Reviewer: Holly Salvation in Death by J. D. Robb
Series: In Death #27
Also in this series: Creation in Death, Strangers in Death, Suite 606, Kindred In Death, Naked in Death, Glory in Death, The Lost, Rapture in Death, Immortal in Death, New York to Dallas, Celebrity in Death, Brotherhood in Death, Fantasy in Death
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: 2008
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 353
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Series Rating:
Ancient church rituals meet cutting- edge crime solving in the latest novel in the #1 New York Times–bestselling series that’s “Law & Order: SVU—in the future” (Entertainment Weekly).
In the year 2060, sophisticated investigative tools can help catch a killer. But there are some questions even the most advanced technologies cannot answer.
Ridley Pearson has praised J. D. Robb’s suspense as “taut” and “nerve-jangling.” Her latest thriller sets a new standard for suspense, as the priest at a Catholic funeral mass brings the chalice to his lips—and falls over dead.
When Detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas confirms that the consecrated wine contained potassium cyanide, she’s determined to solve the murder of Father Miguel Flores, despite her discomfort with her surroundings. It’s not the bodegas and pawnshops of East Harlem that bother her, though the neighborhood is a long way from the stone mansion she shares with her billionaire husband, Roarke. It’s all that holiness flying around at St. Christobal’s that makes her uneasy.
A search of the victim’s sparsely furnished room reveals little— except for a carefully hidden religious medal with a mysterious inscription, and a couple of underlined Bible passages. The autopsy reveals more: faint scars of knife wounds, a removed tattoo—and evidence of plastic surgery, suggesting that “Father Flores” may not have been the man his parishioners had thought. Now, as Eve pieces together clues that hint at gang connections and a deeply personal act of revenge, she believes she’s making progress on the case. Until a second murder—in front of an even larger crowd of worshippers—knocks the whole investigation sideways. And Eve is left to figure out who committed these unholy acts—and why.
There are very few authors who can write a never ending series about one couple and make it work, but Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb is definitely the master. Despite the fact that this is the 30th book in the In Death series about Eve and Roarke it’s still new and fresh. I’m constantly amazed at the quality of the stories in this series.
Unfortunately, I think this is one of the weaker entries. In a series of 30 books, not every one is going to be an A+ read, and this one isn’t. It’s still a strong entry, though, and I enjoyed my latest foray into the futuristic world of Eve Dallas. Check out Casee’s review here.
There isn’t much going on between Eve and Roarke in this book. They’re pretty well settled into marital bliss and the focus of the story is on Eve’s latest case. I really liked that she had to deal with something outside of her comfort zone. We all know how Eve feels about religion. It wasn’t hard to figure out who the villain was. Normally I have the villain pegged in the first 1/4 of the book but enjoy watching Eve puzzle out the who and why.
This time I thought everything was a bit vanilla. The murder mystery, Eve and Roarke’s relationship, even the secondary characters. It’s not that they were boring or didn’t work, it’s just that there was hardly any drama or spice.
I think part of the problem is that I enjoy it when Eve and Roarke have discord between them. Those make for the best stories, IMO. So it was kind of disappointing to see them living in perfect harmony. Yes, that sounds bad, but it’s true.
Eve’s selfishness in regards to Roarke’s work and time still bothers me. I’m hoping for the day when she decides to take an active interest in what he does. The idea cracks me up.
Anyway, not a bad entry, just not the best. Fans of the series will of course want to read it.
3.5 out of 5
This book is available from Putnam. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Thank you Holly! Perfect timing as this is almost at the top of my TBR list (the library hold list for this book was insane 🙂
If conflicts are still the major issues after 2 years of marriage, then the characters are stagnant so is the author. I like that issues in their marriage are being resolved and compromises are shared. that’s reality. there is too much fantasy in these books as it is. Not that i don’t enjoy myself or lose myself in it for a time. I love the in death series