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In Death #25.5
Dead Of Night
Nora Roberts, writing as J.D. Robb, puts futuristic lieutenant Eve Dallas in a supernatural showdown with a most seductive criminal: a vampire in "Eternity in Death."
An ancient coin whisks an American woman and a modern-day earl into the past-and into each other's arms-in a stirring tale from Mary Blayney's "Amy and the Earl's Amazing Adventure."
When a city girl visits a Scottish castle in Ruth Ryan Langan's "Timeless," she is thrust into a timeless romance with a mighty Highland laird.
And Mary Kay McComas gives an unhappy wife a magic-carpet ride into an alternate reality to show her the grass isn't always greener in "On the Fringe."
An ancient coin whisks an American woman and a modern-day earl into the past-and into each other's arms-in a stirring tale from Mary Blayney's "Amy and the Earl's Amazing Adventure."
When a city girl visits a Scottish castle in Ruth Ryan Langan's "Timeless," she is thrust into a timeless romance with a mighty Highland laird.
And Mary Kay McComas gives an unhappy wife a magic-carpet ride into an alternate reality to show her the grass isn't always greener in "On the Fringe."
426 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2007
387 people are currently reading
3218 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Robb
177 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 135 reviews
December 19, 2012
As with most anthologies, this one offers some good novellas sandwiched between others of lesser caliber. Naturally, the JD Robb story, “Eternity in Death,” is excellent, fast-paced, and devoid of any cloying story elements as recurring characters Eve Dallas, husband Roarke, partner Peabody, and the rest of her usual team go after a dangerous con man and killer who preys on foolish young socialites. This story had a very dark feel and would have set the stage nicely for something in a similar vein.
The other authors lack Robb’s skill, however, and the second tale, “Amy and the Earl’s Amazing Adventure” by Mary Blayney, is a huge departure as student Amy Stevens is given a magical coin by a shadowy stranger, leading her to an adventure into the past with a bartender. He’s the younger brother of a present-day earl, but finds himself in the earl’s shoes when he and Amy are whisked into the past to solve a mystery. This story lacked cohesiveness, as well as a smooth and believable beginning. What could have been a colorful trip into the past instead fell flat.
Things start looking up in Ruth Ryan Langan’s “Timeless,” when busy career girl Laurel Douglas takes a vacation in Scotland and passes through a ripple in time, surfacing as the missing and much loved wife of a Scottish laird. In his arms, and in the company of their son, she discovers deep and abiding true love, before the intrigue she has landed in threatens to take it all away. This is a richly-woven tale with deep feelings and exciting intrigue, well worth the read.
Everything goes south again in Mary Kay McComas’ “On the Fringe.” Bonnie Sanderson’s marriage has gone a little stale, so she and her husband are taking a break. He’s moved into an apartment close by and things are friendly, but Bonnie is too stubborn to be the first to reconcile. Then, a magic carpet in her grandmother’s attic sends her into an alternate reality where she’s in a dangerous hostage situation with a man she quickly comes to love, but because of their desperate situation they have only hours together. When she is returned to her regular life, she realizes there are some important things she doesn’t want to let slip away. I can’t come up with a better adjective for this one, so I’ll settle on boring.
Though only half of this book is really worth reading, it’s still worth the price of a paperback. The stories are all fairly short, as well, so even the most tedious one isn’t interminable. I always read the Roberts and Robb anthology stories, but don’t always bother with the other stories in the books. Judging by this experience, I haven’t missed much. It is nice to have a few novellas around when I’m in the mood for a quick, light read, and at least half of these are worth the time it takes.
The other authors lack Robb’s skill, however, and the second tale, “Amy and the Earl’s Amazing Adventure” by Mary Blayney, is a huge departure as student Amy Stevens is given a magical coin by a shadowy stranger, leading her to an adventure into the past with a bartender. He’s the younger brother of a present-day earl, but finds himself in the earl’s shoes when he and Amy are whisked into the past to solve a mystery. This story lacked cohesiveness, as well as a smooth and believable beginning. What could have been a colorful trip into the past instead fell flat.
Things start looking up in Ruth Ryan Langan’s “Timeless,” when busy career girl Laurel Douglas takes a vacation in Scotland and passes through a ripple in time, surfacing as the missing and much loved wife of a Scottish laird. In his arms, and in the company of their son, she discovers deep and abiding true love, before the intrigue she has landed in threatens to take it all away. This is a richly-woven tale with deep feelings and exciting intrigue, well worth the read.
