3.5 out of 5 stars
Echoes in Death by J.D. Robb is #44 in the In Death series and one that I have mixed feelings about. I love the series in general and re-read many of them. I haven’t decided whether this will be one of them or not.
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo
Brief Synopsis
As NY Lt. Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband Roarke are driving home, a young woman―dazed, naked, and bloody―suddenly stumbles out in front of their car. Roarke slams on the brakes and Eve springs into action.
Daphne Strazza is rushed to the ER, but it’s too late for her husband Dr. Anthony Strazza. A brilliant orthopedic surgeon, he now lies dead amid the wreckage of his obsessively organized town house, his three safes opened and emptied. Daphne would be a valuable witness, but in her terror and shock the only description of the perp she can offer is repeatedly calling him “the devil”…
While it emerges that Dr. Strazza was cold, controlling, and widely disliked, this is one case where the evidence doesn’t point to the spouse. So Eve and her team must get started on the legwork, interviewing everyone from dinner-party guests to professional colleagues to caterers, in a desperate race to answer some crucial questions:
What does the devil look like? And where will he show up next?
(Source: Amazon’s description of the book)
Review
I really don’t know how I feel about this book. Even after reading it twice (I always read them twice when they first come out because the first time through I simply devour them. The second time through, I’m able to take it a little slower and catch some details I missed the first time around), I’m still unsure.
While I enjoyed all of the non-crime related parts, I knew who the killer was early on, so the mystery itself wasn’t all that thrilling for me. Maybe I’m just too used to Ms. Robb’s writing style, but I knew who the killer was from the moment we met him. There was just something about him that made me say, yup, it’ll be you (and it was).
On the other hand, I think the book showed us something really important as far as how much Eve has grown and healed from her childhood since she met Roarke. Earlier in the series, this case would have caused much more heartache and trouble for Eve than it actually does. Yes, there are times when she just needs to “lose it” as she says to Roarke, but it doesn’t devastate her like it would have in the past. That’s a huge positive for Eve and an indicator of just how much Roarke’s love and Dr. Mira’s help/love has helped her heal.
Due to the nature of the crime and the type of victim the killer was targeting, I was semi-glad Mavis and Leonardo were out of town, but I still missed them. Mavis is such a whirlwind of energy and I think Eve could have used Mavis’s ability to distract her from a case. Hopefully they’ll be back in the next book!
All-in-all, I think it’s definitely a book that’s good for the underlying story arc of Eve & Roarke’s relationship, but the mystery itself isn’t one of the better ones of the series. Hence why it only gets 3.5 stars from me.
About the Author
J.D. Robb is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling In Death series and the pseudonym for #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts. The futuristic suspense series stars Eve Dallas, a New York City police lieutenant with a dark past. Initially conceived as a trilogy, readers clamored for more of Eve and the mysterious Roarke.
(Source – J.D. Robb’s Author Page on Goodreads)
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