Glory in Death by "J. D. Robb" (Nora Roberts), 1995.
Okay, so here's my plan. I am going to live forever, or at least for a very long time. How will I accomplish that? By reading all of J. D. Robb's ...In Death books featuring futuristic police detective Eve Dallas. There are, or will be by September, 63 novels in the series, and growing. Plus at least 12 novellas. If I read one every other month or so, and if the author keeps churning them out, I will be busy far, far into the future. And of course, the gods of reading will do nothing to prevent me from finishing this simple task. Voila! Instant near immortality!
So what's the hype about these novels, anyway? All I can say is that a number of people whose judgment I truly respect go ga-ga over them, to the point that a couple of months ago I decide to rad the series in order, from start to finish. The first book, Naked in Dead, set the groundwork. It's New York City in the mid-21st century, and there have been a few technological and social changes, but nothing that is explained in enough detail to get in the way of a crime thriller. Eve Dallas, both beautiful and sensual, is one of the best homicide cops in the city. She is passionate about her job and, as is explained more than once, stands for the victim unwaveringly. Eve has a mysterious and lonely past -- she has no memories of her life before the age of eight and grew up with no family and no past, which allows to have very few friends or connections and allows her to concentrate on her job. In the first novel, Eve is handed a particularly nasty murder and meets Rourke, a mysterious and powerful billionaire with with a shrouded past. Rourke, too, has had a rough childhood and has accumulated few friends. In that first book, Rourke becomes a main suspect, as well as -- to her great surprise -- Eve's lover.
In Glory in Death, a talented and successful prosecutor is murdered in a disreputable part of the city, her throat cut open. What was she doing there? Eve is upset to learn that the victim is also a business partner of Rourke, although Rourke was not involved in her murder. Suspicion begins to fall on the victim's family: her ex-husband, her spoiled son, her aggressive daughter and her gambling addict fiance, and her current lover, all of whom seems powerful enough to block Eve's investigation. Things get more complicated when Eve's boss turns out to be a close friend of the family and the godfather to the victim's children. Then a second victim gets her throat cut; this time it's a young up-and-coming actress who also happens to be previous lover of Roarke's. The influential standing of the victims make this case a major news story, spurred on by the opportunistic reporting of an unethical newscaster who tries to make Eve's investigation look bad.
Because the victims were both well-known females, Eve decides to us herself as bait, using her connections with a television station to promote herself. This ploy fails horribly when a third victim, an assistant to the reporter Eve is working with, is murdered in a case of obvious mistaken identity. Coincidences keep tying the family of the first victim to the murders, leading to a false confession and bad publicity for Eve. But the murderer still has it out for Eve, leading to a final, knife-weilding climax in a darkened corner of Central Park.
Along the way, Eve's relationship to Rourke deepens despite the fact that both are highly independent and naturally suspicious people. The two finally acknowledge their love for each other and now they must work out the boundaries and kinks of that romance. It's no secret that the pair eventually marry -- most likely sometime over the course of the next few books, I presume.
Glory in Death is a sensual romantic and somewhat violent mystery. The romance is sometimes sappy and a tad unbelievable, but is true to the nature of the characters, heightened by the fantasy and power of Rourke's immense wealth. A good blend of futuristic police procedure, criminal psychopathy, and smart characterization. It's easy to see why all of the books in the series have been best-sellers. I'm actually looking forward the third book in the series, Immortal in Death.
Nora Roberts (born 1950) is the author of over 225 novels of classic contemporary romance, romantic suspense, crime, and fantasy. She is one of the most successful novelists in the world. Since 1999 every one of her novels has been a New York Times bestseller -- over 220 of them, many debuting in the number one spot. Her books have sold over 500 million copies globally. Her books have won seven Golden Medallion awards, fifteen RITA Awards, three Quill Awards, one Romantic Times Reviewer Choice Award, and has won three times in the AAR (All About Romance) Annual Reader Poll.
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