, I’m not sure it’s quite proper for me to be . . . to see Mavis in that condition. Under those . . . circumstances.”
“Get out.” Sniffles forgotten, Mavis giggled and tapped Roarke playfully on the arm. “Anybody with a vid player’s seen me mostly naked. And this isn’t about the proper. It’s about family. We know we can count on you. Both of you.”
“Of course.” Roarke swallowed a great deal of wine. “Of course, you can.”
The conversation they have afterwards leaves me in stitches. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Yeah, this is the book where Eve tells Peabody about her childhood and what happened in Dallas.
This is where Harvo, Queen of Hair and Fiber, is first introduced. I love her!
Forgot about Peabody getting attacked and hurt. Poor McNab.
Oh, I’d forgotten about the psychic and how she’d used everyone and… yeah, it’s bad.
This one is seriously creepy but totally awesome.
Survivor in Death:
I’m vaguely remembering this one. I certainly remember the little girl who snuck out of her bed at 2 am to get a soda and witnessed her whole family getting murdered. Eve doesn’t know what to do with this little girl. Nixie goes home with Eve. Wait, does she end up in foster care with Elizabeth Barrister and Richard DeBlass who also fostered Kevin, the little street urchin from book #6??
I feel like later in the series some of the witty repartee between Eve and Roarke is missing?
“Every minute with you, Darling Eve, is a minute to treasure.”
She slid a glance toward him as she uncoded the seal. “You really do want sex.”
“I’m still breathing, so that would be yes.”
Nixie saying goodbye to her family in the morgue was just sobfest 😭
Holy shit this is an emotional roller coaster of epic proportions. I love it but wow.
Ah ha! I knew these brothers tied back to Cassandra.
“I ought to pound every square inch of you. I won’t because my arm still hurts, and because—maybe—by being a stupid ass you helped. I could’ve taken the three of them.” She pressed a hand to the throb of her shoulder. “But it was handy having Roarke pull down the third.”
“I wanted to go home.”
Eve laid her head back on the seat. Taking down three armed and dangerous was easier than picking through the minefield of a child’s emotions. “You did. What did you find there? It sucks wide, the widest, but that’s not home anymore.”
“I wanted to see it again.”
“I get that. It’s just a house, building materials. It’s what you had there before the bad stuff happened that counts. That’s how I see it.”
“You’re going to send me away.”
“I’m going to give you a chance, the best I’ve got to offer.” She lifted her head, shifted in the seat. “You got kicked hard. You can get up, or you can stay down. I’m saying you’re going to get up. Elizabeth and Richard are good people. They know about getting kicked hard. They want to give you a place, give you a family. It’s never going to be what it was, but it can be something else. You can make it something else and never forget what it was like in that house there, before the bad stuff happened.”
An amazing addition to this series!
Since I’ve been reading this series pretty much since it debuted, I’m fairly familiar with all the characters and the varied nuances. One thing that still bothers me is how much Roarke always drops what he’s doing to help Eve, but she still struggles with even the basic parts of being a loving partner. It screams selfish to me, even though I know she’s not.
This is the book where Summerset’s supposed to go on a three weeks vacation, and Eve is ecstatic, but he trips over the cat, falls down the stairs, and breaks his leg. Oh boy!
Oh, I think this is the book where Roarke meets the woman who knew his bio-mom. Yep, I was right. Throws Roarke for a massive loop!!
Tears began to run down her cheeks now. “He killed her—because she left, because she came back. Because he could. And kept you, I suppose, because you were the image of him. If I hadn’t pushed her so hard, had given her more time to heal. To think . . .”
She wiped her face, and rose to go to her desk. From a drawer she took a small photograph. “This is all I have. I took this myself of the two of you the day before she left the shelter. You should have it,” she said, and handed it to him.
He looked down, saw a young girl with red hair and green eyes still bruised from a beating. She wore a simple blue shirt with that red hair falling over its shoulders. She was smiling, though her eyes were sad and tired, she was smiling, with her cheek pressed against that of her baby. A face that was still rounded and soft with innocence, but unmistakably his own.