Everything goes south again in Mary Kay McComas’ “On the Fringe.” Bonnie Sanderson’s marriage has gone a little stale, so she and her husband are taking a break. He’s moved into an apartment close by and things are friendly, but Bonnie is too stubborn to be the first to reconcile. Then, a magic carpet in her grandmother’s attic sends her into an alternate reality where she’s in a dangerous hostage situation with a man she quickly comes to love, but because of their desperate situation they have only hours together. When she is returned to her regular life, she realizes there are some important things she doesn’t want to let slip away. I can’t come up with a better adjective for this one, so I’ll settle on boring.
Though only half of this book is really worth reading, it’s still worth the price of a paperback. The stories are all fairly short, as well, so even the most tedious one isn’t interminable. I always read the Roberts and Robb anthology stories, but don’t always bother with the other stories in the books. Judging by this experience, I haven’t missed much. It is nice to have a few novellas around when I’m in the mood for a quick, light read, and at least half of these are worth the time it takes.
June 4, 2018
Dead of Night (In Death)
Four story of walking on the dark side. Eve and Roarke hunts a vampire or someone who think he is one. Good read.
Four story of walking on the dark side. Eve and Roarke hunts a vampire or someone who think he is one. Good read.
January 17, 2019
I enjoyed three out of the four stories. It was a good way to pass the time on a few rainy days.
January 24, 2011
I, like a lot of people it seems, only picked up this book because of the Eternity in Death story. As a JD Robb "In Death" story goes, I really liked it - it was a bit different from the average In Death story. The vampire theme was fun and added supernatural elements without going past reality into true supernatual territory, which in my opinion doesn't belong in Eve Dallas' world (unlike Haunted in Death which took the supernatural too far).
As an anthology on the whole, Dead of Night did not make much sense to me. It opens with "Eternity in Death" which is a mystery/crime drama with vampire cult elements thrown in. The following three novellas, "Amy and the Earl's Amazing Adventure", "Timeless" and "On the Fringe" are your basic romantic fiction, all with some sort of variation on time travel. None of these stories live up to "Eternity in Death", and I can't figure out why they are all collected together in one book. Most anthologies have a running theme or some thread to loosely tie the stories together, to give them a reason to live together in one book, but this one really missed the mark.
As an anthology on the whole, Dead of Night did not make much sense to me. It opens with "Eternity in Death" which is a mystery/crime drama with vampire cult elements thrown in. The following three novellas, "Amy and the Earl's Amazing Adventure", "Timeless" and "On the Fringe" are your basic romantic fiction, all with some sort of variation on time travel. None of these stories live up to "Eternity in Death", and I can't figure out why they are all collected together in one book. Most anthologies have a running theme or some thread to loosely tie the stories together, to give them a reason to live together in one book, but this one really missed the mark.
November 25, 2007
Read 11/2/07
Publication Date : 2007
Dead of Night is an anthology of four novellas, of which the reason to read it is J.D. Robb's Eternity in Death. I readily admit that I'm an "In Death"
junkie - any book that includes Roarke is an immediate buy for me. That aside, the last few In Death books have been vaguely disappointing. I'm
rather cheered by this novella, it's snappy and the dialogue is brightly written, with Eve and Roarke *sounding* true to themselves. Despite being
about a vampire killer, this is one of the lighter In Death outings and I liked that - not every book needs to be about Eve and/or Roarke's angst-ridden past. Not that I don't like those too, LOL, but I did
appreciate this rather straight-forward, not emotionally overcharged mystery. And it was a
delight to see Peabody back in good side-kick form. Highly recommended for fans of the series, despite the utter lack of interest the other three
novellas by other authors held for me. (And I did skim and try them).
Genre : Mystery/Romance
Rating : 8.75
Where From : my shelves
Reason : Roarke addiction
Publication Date : 2007
Dead of Night is an anthology of four novellas, of which the reason to read it is J.D. Robb's Eternity in Death. I readily admit that I'm an "In Death"
junkie - any book that includes Roarke is an immediate buy for me. That aside, the last few In Death books have been vaguely disappointing. I'm
rather cheered by this novella, it's snappy and the dialogue is brightly written, with Eve and Roarke *sounding* true to themselves. Despite being
about a vampire killer, this is one of the lighter In Death outings and I liked that - not every book needs to be about Eve and/or Roarke's angst-ridden past. Not that I don't like those too, LOL, but I did
appreciate this rather straight-forward, not emotionally overcharged mystery. And it was a
delight to see Peabody back in good side-kick form. Highly recommended for fans of the series, despite the utter lack of interest the other three
novellas by other authors held for me. (And I did skim and try them).
