J.D. Robb discussion

Our buddy read continues in March with another novella, Possession in Death. You'll find this one available on Audio or in the Anthology The Other Side. Open discussion begins on the 8th!

Timeline: Approximate Story Start Date: July, 2060, starting the day after Indulgence in Death

Character List:
Eve Dallas
Roarke
David Baxter
Galahad
Ryan Feeney
Mavis Freestone
Nadine Furst
Ian McNab
Charlotte Mira
Delia Peabody
Lawrence Summerset
Troy Trueheart
Jack Whitney
Bella Eve
Crack
Callendar
Louise Dimatto
Caro Ewing
Detective Jacobson
Leonardo
Dennis Mira
Charles Monroe
Morris
Detective Renicki
Cher Reo
Trina
Minor & Peripheral Characters:
(view spoiler)[Alexi Barin
Natalya Barinova
Janna Dorchester
Mirium Frido
David Ingall
Sasha Korchov
Detective Lloyd
Chale Lopaz
Allie Madison
Allegra Martin
Karrie Morgenstern
Zach Morgenstern
Arial Nurenski
Lucy Quinn
Gizi Szabo
Detective Stuben
Beata Varga
Vanessa Warwich
Winston Dudley
Rennie Foster
Sara Jasper
Sylvester Moriarity (hide spoiler)]

Once again, a "touch" of the paranormal in this novella!

Our library has this. I'm going to try to catch up on IN DEATH series after my knee replacement surgery in March. Here's hoping...

Charlene wrote: "Our library has this. I'm going to try to catch up on IN DEATH series after my knee replacement surgery in March. Here's hoping..."

It'll be a good time to read, Charlene! Best of luck for a speedy recovery! My husband is facing a double knee replacement. :(

Charlene wrote: "Our library has this. I'm going to try to catch up on IN DEATH series after my knee replacement surgery in March. Here's hoping..."

Sorry about the upcoming surgery, Charlene! Please let us know how it goes.

Thanks, Sandra and Jonetta
I had the other knee replacement done five years ago, and I'm glad I did. I've been waiting to have the second one done, wondering how I could take good care of Dave, now that we have moved away from our Ohio kids (still in Ohio, but several hours' drive away).
Now that Dave is in our memory care unit, I have scheduled it. My sister-in-law and my nieces have promised to do grocery detail and cleaning. All I'll have to do is Physical Therapy three times a week, and our senior community provides the transportation.
I definitely plan to read a lot during the recovery period. I certainly plan to use my new walker to get from other rooms to my computer as soon as possible. Thanks again for your good thoughts and prayers.

Well, best of luck to you, Charlene!

Charlene wrote: "Thanks, Sandra and Jonetta
I had the other knee replacement done five years ago, and I'm glad I did. I've been waiting to have the second one done, wondering how I could take good care of Dave, now..."

Best wishes, Charlene! Looking forward to hearing from you once you are able to get back.

Charlene you will be on my prayers I will put your name on my church 's pray list on Sunday. My the Lord be with you and Bless the doctor doing your surgery and after .

Good and speedy recovery Charlene.

Charlene wrote: "Our library has this. I'm going to try to catch up on IN DEATH series after my knee replacement surgery in March. Here's hoping..."

Wishing you a very speedy recovery, Charlene!

Speedy recovery Charlene.

Thanks, all. I was able to read this novella quickly, an entire week before my upcoming surgery, so I hope to have time to chime in on the discussion before next Monday!

Just started my re read. Will finish by end of the day

Yay me ! I didn't read any of the novellas on my first read through of the series so this book is brand new to me. Exciting!

That is exciting, Phrynne!

Open discussion begins day after tomorrow! :)

This is now a spoiler zone. Feel free to openly discuss Possession in Death!

I have to say the title Possession in Death really rings true in this one!! Eve's body is "possessed" and the ensuing scenes are intense. What did you think of this story and the way it all played out?

I loved that this story picks up immediately after the last - with Eve wrapping up the case & rushing home for the cookout and get-together she originally planned to draw Morris out. For those of you wishing they had gotten this scene in the last book, here it is! Share your thoughts and comments!

This is my most favorite of the novellas! I remember complaining bitterly about not being part of the cookout after reading Indulgence. I should have trusted Nora and squealed when I started this book the first time.

