Title: Treachery in Death
Author: JD Robb
Publisher: Putnam
ISBN: 9780399157035
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 384
Quick Review: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
Why I Read It: Number 32 in an ongoing series – got to keep it up.
Where I Obtained the Book: At my local library
Review: As I have said before this series is as much about the ongoing saga of the characters as the mysteries, as such I try to review both parts. The mystery was pretty solid this time out, police corruption on steroids offends Eve’s sensibilities, especially after the particularly weak showings the last few times. The real weakness is how quickly Eve deduces the facts of the case with her figuring out who the literal killer is coming from nowhere. She just assumes it was who it was and that’s that.
As for the relationships we see a few minor characters getting some airtime and becoming more rounded as they develop into a couple. We even get to see Mavis turn up again briefly as she has pretty much disappeared after being the main supporting character at the beginning of the series. I am guessing that she is there to expose Eve to a kid, preparing us for the next jump ahead in her personal development. I will lay money on some pregnant cop plots in the near future. Peabody also gets some lead time as she takes the lead on a case.
But after 32 books it takes something special to stand out for me in this series. This time was my media choice – a self contained digital book. This is the first one I have listen to and that was eye opening. First of all, that is not how I pictured Peabody’s voice at all; she sounded much to unconfident and dumb for me. Plus while the reader was very talented it became very evident she only had so many voices in her repertoire. As the minor characters began to make an appearance the quilt of the interpretation went down. The Captain was really bad and I am not positive, but I think I heard a pretty good Jar Jar Binks impression in there too.
The worse part of the audio book was I really heard what was being said. There is a lot, an awful lot of put me on a pedestal, over dramatic speeches by Eve in the book. Think of any comedy skit where the character does their “I am trying to get nominated for an academy award” speech, I care just too damn much! There are way to many of those moment s in the book and I guess I always missed them reading the series – I must lightly skim enough not to really register what they are. I know I skim the sex scenes because they always show up a few times per book and last 2.5 pages. Sex with Roarke is always multi-orgasmic because all he has to do is look at you and talk in his Irish lilt to send you over the edge. It must be very distracting in his day to day life to have the women losing control around him constantly.
Anyways, you can read this one to get a good sense of what he series is about, but you really should read from the beginning. If you are just looking for a straight mystery, there are much better choices out there. With the In Death series you are getting a whole world populated by “real” people, and that is why you read this series.
Synopsis: Detective Eve Dallas and her partner, Peabody, are following up on a senseless crime-an elderly grocery owner killed by three stoned punks for nothing more than kicks and snacks. This is Peabody's first case as primary detective-good thing she learned from the master.
But Peabody soon stumbles upon a trickier situation. After a hard workout, she's all alone in the locker room when the gym door clatters open; and-while hiding inside a shower stall trying not to make a sound-she overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. It doesn't take long to realize they're both crooked-guilty not just of corruption but of murder. Now Peabody, Eve, and Eve's husband, Roarke, are trying to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down-knowing all the while that the two are willing to kill to keep their secret.
Author Biography: 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.
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