Genre : Mystery/Romance
Rating : 8.75
Where From : my shelves
Reason : Roarke addiction
May 4, 2008
I always buy these yearly anthologies simply for the new Eve Dallas/Roarke novella by J.D. Robb. She doesn't disappoint with ETERNITY IN DEATH, which centers around an evil psychopath who truly believes himself to be a vampire.
Mary Blayney's story, AMY AND THE EARL'S AMAZING ADVENTURE, actually didn't make much sense to me, and I didn't finish it.
Ruth Ryan Langan writes a really good Scottish time travel story with TIMELESS. Although I don't really like historicals, I enjoyed this short story.
ON THE FRINGE by Mary Kay McComas is another time travel, about a wife who wonders what life would have been like if she'd made different choices and decisions.
DEAD OF NIGHT is worth the read simply for J.D. Robb's story, but TIMELESS is also a pretty good read.
Mary Blayney's story, AMY AND THE EARL'S AMAZING ADVENTURE, actually didn't make much sense to me, and I didn't finish it.
Ruth Ryan Langan writes a really good Scottish time travel story with TIMELESS. Although I don't really like historicals, I enjoyed this short story.
ON THE FRINGE by Mary Kay McComas is another time travel, about a wife who wonders what life would have been like if she'd made different choices and decisions.
DEAD OF NIGHT is worth the read simply for J.D. Robb's story, but TIMELESS is also a pretty good read.
Want to read
June 12, 2010This is a book with 4 Novellas. I've already read the J.D. Robb stories but not some of the others. The one included in this book is Eternity in Death. Eve is investigating a murder in which it appears that the victim was done in by a vampire. The case does lead Eve and her team to some interesting places and people. Roarke's a little in to the woo-woo (well, you can't be too careful, can you?), and that makes for some interesting moments as well, especially since Eve can't believe him and Peabody are giving any sort of credence to the idea. Peabody's hilarious in this one.
I haven't read the rest of the stories and so I won't rate the overall book just yet. Eternity in Death, though, gets a 5 star!
I haven't read the rest of the stories and so I won't rate the overall book just yet. Eternity in Death, though, gets a 5 star!
January 24, 2019
Downloaded from my public library, this was a great collection of four novellas. I chose it for the JD Robb " In Death" story, which was my favorite, but really enjoyed two more stories (time travelling highlander, in particular) but the last one ( magic carpet) has me completely stymied. Quite convoluted and just didn't come together for me, but, that said, it's making me think. I recommend the book,
January 2, 2015
The main reason I read this book was to read the new Eve Dallas/Roarke novella. It was very good - with that lovely mix of romance, sex, and mystery that she's so good at. The other three stories were fun but rather formulaic. Well, worth the read just to see Eve and Roarke together again!
May 26, 2025
Stars: 3 / 5
Recommendation: Since this is review for two novellas, my rating is for both and in between. Although the third novella entertained and made me want to believe. The fourth novella bored me a lot. There is a fine line between fantasy and reality, but not at all spooky as the title of the book suggests (Dead of Night). Incidents happen middle of the night or darkness but no spooky in the plot.
J.D. Robb along three other authors published an anthology titled Dead Of Night in October of 2007. I posted J.D. Robb’s novella Eternity in Death (https://galavantreflections.com/2025/...) that came as part of this book, and is the fifth novella in her In Death Series.
The third novella in the book was by Ruth Ryan Langan titled Timeless. In this story a city girl is thrust into a Scottish Castle and the Highland Larid with a romance, a timeless classic for her anyways.
A trip that our heroine, Laurel Douglas, plans with her friend ends up being a solo trip for her. And this trip takes her to a Scottish Castle built in 1832, and eventually she ends up thrusted into the arms of Conal MacLennan, a Highland Laird in the period of 1830s.
She solves her own murder from centuries ago, and also finds who killed Conan. But is thrust back again to current century and time reeling her. Not a spooky story again, but it did create romance that Laurel was looking for and finds.
The fourth and final novella in the book is On the Fringe by Mary Kay McComas. This is a total fantasy almost like Aladdin and his Magic Carpet. In this novella, our heroine Bonnie Sanderson goes on a magic carpet journey that shows her an alternate reality to her life.
The plot explores the fantastical moment and also puts our heroine into an alternate theory of life, makes her wonder what the road not taken looks like, It bored me thoroughly and so much that I skipped a lot of chapters in between to get to the ending.
