NY Times Bestselling Author
J.D. Robb
The first victim is found lying on a sidewalk in the rain. The second murdered in her own apartment building. Both have had their throats slashed.
New York City homicide lieutenant Eve Dallas has no problem finding connections between the two crimes. Both women were beautiful and successful; their glamorous lives and loves the talk of the city. And their intimate relations with powerful men provide Eve with a long list of suspects – including her own lover, Roarke.
As a woman, Eve is compelled to trust the man who shares her bed. But as a cop, it’s her job to follow every lead, to explore every secret passion, no matter how dark. Or how dangerous.
I know this book is way back in time, but the beginning of Eve and Roarke’s relationship is one I love so very much. It’s not the typical Billionaire romance, and Eve is not your usual female heroine. Now you don’t have to read this series from the beginning each book is stand alone. My re-read is starting from the beginning so I remember the introduction of each and every character that I love today.
At the end of Naked in Death we gained a very important character, Galahad, the cat. He secured a place in Roarke and Eve’s heart by saving her life and getting the promise of salmon every day for the rest of his nine lives.
This book opens with the murder scene of Prosecuting Attorney Cicely Towers. It’s not somewhere one would expect to find this well put together, powerful woman. Her death impacts many including Commissioner Whitney who is a close friend. A high profile victim who is attracting the press, some of which is very annoying and Eve has an answer for that.
Then we have Roarke and Eve’s personal life, Roarke always seems to be in the spotlight. He knows many people and has many deals in the works as well as working on removing all the gray from his holdings. There’s also the fact he wants a commitment from Eve and she’s having some issues with that. Her own past coloring her present and possible future.
This is a favorite scene.
“Money’s a motive that never goes out of style. I interviewed him yesterday. I knew something didn’t quite fit. Now it’s beginning to.”
She took the fresh coffee he offered, paced to the window where the noise level was rising, then away again. Her robe was slipping off her shoulder. Casually, Roarke tucked it back into place. Bored commuters often carried long-range viewers for just such an opportunity.
“Then there’s the friendly divorce,” she went on, “but whose idea was it? Divorce is complicated for Catholics when there are children involved. Don’t they have to get some sort of clearance?”
“Dispensation,” Roarke corrected. “A complex business, but both Cicely and Marco had connections with the hierarchy.”
“He’s never remarried,” Eve pointed out, setting her coffee aside. “I haven’t been able to find even a whiff of a steady or serious companion. But Towers was having a long-term intimate relationship with Hammett. Just how did Angelini feel about the mother of his children snuggling with a business partner?”
“If it were me, I’d kill the business partner.”
“That’s you,” Eve said with a quick glance. “And I imagine you’d kill both of them.”
“You know me so well.” He stepped toward her, put his hands on her shoulders. “On the financial end, you may want to consider that whatever Cicely’s share of Mercury was, Angelini’s matches it. They held equal shares.”
“Fuck.” She struggled with it. “Still, money’s money. I have to follow that scent until I get a new one.” He continued to stand there, his hands cupping her shoulders, his eyes on hers. “What are you looking at?”
“The gleam in your eye.” He touched his lips to hers once, then again. “I have some sympathy for Marco, you see, because I remember what it’s like to be on the receiving end of that look, and that tenacity.”
“You hadn’t killed anyone,” she reminded him. “Lately.”
“Ah, but you weren’t sure of that for a time, and still you were . . . drawn. Now we’re—” The beeper on his watch pinged. “Hell.” He kissed her again, quick and distracted. “We’ll have to reminisce later. I have a meeting.”
Just as well, Eve thought. Hot blood interfered with a clear head. “I’ll see you later then.”
“At home?”
She fiddled with her coffee cup. “At your place, sure.”
Impatience flickered in his eyes as he shrugged into his jacket. The slight bulge in the pocket reminded him. “I’d nearly forgotten. I bought you a present in Australia.”
With some reluctance, Eve took the slim gold box. When she opened it, reluctance scattered. There was no room for it in shocked panic. “Jesus bleeding Christ, Roarke. Are you insane?”
It was a diamond. She knew enough to be sure of that. The stone graced a twisted gold chain and glinted fire. Shaped like a tear, it was as long and wide as the first joint of a man’s thumb.
“They call it the Giant’s Tear,” he said as he casually took it from the box and draped the chain over her head. “It was mined about a hundred and fifty years ago. It happened to come up for auction while I was in Sydney.” He stepped back and studied its shooting sparks against the plain blue robe she wore. “Yes, it suits you. I thought it would.” Then he looked at her face and smiled. “Oh, I see you were counting on kiwi. Well, perhaps next time.” When he leaned in to kiss her good-bye, he was brought up short by the slap of her hand against his chest. “Problem?”
“This is crazy. You can’t expect me to take something like this.”