So he was smiling as well. A bright, happy smile. And the hand that cuddled him close had a silver claddaugh on its long, delicate finger.
Wow, I didn’t realize it was so early in the series that Eve figured out Summerset killed Patrick Roarke. It’s was later before Roarke learns of it.
But her eyes showed him nothing as she stepped forward, leaned down, spoke quietly. “Did you kill Patrick Roarke?”
Like hers, his face stayed blank. “There is no statute of limitations on murder.”
“It’s not the cop who’s asking you.”
“I had children to protect.”
She let out a short breath. “Roarke doesn’t know, does he? You never told him.”
The scene where Roarke meets his aunt, his family on his mother’s side, is heartbreaking and beautiful. Typical of this author.
Shit. I’d forgotten this is the book where Crack’s baby sister is one of the victims. 😢
“This is my baby. My baby girl. My heart and my soul.” He leaned over, touched his lips to her forehead.
Then he simply slid down, nearly seven feet of solid mass, into a weeping puddle on the floor.
Eve knelt beside him, put her arms around him.
Through the glass, Roarke watched as the huge man curled into her like a baby wanting comfort. And she rocked him while he wept.
Aw, the first mention of Yancy as the cop artist! 😍
Sad and pathetic murderer. Excellent ending though and I do adore Trueheart.
Imitation in Death:
Interesting that I can’t remember this story at all. So strange when that happens particularly since so many of these earlier ones I can recall with clarity.
Aw, Peabody studying for the detective exam. Adorable.
Forgot about Eve’s dream and her clear memory of her mother. Such sadness. Such an awful childhood for this incredible woman.
Oh goddess, I’d forgotten about Roarke trying to grill dinner for them…like Dennis Mira had done at the barbecue they went to at the Mira’s. 😂
I loved the way Eve could hammer at suspects in interrogation. Some of that fire seems to be lost in the later installments.
Even though I hadn't remembered this story, it’s nice to see the one I wanted it to be is the murderer. Eve hangs his ass up! Excellent ending.
Loved this part…
“I’ll settle things here and follow you in. I think you should be able to handle him, Detective.”
“I think a ten-year-old boy could handle him in this shape, sir.” She shook her head as Renquist continued to sob and drum his feet like a child in the throes of a tantrum. Then her head snapped up. “What? What did you say?”
“Do I have to repeat a standard order for prisoner procedure?”
“No. No, sir. Did you . . . did you say ‘detective’?”
“Something wrong with your ears? Oh, by the way, congratulations.
This is the book where Roarke sees Eve in her full uniform for the first time. I’ve always loved that scene.
Divided in Death:
Peabody and Eve have always had such marvelous dialogue, back and forth, between them.
Peabody hurried out again, carrying an enormous take-out bag. “Got hoagies.”
With a grunt, she dropped back in the seat.
“What, for the whole squad?”
“And other provisions.”
“Because we’re going on safari?”
With some dignity, Peabody pulled out a tidily wrapped hoagie and passed it to Eve. “Drinks, and a bag of soy chips, and a bag of dried apricots—”
“Dried apricots, in case the rumor of the coming Armageddon is true.”
“And some damn cookies.” Peabody’s face closed in on a scowl that was edging toward pout. “I’m hungry, and when you’re on a roll like this I might not see food again until I’m a withered sack of bones. You don’t have to eat, you know.” She made a fuss out of unwrapping her own sandwich. “Nobody’s holding a blaster to your head.”
This is the book where Roarke and Eve find out that a) her dad’s name was Richard Troy, b) he and Patrick Roarke knew each other and worked together, and c) Homeland Security had agents monitoring the hotel room in Dallas, were aware of the female minor in the room and cleaned up after Eve killed her father. But, they did nothing to interfere with her abuse. 🤬
Aw, the scene with Mavis and Eve ❤️ Mavis feeling scared about not knowing how to be a mom and then the baby (Bella) moving for the first time was beautiful.
Damn spooks! I had forgotten that Commander Whitney was aware that Eve had been raped by her own father before she was found in Dallas. He doesn’t know that she killed him in self-defense.