Even though J.D. Robb has her novellas in the In Death series, each is a complete plot. Here I felt that the ending was abrupt and hoped to have a conclusion. It was a good beginning to a series, but a bad ending for a novella. Also the epilogue jumps by a year from when the prologue began, and no explanation how our heroine landed a year later. And no explanation of what happened to her friend that she comes with in the beginning.
Perhaps need to read the next book to get answers, but I have too many on my “To Read” Pile that it might not get added to it yet. May be in a few years.
Since this is review for two novellas, my rating is for both and in between. Although the third novella entertained and made me want to believe. The fourth novella bored me a lot. There is a fine line between fantasy and reality, but not at all spooky as the title of the book suggests (Dead of Night). Incidents happen middle of the night or darkness but no spooky in the plot.
Recommendation: Since this is review for two novellas, my rating is for both and in between. Although the third novella entertained and made me want to believe. The fourth novella bored me a lot. There is a fine line between fantasy and reality, but not at all spooky as the title of the book suggests (Dead of Night). Incidents happen middle of the night or darkness but no spooky in the plot.
J.D. Robb along three other authors published an anthology titled Dead Of Night in October of 2007. I posted J.D. Robb’s novella Eternity in Death (https://galavantreflections.com/2025/...) that came as part of this book, and is the fifth novella in her In Death Series.
The third novella in the book was by Ruth Ryan Langan titled Timeless. In this story a city girl is thrust into a Scottish Castle and the Highland Larid with a romance, a timeless classic for her anyways.
A trip that our heroine, Laurel Douglas, plans with her friend ends up being a solo trip for her. And this trip takes her to a Scottish Castle built in 1832, and eventually she ends up thrusted into the arms of Conal MacLennan, a Highland Laird in the period of 1830s.
She solves her own murder from centuries ago, and also finds who killed Conan. But is thrust back again to current century and time reeling her. Not a spooky story again, but it did create romance that Laurel was looking for and finds.
The fourth and final novella in the book is On the Fringe by Mary Kay McComas. This is a total fantasy almost like Aladdin and his Magic Carpet. In this novella, our heroine Bonnie Sanderson goes on a magic carpet journey that shows her an alternate reality to her life.
The plot explores the fantastical moment and also puts our heroine into an alternate theory of life, makes her wonder what the road not taken looks like, It bored me thoroughly and so much that I skipped a lot of chapters in between to get to the ending.
Even though J.D. Robb has her novellas in the In Death series, each is a complete plot. Here I felt that the ending was abrupt and hoped to have a conclusion. It was a good beginning to a series, but a bad ending for a novella. Also the epilogue jumps by a year from when the prologue began, and no explanation how our heroine landed a year later. And no explanation of what happened to her friend that she comes with in the beginning.
Perhaps need to read the next book to get answers, but I have too many on my “To Read” Pile that it might not get added to it yet. May be in a few years.
Since this is review for two novellas, my rating is for both and in between. Although the third novella entertained and made me want to believe. The fourth novella bored me a lot. There is a fine line between fantasy and reality, but not at all spooky as the title of the book suggests (Dead of Night). Incidents happen middle of the night or darkness but no spooky in the plot.
February 18, 2020
English review below the Greek one...
Συλλογή 4 ιστοριών φαντασίας με την ευρύτερη έννοια του όρου. Αν μο�� άρεσαν τα ρομάτζα, θα είχα ευχαριστηθεί πολύ περισσότερο το βιβλίο, αλλά δεν μου αρέσουν βιβλία τύπου άρλεκιν ή το μήνυμα ότι το να βρεις το ιδανικό σου ταίρι είναι πάνω από όλα σε αυτή τη ζωή. Και στις 3 από τις 4 ιστορίες ενώ υπάρχει κάποιο παραφυσικό στοιχείο, ουσιαστικά εκεί πάει το πράγμα. Αφήνοντας αυτό το παράπονο στην άκρη, όλες οι πλοκές είχαν κάποιο ενδιαφέρον και θα μπορούσαν να είναι και καλύτερες, απλά αφού είναι σύντομες ιστορίες, αναγκαστικά φαίνονται κάπως βεβιασμένες και ανολοκλήρωτες.
Παρ΄όλα αυτά, μια αξιοπρεπής συλλογή να περάσει κανείς την ώρα του, γρήγορο και σχετικά ελαφρύ ανάγνωσμα...
I admit that this wasn't something I would have picked myself and the romance element on most of the stories was irking to me. There was potential on all the stories, but been a collection of short ones made the plots seem a bit forced and clumsy. That said, this was a pleasant, quick and easy read and a decent choice to pass the time.