Me too! So disappointed that the cookout wasn't shown in detail in the end of Indulgence and so, so happy to discover this novella opens with it in full swing. There are several touching moments in this one - felt very intimate to me.

I agree with you also. I love when the story picks up right at the end of the other book. I love reading how everyone gets together and the conversations that originate at these gatherings. Especially when Mavis brings her little bella and plops her on Eve. I think Eve is showing signs of wearing down when holding a baby and or even being around babies. I thought the possession aspect was a bit much especially when the tattoo appeared. I quess I like the more scientific stories better than supernatural or possession. Also I found it hard to believe that all those dancers have gone missing and no one until Eve picks up on it?

Jonetta wrote: "This is my most favorite of the novellas! I remember complaining bitterly about not being part of the cookout after reading Indulgence. I should have trusted Nora and squealed when I started this b..."

I agree with you. This is one of my favorite novellas. I like the paranormal aspect that is based in gypsy fantasy.

I usually enjoy a good paranormal mystery and the previous novellas with this trope have been well done. This one fell flat for me, however, because it required an excessive amount of suspension of disbelief to accept that the usually skeptical Eve would be so accepting of being possessed.

That said, the investigation was good (it would have worked just as well without the possession aspects) and the barbecue fun.

Lauren wrote: "I usually enjoy a good paranormal mystery and the previous novellas with this trope have been well done. This one fell flat for me, however, because it required an excessive amount of suspension of..."

It does require a big suspension of belief for sure, I agree. More than any of the others for sure.

It was clear to me that Eve, unknowingly, invited the Romany woman to posses her in much the same way that the Christian Gospels portray it -- if one's house is swept clean, the demons want to return to inhabit the "house." Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this novella, having suspended belief and watching how Roarke, Dr Mira, and others who worked with/for the dead received that information.
Science does not have all the answers!

So right

Charlene wrote: "It was clear to me that Eve, unknowingly, invited the Romany woman to posses her in much the same way that the Christian Gospels portray it -- if one's house is swept clean, the demons want to retu..."

So true, Charlene. And yes, unknowingly - Eve invited her in. Very interesting & unique book in this series. Especially when so much of it is very black or white, right or wrong, etc.

What I like about this book is that it shows Eve as vulnerable when she is normally so sure footed.

Also, the fact that Roarke loves her even seeing this other side of her and he is going to get her back to normal one way or the other. He lets her know that he will be her rock even when she goes through changes.

In some ways Possession is a harbinger of what will come in the near future when Roarke has to help her through another possession of sorts.

Finished my re-listen a couple of days ago. I too was happy that we got to see the barbeque and I liked how Eve is getting more comfortable to ask Father Lopez for his advice.

The possession was an unwitting one, Eve didn't realize what was happening before it was too late to say no. She just had to go with what was happening even though her logical self was saying WTF?? It was a nice little diversion and a fun listen for an evening.
I can't remember if later on Peabody gets clued in on what was going on, she was so confused...feel like I've missed a step.

Charlene wrote: "Our library has this. I'm going to try to catch up on IN DEATH series after my knee replacement surgery in March. Here's hoping..."

I've had both of mine done, Charlene. It's amazing how much better I felt after I had the second one done. Hope you have as speedy a recovery as possible.

I enjoyed this novella better than some of the others. Loved hearing Eve speaking a foreign language...This title was perfect. She really was possessed. And I really enjoyed that this book started with the cookout. I remember thinking at the end of the last book that I was disappointed we didn't get any details about it.

It was great getting the cookout scene, Karen! Loved it! There's a sense of "family" there and it drives home how much Eve's close circle of friends has grown.

I'm sort of just now getting caught up with the buddy reads. I have skipped re-reads of this book in the past, so it was not as familiar to me as some of the others. But I enjoyed it greatly. It was fun to see Eve in the possession, speaking a foreign language and spouting off recipes, even though she doesn't know what they mean. I also especially liked how she approached her situation (despite being paranormal) in a logical way. Ok, she was seeing a ghost -- what to do next? Interview the victim. It reminds me of a quote (I looked it up - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle): "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

It was a joy of a little novella.

Everyone seems to love heart eve speaking a foreign language , makes me wish I'd listen to this one.