You read the file?”
“I read it.”
“And you stomached it.”
“Actually, Lieutenant Dallas, I couldn’t quite stomach it. I believe in the work we do, and I know that sometimes sacrifices have to be made, that choices are made that seem—that are—cold. However, I could find no rationale, no purpose, no excuse for the lack of intervention in your case. Knowingly leaving a minor in that situation was . . . inhumane. You should have been removed, and the decision to leave status quo was ill-advised.”
“The HSO was aware of your situation in Texas?” Whitney asked.
“They were surveilling him, due to his connection with Max Ricker. They knew what he did to me, they listened to it. They listened while he raped me, and while I begged. While I begged.”
And here again I have to say that sometimes I get pretty frustrated with, what I see anyway, as a serious power differential in Eve and Roarke’s marriage. He’ll do anything to protect her, and even when they’re standing on two sides of the line, his first thought is always about protecting her, not just physically but emotionally. He’s so furious that the HSO knew what was happening to her in Dallas and he wants to murder someone. She can’t understand this, and yet, when Roarke knows the AD of HSO could come back at Eve about their files on her and suspected patricide, his first thought is to ask her if she wants the files gone. Of course she says yes, but the divide between them is still there. I get angry with her sometimes over these things. It feels like he’s being used.
“Yes, they deserve to pay!” The words burst out, hot as the tears that burned behind her eyes. “They deserve it. Is that what you need to hear? They should fry in hell for what they did. But it’s not up to you, and it’s not up to me to send them there. If you do this thing, it’s murder. It’s murder, Roarke, and their blood on your hands changes nothing that happened to me.”
He paused a long, long moment. “I can live with that.” He saw her eyes go dark, and dead. “But you can’t. So . . .”
He snapped the disc in two, then shoved the pieces into the recycle slot.
She only stared, and in the silence there was only the sound of her own shaky breaths. “You . . . you’re letting it go.”
He looked down at the slot and knew his rage would never be so easily destroyed. He’d live with it, and the impotence that walked with it, the whole of his life. “If I did anything else it would be for myself, not for you. Hardly a point in that. So yes, I’m letting it go.”
“You think I don’t know, that I don’t understand what that cost you. But you’re wrong.” She couldn’t keep her voice steady, gave up trying. “You’re wrong, Roarke. I do know. There’s no one else in the world who would want, who would need to kill for me. No one else in the world who would step back from it because I asked it. Because I needed it.”
She turned, and the first tear spilled over. “No one but you.”
“Don’t. You’ll do me in if you cry.”
“I never in my life expected anyone would love me, all of me. How would I deserve that? What would I do with it? But you do. Everything we’ve managed to have together, to be to each other, this is more. I’ll never be able to find the words to tell you what you just gave me.”
Visions in Death:
Eve and her horrible fashion sense cracks me up!
Darling, not that jacket.” More resigned than appalled, he rose to take the one she’d yanked out of her closet, and after a quick study, drew out one with pale blue checks over cream. “Trust me.”
“I don’t know what I did before you were my fashion consultant,” she told him.
“I do, but I don’t like to think about it.”
“I know a dig when I hear one.” She sat to pull on her boots.
OH, the part where Mavis and Leonardo tell Eve and Roarke that they want them in the delivery room!!!
“Mavis, since you got pregnant, when haven’t you wanted to talk about the baby?” Eve leaned over, took a canapé from her plate. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
“Yeah, but this is a specific thing, that involves you.”
“Me?” Eve licked her thumb and decided to steal another loaded cracker from Mavis’s plate.
“Uh-huh. We want you to be my backup coach.”
“You’re taking up baseball?” Eve bit into the salmon thingy with the stuff, and decided it wasn’t half bad. “Shouldn’t you wait until you get the kid out of there?”
“No. Labor and delivery coach. You’d back up Leonardo when I have the baby.”
Eve choked on the canapé and turned white.
“Take a drink, darling,” Roarke said with a laugh in his voice. “Put your head between your knees if you feel dizzy.”
“We want Roarke there, too.” Mavis sniffed into her cloth.