Συλλογή 4 ιστοριών φαντασίας με την ευρύτερη έννοια του όρου. Αν μο�� άρεσαν τα ρομάτζα, θα είχα ευχαριστηθεί πολύ περισσότερο το βιβλίο, αλλά δεν μου αρέσουν βιβλία τύπου άρλεκιν ή το μήνυμα ότι το να βρεις το ιδανικό σου ταίρι είναι πάνω από όλα σε αυτή τη ζωή. Και στις 3 από τις 4 ιστορίες ενώ υπάρχει κάποιο παραφυσικό στοιχείο, ουσιαστικά εκεί πάει το πράγμα. Αφήνοντας αυτό το παράπονο στην άκρη, όλες οι πλοκές είχαν κάποιο ενδιαφέρον και θα μπορούσαν να είναι και καλύτερες, απλά αφού είναι σύντομες ιστορίες, αναγκαστικά φαίνονται κάπως βεβιασμένες και ανολοκλήρωτες.
Παρ΄όλα αυτά, μια αξιοπρεπής συλλογή να περάσει κανείς την ώρα του, γρήγορο και σχετικά ελαφρύ ανάγνωσμα...
I admit that this wasn't something I would have picked myself and the romance element on most of the stories was irking to me. There was potential on all the stories, but been a collection of short ones made the plots seem a bit forced and clumsy. That said, this was a pleasant, quick and easy read and a decent choice to pass the time.
November 9, 2023
This is a selection of paranormal stories that are a little longer than short stories but don't quite make novella length. The first story, Eternity in Death, is a vampire yarn by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts). It's the most graphically violent of the four. Two of the others involve time travel, and the final one involves inter-dimensional travel (on a magic carpet, no less). My take on all four is that they would make good novels in and of themselves, and all but the first one seemed condensed to the point of not giving the reader everything they needed to fully enjoy the story. As Halloween-season reading goes, they were enjoyable.
December 6, 2017
I only read the short story by JD Robb associated with the In Death series. It was a good short story, and like other "short stories" too short. Too quick to the conclusion, but normal for this format. I'm not a big vampire fan, so didn't really get into the story. But it was well written and a quick, short break into Eve's world.
May 11, 2017
Only read Eternity in Death.
I liked this one. The whole vampire vibe. Short and punchy. No wonder the killer was batshit, with all the chemicals he as taking, no ones brain would function properly. The stake!! Never gonna live that one down with Baxter. Snicker. Roarke's possessiveness. Yum.
I liked this one. The whole vampire vibe. Short and punchy. No wonder the killer was batshit, with all the chemicals he as taking, no ones brain would function properly. The stake!! Never gonna live that one down with Baxter. Snicker. Roarke's possessiveness. Yum.
September 10, 2019
Unfortunately I had read the first story, Eternity in Death, previously in another book. The second one, "Amy and the Earl's Amazing Adventure" was cute and funny. The third one, Timeless, was O.K. but not my cup of tea and the last one was a yawn.
October 7, 2019
This was actually my second or third read of it. I purchased it when it first came out.
Gotta hand it to a guy who thinks he's a vampire, and is actually evil to his core. But Eve still gets the best of him.
The rest of the stories are good too.
Gotta hand it to a guy who thinks he's a vampire, and is actually evil to his core. But Eve still gets the best of him.
The rest of the stories are good too.
July 13, 2017
J.D. Robb story was the best. Only liked one of the others.
August 27, 2018
Vampires
Short story with people believing in vampires. Eve handles it. I really liked the ending. Spoiler: A cross and a stake! What an ending!
Short story with people believing in vampires. Eve handles it. I really liked the ending. Spoiler: A cross and a stake! What an ending!
March 11, 2019
Great short story!
December 24, 2019
Not a review. A note for myself. I only read the J.D. Robb short story which was pretty cool. The rest seems to be basic romance fare and not to my taste.
March 2, 2020
The In Death short was the only reason I picked up this book. It was the best story in the collection, but the others were ok, just not as good.
April 22, 2020
Thoroughly enjoyed the J D Robb story in this book. The other stories were entertaining but not as much of a page turner for me as J D Robb. I love her character development.
May 7, 2020
Contains "Eternity in Death" number 30 of favorite series..New one came out so I'm rereading all. by the way, I DO own all of these
May 31, 2020
5 * for j.d. robb
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
Read
August 7, 2020NR only?
December 16, 2020
Will update full review again. My audible reviews didn't cross over for some reason
July 8, 2021
Interesting book
February 21, 2022
Mystery in four novellas from four authors
Read
August 28, 2022Good book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews