Reviewer: Holly Celebrity in Death by J. D. Robb
Series: In Death #34
Also in this series: Creation in Death, Strangers in Death, Suite 606, Salvation in Death, Kindred In Death, Naked in Death, Glory in Death, The Lost, Rapture in Death, Immortal in Death, New York to Dallas, Brotherhood in Death, Fantasy in Death
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: February 21st 2012
Genres: Fiction, Suspense
Pages: 384
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Series Rating:
#1 New York Times bestselling author J.D. Robb knows that some roles are to die for…
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she’s managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating The Icove Agenda, a film based on one of her famous cases. It’s a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks as though she could be her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays Peabody—drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director’s luxury building.
Talented but rude and widely disliked, K.T. Harris made an embarrassing scene during dinner. Now she’s at the center of a crime scene—and Eve is more than ready to get out of her high heels and strap on her holster to step into the role she was born to play: cop.
Eve and Roarke are at a party celebrating the release of The Icove Agenda, a movie based on the case Eve and Peabody solved in Origin in Death. Eve isn’t excited to be there, but the blooper reel they showed was enough to keep her entertained..until the party is interrupted by murder. The actress cast to play Peabody is found murdered. The problem? The list of suspects is pretty much confined to those at the party. Since no one seemed to like her, narrowing it down isn’t easy.
I really enjoyed this installment. My favorite books are the ones where Eve and Roarke are at odds, and though that wasn’t the case here I found the case interesting and the usual cast of characters engaging. There was quite a bit of humor laced throughout, more than in some of the later releases. It was a nice change of pace. The whodunit was pretty easy to figure out but I enjoy watching Eve puzzle her way through the evidence.
I have to give J.D. Robb credit. Even after 34 books this series is engaging. There are times I get frustrated with it, sure, but I can’t deny the readability of each book.
4 out of 5
See the full series list here.
This book is available from Putnam. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Sometimes a few days has passed, sometimes a few weeks, sometimes a few months. It just depends.
I think the great thing about this series is how it kind of flows like daily life. A true homicide cop doesn’t work just one case at a time. Sometimes they’ll juggle a dozen, plus cold cases and – as in the case of Eve – have duties as a Lt (paperwork, overseeing other cases, etc).
So this series is very real. Yes there are 34 books, but it doesn’t feel bogged down. I definitely enjoy some books better than others, but overall each story is fresh because each case is fresh.
It’s like a much better, more serious Plum series.
Book 34? WTF? So how does this series work? Like what’s the time frame over the course of the book? How much time has passed between each book?
@ Rowena: My thoughts were very much like yours before I read the first book, ‘Naked In Death’, but since then, I have never once regretted getting involved in this series. None of the installments have been less than a 4 star read for me, with my favorite so far being ‘Survivor In Death’ (loved little Nixie). Give ‘Naked…’ a try; if you do not like it, you will not have wasted much time.
@Holly: Got it.
@teenyann: I’ve given Naked in Death a try, maybe it’s time to try again. I wasn’t that impressed with that book but they’re so popular, I wonder if I should read them. I’ll get the first couple and try them sometime.
Thanks for the heads up though.