“Me? There?”
Eve turned her head and saw—with pleasure—the rare sight of utter panic on his face. “Not so damn funny now, is it, ace?”
“We’re permitted, even encouraged, to have family present,” Leonardo explained. “You’re our family.”
“Ah, I’m not sure it’s quite proper for me to be . . . to see Mavis in that condition. Under those . . . circumstances.”
“Get out.” Sniffles forgotten, Mavis giggled and tapped Roarke playfully on the arm. “Anybody with a vid player’s seen me mostly naked. And this isn’t about the proper. It’s about family. We know we can count on you. Both of you.”
“Of course.” Roarke swallowed a great deal of wine. “Of course, you can.”
The conversation they have afterwards leaves me in stitches. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Yeah, this is the book where Eve tells Peabody about her childhood and what happened in Dallas.
This is where Harvo, Queen of Hair and Fiber, is first introduced. I love her!
Forgot about Peabody getting attacked and hurt. Poor McNab.
Oh, I’d forgotten about the psychic and how she’d used everyone and… yeah, it’s bad.
This one is seriously creepy but totally awesome.
Survivor in Death:
I’m vaguely remembering this one. I certainly remember the little girl who snuck out of her bed at 2 am to get a soda and witnessed her whole family getting murdered. Eve doesn’t know what to do with this little girl. Nixie goes home with Eve. Wait, does she end up in foster care with Elizabeth Barrister and Richard DeBlass who also fostered Kevin, the little street urchin from book #6??
I feel like later in the series some of the witty repartee between Eve and Roarke is missing?
“Every minute with you, Darling Eve, is a minute to treasure.”
She slid a glance toward him as she uncoded the seal. “You really do want sex.”
“I’m still breathing, so that would be yes.”
Nixie saying goodbye to her family in the morgue was just sobfest 😭
Holy shit this is an emotional roller coaster of epic proportions. I love it but wow.
Ah ha! I knew these brothers tied back to Cassandra.
“I ought to pound every square inch of you. I won’t because my arm still hurts, and because—maybe—by being a stupid ass you helped. I could’ve taken the three of them.” She pressed a hand to the throb of her shoulder. “But it was handy having Roarke pull down the third.”
“I wanted to go home.”
Eve laid her head back on the seat. Taking down three armed and dangerous was easier than picking through the minefield of a child’s emotions. “You did. What did you find there? It sucks wide, the widest, but that’s not home anymore.”
“I wanted to see it again.”
“I get that. It’s just a house, building materials. It’s what you had there before the bad stuff happened that counts. That’s how I see it.”
“You’re going to send me away.”
“I’m going to give you a chance, the best I’ve got to offer.” She lifted her head, shifted in the seat. “You got kicked hard. You can get up, or you can stay down. I’m saying you’re going to get up. Elizabeth and Richard are good people. They know about getting kicked hard. They want to give you a place, give you a family. It’s never going to be what it was, but it can be something else. You can make it something else and never forget what it was like in that house there, before the bad stuff happened.”
An amazing addition to this series!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2018
A timeless classic of our modern era! Those who know me and/or have read some of my reviews understand that I have a very complicated love/hate relationship with JD Robb (I hate her guts but I also have about 35 of her 42 books in my personal collection AND made a reading list of a few for our Library's summer reading program. Sue me.) The In Death Collection: Books 16-20 collects Portrait in Death, Imitation in Death, Divided in Death, Visions in Death and Survivor in Death.
I had already read three of them previously and honestly, you don't need to break out a notebook to keep track of the twists and turns. The formula is simplistic, but it's effective and most of all in my opinion familiar. You'll be transported to the year 2059 (or sometime thereafter), in a New York that somehow survived our current presidency but is still racked by crime and murder at an almost daily rate. You will meet Lieutenant Eve Dallas, a woman who overcame a traumatic childhood wracked with sexual abuse to become the best detective in the NYPD. Of course, she as great as she is she also seems to need the help of the entire NYPD and her husband Rourke to solve literally every single case. And since I mentioned Rourke....
Oh, Rourke. Now if you've read any of my previous reviews you may have realized that I never cared much for the man. He owns everything, he's tall, handsome, Irish, the whole nine. He's also an Asshole. His introduction into the series is pretty much the end of Eve's character development as a strong woman who is the head of a police force and one of the best minds on the staff. Rourke is domineering, bossy, controlling and he doesn’t take no for an answer in the bedroom, which is just wrong on so many levels. J.D. Robb tries to present him as this "international man of mystery" type, but it's just not right. We need to stop portraying dominating and controlling men as attractive. It's not cool, and it comes off especially icky when it's dealing with a survivor of sexual abuse. Just a bit insensitive to me. He also never loses a fight and physically intimidates basically anyone who won't do what he wants, no matter who you are or where you work since he's essentially above the law. C'mon now.
So... for what else to expect from an "In Death Novel... well you'll also get around a couple of 5 page steamy spreads per book of a sexual nature between Rourke and Eve, about a flashback or two of Eve's horrible past every other series entries, and in each book you'll also come across a questionable cast of antagonists who always end up going down hard, regardless of how tough and edgy they're built up to be.
If you're still with me after all that, CONGRATULATIONS! You are one of millions who either enjoy this shadowy, futuristic romantic suspense series, or are intrigued to learn more. If this is true, then, to my fellow long-suffering JD Robb fan, I salute you.
I had already read three of them previously and honestly, you don't need to break out a notebook to keep track of the twists and turns. The formula is simplistic, but it's effective and most of all in my opinion familiar. You'll be transported to the year 2059 (or sometime thereafter), in a New York that somehow survived our current presidency but is still racked by crime and murder at an almost daily rate. You will meet Lieutenant Eve Dallas, a woman who overcame a traumatic childhood wracked with sexual abuse to become the best detective in the NYPD. Of course, she as great as she is she also seems to need the help of the entire NYPD and her husband Rourke to solve literally every single case. And since I mentioned Rourke....
Oh, Rourke. Now if you've read any of my previous reviews you may have realized that I never cared much for the man. He owns everything, he's tall, handsome, Irish, the whole nine. He's also an Asshole. His introduction into the series is pretty much the end of Eve's character development as a strong woman who is the head of a police force and one of the best minds on the staff. Rourke is domineering, bossy, controlling and he doesn’t take no for an answer in the bedroom, which is just wrong on so many levels. J.D. Robb tries to present him as this "international man of mystery" type, but it's just not right. We need to stop portraying dominating and controlling men as attractive. It's not cool, and it comes off especially icky when it's dealing with a survivor of sexual abuse. Just a bit insensitive to me. He also never loses a fight and physically intimidates basically anyone who won't do what he wants, no matter who you are or where you work since he's essentially above the law. C'mon now.
So... for what else to expect from an "In Death Novel... well you'll also get around a couple of 5 page steamy spreads per book of a sexual nature between Rourke and Eve, about a flashback or two of Eve's horrible past every other series entries, and in each book you'll also come across a questionable cast of antagonists who always end up going down hard, regardless of how tough and edgy they're built up to be.
If you're still with me after all that, CONGRATULATIONS! You are one of millions who either enjoy this shadowy, futuristic romantic suspense series, or are intrigued to learn more. If this is true, then, to my fellow long-suffering JD Robb fan, I salute you.
June 16, 2021
Mystery of all mysteries with terrific characters
I was going to read one or two of the books in this series then found out there are 54! Once I read both I was hooked. Eve and Roarke, the ultimate abused children, finding each other as adults and understanding each other's emotional dark pasts. Their love story taking twist and turns around every homicide Eve investigates. I love the characters; Summerset, Peabody/Shebody as her boyfriend McNab calls her. Mavis the rockstar, Mira the psychologist, too many other characters to name. I love when there can be comedy in murder mysteries. The things Peabody says to Eve in her sarcastic ways is hilarious. Eve, Lt. Bitch to you, has a tough exterior to be a homicide cop, however she knows she can fall apart with her husband and he's always there for her. I was going to deny myself the extensive reading time it would take to read the whole series but I can't stop now. I wished they could have adopted Nixie, but Eve and Roarke knew it wasn't the time in their life to have a child, even tho she was 9, so I have to hold my breath at some point they will have a family.
I was going to read one or two of the books in this series then found out there are 54! Once I read both I was hooked. Eve and Roarke, the ultimate abused children, finding each other as adults and understanding each other's emotional dark pasts. Their love story taking twist and turns around every homicide Eve investigates. I love the characters; Summerset, Peabody/Shebody as her boyfriend McNab calls her. Mavis the rockstar, Mira the psychologist, too many other characters to name. I love when there can be comedy in murder mysteries. The things Peabody says to Eve in her sarcastic ways is hilarious. Eve, Lt. Bitch to you, has a tough exterior to be a homicide cop, however she knows she can fall apart with her husband and he's always there for her. I was going to deny myself the extensive reading time it would take to read the whole series but I can't stop now. I wished they could have adopted Nixie, but Eve and Roarke knew it wasn't the time in their life to have a child, even tho she was 9, so I have to hold my breath at some point they will have a family.
June 19, 2021
I love all the characters now well they gel together. What I do not like are the extremely detailed sex scenes. I skip over them now and just get so caught up in whichever book I am reading. Since I am now rereading the entire series, I am seeing that bad language just gets worse in each book. But it is the plot that keeps grabbing you and characters that are so interesting that you will not be able to put any of the Eve Dallas books down. Since I have the series, I did notice less graphic sex scenes and more emphasis on character and plot in the last few books of the series.
January 13, 2019
I became hooked on this series after running across a story in an anthology - and my public library doesn't carry them singly, in physical or e-form. THANK GOD for this collection! The first half of the series appears to be available in collections. I started at Book 1 and just finished Book 20.. the only complaint is the time limitation the library gives me, because I like to take a day or two between books and think about them.... but …. on to the next!
May 29, 2021
My favorite book of this series, each of which has 5 books in one volume. These 5 stories are among my favorites of the whole series, a plethora of turning points in the development of many of the characters. Survivor in Death is one of my favorite books of the whole series and in this volume, followed by Visions and Imitation. Like with others of these books I'm constantly going back in to reread my favorite bits, and this book has a lot of them.
September 6, 2021
2nd time
I read all kinds of genre's. This series remains and says one of my favorites. The gritty reality of Dallas and Roarke's past, and how they choose to lives their lives now makes it real. Can never get enough of when Dallas realizes how tangled her life gets with relationships and love.
I read all kinds of genre's. This series remains and says one of my favorites. The gritty reality of Dallas and Roarke's past, and how they choose to lives their lives now makes it real. Can never get enough of when Dallas realizes how tangled her life gets with relationships and love.
February 28, 2020
Nixie FTW
Making my way through the series and watching Lt Eve Dallas evolve is great fun but my favorite character so far is Nixie, who you meet in book 20. Reminds me of the relationship between Newt and Ripley in Aliens (movie). Satisfying read all the way through!
Making my way through the series and watching Lt Eve Dallas evolve is great fun but my favorite character so far is Nixie, who you meet in book 20. Reminds me of the relationship between Newt and Ripley in Aliens (movie). Satisfying read all the way through!
July 3, 2021
I Love Eve!
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is not only a very good cop but, she’s also caring when she’s with her friends. When she on a case she gives it her all to find justice for the dead that she stands for & over.
I also enjoy the play time with Roarke.
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is not only a very good cop but, she’s also caring when she’s with her friends. When she on a case she gives it her all to find justice for the dead that she stands for & over.
I also enjoy the play time with Roarke.
May 31, 2022
The In Death Collection 16-20
More great stories, loved evey one of them.
Page turners, I couldn't put them down.
If you like futuristic stories, with a
bang and alotta love, friendship,
and compassion this is the book
series for you.
More great stories, loved evey one of them.
Page turners, I couldn't put them down.
If you like futuristic stories, with a
bang and alotta love, friendship,
and compassion this is the book
series for you.