“You do occasionally wear jewelry.” To prove his point, he flicked a finger at the gold dangling from her ear.
“Yeah, and I buy it from the street stall on Lex.”
“I don’t,” he said easily.
“You take this back.”
She started to pull at the chain, but he closed his hands over hers. “It doesn’t go with my suit. Eve, a gift is not supposed to make the blood drain out of your cheeks.” Suddenly exasperated, he gave her a quick shake. “It caught my eye, and I was thinking of you. Damn you, I always am. I bought it because I love you. Christ Jesus, when are you going to swallow that?”
“You’re not going to do this to me.” She told herself she was calm, very calm. Because she was right, very right. His temper didn’t worry her, she’d seen it flare before. But the stone weighed around her neck, and what she feared it represented worried her very much.
“Do what to you, Eve? Exactly what?”
“You’re not going to give me diamonds.” Terrified and furious, she shoved away from him. “You’re not going to pressure me into taking what I don’t want, or being what I can’t be. You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing these past few months. Do you think I’m stupid?”
His eyes flashed, hard as the stone between her breasts. “No, I don’t think you’re stupid. I think you’re a coward.”
Her fist came up automatically. Oh, how she would have loved to have used it to wipe that self-righteous sneer from his face. If he hadn’t been right, she could have. So she used other weapons.
“You think you can make me depend on you, get used to living in that glorified fortress of yours and wearing silk. Well, I don’t give a damn about any of that.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“I don’t need your fancy food or your fancy gifts or your fancy words. I see the pattern, Roarke. Say I love you at regular regular intervals until she learns to respond. Like a well-trained pet.”
“Like a pet,” he repeated as his fury froze into ice. “I see I’m wrong. You are stupid. You really think this is about power and control? Have it your way. I’m tired of having you toss my feelings back in my face. My mistake for allowing it, but that can be rectified.”
“I never—”
“No, you never,” he interrupted coolly. “Never once risked your pride by saying those words back to me. You keep this place as your escape hatch rather than commit to staying with me. I let you draw the line, Eve, and now I’m moving it.” It wasn’t just temper pushing him now, nor was it just pain. It was the truth. “I want all,” he said flatly. “Or I want nothing.”
She wouldn’t panic. He wouldn’t make her panic like a first-time rookie on a night run. “What exactly does that mean?”
“It means sex isn’t enough.”
“It’s not just sex. You know—”
“No, I don’t. The choice is yours now—it always was. But now you’ll have to come to me.”
“Ultimatums just piss me off.”
“That’s a pity.” He gave her one long last look. “Good-bye, Eve.”
“You can’t just walk—”
“Oh yes.” And he didn’t look back. “I can.”
Glory in Death (In Death, Book 2). Kindle Locations (1026-1079). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The second high profile victim a rising star Yvonne Metcalf adds far more questions than answers as Eve once more faces her inner demons and the possible involvement with Roarke. Eve gives Nadine the scoops CJ wants and the snark continues there.
Plenty of twists and turns as the pieces fall together with the case, the answer to the ultimatum and so much more!
5 Contented Purrs for J.D.
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J.D. Robb
With a phenomenal career full of bestsellers, Nora Roberts was ready for a new writing challenge. As her agent put it, like Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and caffeine-free Pepsi, a pseudonym offered her the opportunity to reach a new and different group of readers. The first futuristic suspense J. D. Robb book, Naked in Death, was published in paperback in 1995, and readers were immediately drawn to Eve Dallas, a tough cop with a dark past, and her even more mysterious love interest, Roarke.
The series quickly gained attention, great reviews, and devoted readers. Since the debut of Loyalty in Death (the ninth In Death book) on Halloween 1999 on the New York Times bestseller list, every J. D. Robb title has been a New York Times bestseller. While fans had their suspicions, it wasn’t until the twelfth book in the series, Betrayal in Death (2001), that the publisher fully revealed that J. D. Robb was a pseudonym for bestselling powerhouse Nora Roberts. Unmasked, Nora Roberts fans who hadn’t yet picked up one of the Robb books were quickly playing catch-up.
Robb’s peers in the mystery world are fans as well, with accolades for the In Death series from such blockbuster authors as Stephen King, Jonathan Kellerman, Dennis Lehane, Kathy Reichs, Lisa Scottoline, Janet Evanovich, David Baldacci, Harlan Coben, Robert B. Parker, Ridley Pearson, Linda Fairstein, and Andrew Gross.
The In Death books are perpetual bestsellers, and frequently share the bestseller list with other Nora Roberts novels. J. D. Robb publishes two hardcover In Death books per year, with the occasional stand-alone original In Death story featured in an anthology.
Forty books later, there is no end in sight for the ever-popular In Death series.
Carol Kittie Reviews 