November 28, 2022
There hasn't been one (out of all the "In Death" series) that I haven't loved and looked forward to the next one. In fact, I put a tickler in my computer to remind me when one is coming out. I enjoy and love each and every character.
February 25, 2023
It's 2059, New York City.
This is a memorable, addictive love story surrounded by grissly murders, police investigations, passion, troubled pasts, danger, violence, suspense, humor, pain, loss, grief, plot twists, remarkable characters and some surprises. What a series!
This is a memorable, addictive love story surrounded by grissly murders, police investigations, passion, troubled pasts, danger, violence, suspense, humor, pain, loss, grief, plot twists, remarkable characters and some surprises. What a series!
December 28, 2023
Amazing collection
Love the futuristic beat and serious mentality of these stories. I would recommend this to anyone who likes mystery, suspense and action with compassion all in a even balance.
Love the futuristic beat and serious mentality of these stories. I would recommend this to anyone who likes mystery, suspense and action with compassion all in a even balance.
June 24, 2024
Review of The In Death Collection
I absolutely loved this collection and I will definitely recommend this collection to anyone who loves romantic suspense novels. She is an awesome writer!
I absolutely loved this collection and I will definitely recommend this collection to anyone who loves romantic suspense novels. She is an awesome writer!
September 13, 2017
5 stars - Romantic Suspense/Futuristic/Mystery/Crime/Romantic Thriller
November 20, 2017
Gripping
Fast paced as are all of J D Robb's Death Series. This one didn't disappoint with another new and unique plot.
Fast paced as are all of J D Robb's Death Series. This one didn't disappoint with another new and unique plot.
April 22, 2018
Saved the best for last
The last book, Survivor in Death was my favorite of this group. It kept me guessing all the way to the end. Next up, 21-25, I'm hooked.
The last book, Survivor in Death was my favorite of this group. It kept me guessing all the way to the end. Next up, 21-25, I'm hooked.
May 26, 2019
Excellent and exciting as always. Thanks
......... If she is called J. D. Robb or any other name, the talent is great, the errors few, and she keeps her fans coming back for more.
......... If she is called J. D. Robb or any other name, the talent is great, the errors few, and she keeps her fans coming back for more.
July 22, 2019
This series is tried and true. Always a good for one me to pick up when I'm not able to start an unknown book and would rather dive in and know I'll be entertained.
September 12, 2019
Love these characters.
One great story after another. Smart, funny and wonderful. Lt. Dallas is terrific, Rourke is too. My favorite series for sure!
One great story after another. Smart, funny and wonderful. Lt. Dallas is terrific, Rourke is too. My favorite series for sure!
March 16, 2020
Every one is great
This 5 had lots of twists and turns!! Unexpected sides and full of life and action. Eve Dallas is a mystery in herself.
This 5 had lots of twists and turns!! Unexpected sides and full of life and action. Eve Dallas is a mystery in herself.
September 4, 2020
Dallas and Roarke to the rescue
Love these books. Read them when first released and now enjoying them again. Will read anything written by Nora Roberts by any name.
Love these books. Read them when first released and now enjoying them again. Will read anything written by Nora Roberts by any name.
March 14, 2021
Eve Dallas 16-20
Wow! Five Eve Dallas books in a row! I don't always get to read her books in chronological order. It was really great to do so! Love, love these books!!
Wow! Five Eve Dallas books in a row! I don't always get to read her books in chronological order. It was really great to do so! Love, love these books!!
June 7, 2023
Great Reading
As always her books are great. Love the characters. I have read all of her JDRobb books and some of them twice.
As always her books are great. Love the characters. I have read all of her JDRobb books and some of them twice.
July 30, 2023
great series!
Amazing how she can punch these out! I just finished #19 and bought the rest of the series! A little gory but true to life!
Amazing how she can punch these out! I just finished #19 and bought the rest of the series! A little gory but true to life!
December 4, 2023
JD Robb is my favorite. The characters are fallible and relatable. Each story is unique with a good amount of mystery and suspense.
May 4, 2025
I love jd Robb books...I have all of them and reread them all of the time
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