Fury in Death

 Fury in Death- J.D. Robb 

St. Martin's Press

Release Date: September 8, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: NYSPD homicide detective Eve Dallas never knows what to expect when she gets word of a body. It could be an elderly man who made the mistake of climbing a ladder in slippery footwear. And the next call could be a wealthy biotech executive beaten to death in his home office—but what was Larry Chu’s mistake?

The victim’s corpse is so mangled and damaged it’s hard to believe a lone, unarmed assailant could have managed it. The killer was clearly unnaturally strong—and smart enough to find a way into Chu’s highly secure building. Most of all, whoever did this was very, very angry.

The excessive violence leads Dallas to conclude that this was a deeply personal act, born of a rage that she can’t excuse but can understand thanks to her own traumatic past. And though the motive seems rooted in heated emotion rather than cold hard cash, she can’t ignore the suspicious bank account in the Cayman Islands, or the shadowy, profit-hungry company Chu worked for. The mystery only grows when it turns out Chu isn’t the only victim—and Dallas will need to tear through one layer of secrecy after another to reveal what lies behind this explosion of fury...

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I'm always a fan of J.D. Robb's "In Death" series, but this one was really excellent. So fast-paced I didn't want to put it down, despite knowing who the killer was and why he was killing people. Once Eve and Peabody figure out the why behind these attacks, everyone feels sorry for the killer- he's as much a victim as anything else. 

But most victims don't make a list and start battering the people they feel wronged them to death. Eve may feel sorry for the killer, and VERY angry at those who wronged him, but she's going to work within the system to bring everyone to justice. The rich and powerful think they can get away with anything because of their money and power (and having other people in their pockets). Eve and her team are going to prove that justice is bigger than all of them.

If you haven't read other books in the series before you'll enjoy the crime solving, but there is also a really good mix of domestic and personal that you may have to just go with. Mavis and Peabody finally have their big house party and lots of friends and relatives show up, some of whom we've met in other books. Plenty of delightful cameos from secondary characters across the book, especially in the final party. 

If you have a violence trigger, be warned the descriptions of what happens to the victims are particularly gruesome in this book and you may want to skim them. The book as a whole isn't any more violent than the rest of the series, and it's balanced with the friends and family domestic scenes. I really liked the ending, very poignant. No spoilers here, but the sense of family, and duty, runs strong throughout the book and the characters right through to the end. 

Another excellent addition to the series.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Bonded in Death

 

Bonded in Death (in Death #60)- J.D. Robb

St. Martin's Press 

Release Date: February 4, 2025

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds the Rossi case frustrating. She’s got an elderly victim who’d just arrived from Rome; a widow who knows nothing about why he’d left; an as-yet unidentifiable weapon; and zero results on facial recognition. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks Summerset―fiercely loyal, if somewhat grouchy, major-domo and the man who’d rescued her husband from the Dublin streets―may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then.

When Summerset learns of the crime, his shock and grief are clear―because, as he eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must―not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died. Summerset is one of those who remain―and the murderous mission is yet to be fully accomplished…

                                    _________________________________________

The newest In Death book is a fast paced thriller that takes readers where they've probably always hoped to get more info on: the Urban Wars of the 2020s. Eve Dallas' latest victim is an elderly man who, at first glance, has no reason to be dead at all, let alone in the brutal way he was murdered. But when Summerset identifies Eve's victim as an old friend of his- and a former operative during the Wars- everything changes. Because Rossi wasn't the only man identified as having a target on him- just the first on a kill list.

We get all of the good stuff in Bonded. Flashbacks of the Urban Wars, more background than we've ever seen before on Summerset, and an entire network of his comrades coming together to help Eve and the NYPSD to help stop a killer. The pacing stays fast, the dialogue is Robb's go-to blend of sharp wit and suave charm (depending on the character!) that makes for a delightful blend of personalities. The intensity of the story made me not want to put this one down!

A really enjoyable and intense read, this is J. D. Robb at some of her finest.

I received a DRC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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Echoes in Death

Echoes in Death (In Death series #44) - J. D. Robb
St. Martin's Press
Release Date: February 7, 2017

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚📚📚📚

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

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?

______________________________

While some long running series start to grow stale after awhile, J. D. Robb's In Death series is one of those rare few that keep running strong.  Echoes in Death is no exception.  Full of red herrings, brutal murders and assaults, and enough echoes of Eve's own past to shake her up, Echoes is a fast-paced thriller from start to finish.

When Eve and Roarke find Daphne Strazza wandering the side of the road- dazed, naked, and bloody- they have no idea the extent of the evil they will uncover.  At first it seems like a burglary and assault with the accidental murder of Dr. Anthony Strazza, and Strazza's unpleasant, god-complex and abusive behavior leave plenty of people on the suspect list for who'd want him dead.  As a series of like-crimes is uncovered it becomes less about Strazza's abusive tendencies and more about one very sick, very twisted man with a hidden agenda all his own.

Echoes in Death did an exceptionally good job of balancing Eve's personal and professional lives.  We saw more sweet, private moments between Eve and Roarke than usual- including a lovely blizzard scene.  There was also a very touching moment between Eve and Galahad that we don't usually see, though of course that was followed by the cat tricking a second breakfast out of Eve!  My only complaint is that I find it absolutely criminal that Roarke is only now introducing Eve to that "classic" vid- The Avengers.  Reading this book over Oscars weekend, I was a little disappointed not to get a scene between Nadine and Eve (or Nadine, Peabody, and Eve) congratulating Nadine on seven Oscar nominations for The Icove Agenda- but that would have been a bit too much added to the book, and I expect we'll come back to that in a later book since it will probably involve a glitzy party that Eve can't get out of! 

The mystery is a bit more traditional than some of Robb's more recent books- we don't see anything from the killer's point-of-view, and solving the crime is based on solid cop work and instinct.  Not a complaint, but a change of pace from some of the more recent books like Thankless in Death  and Apprentice in Death.  As always, I enjoyed not being sure of the killer until the end- although to my credit I suspected him at the first meeting, then fell for the red herrings Robb threw out to forget about him.  But I refuse to give away the finale, so you'll have to read Echoes in Death for yourself to discover the killer ending.  Robb does a great job writing villains who feel so entitled that they assume they'll get off even after confessing.  And the final twist reminds you once again why this book "Echoes".

Echoes in Death may be one of the best In Death books in awhile (although I'm biased, I love them all).  Fast-paced, smart, and a perfect blend of violence, murder, wit, and love.  Red herrings and plenty of suspects lead to a must read new Eve Dallas mystery!

Apprentice in Death

Apprentice in Death - J.D. Robb
Berkley
Release Date: September 6, 2016

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚📚📚📚

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis: The shots came quickly, silently, and with deadly accuracy. Within seconds, three people were dead at Central Park’s ice-skating rink. The victims: a talented young skater, a doctor, and a teacher. As random as random can be.

Eve Dallas has seen a lot of killers during her time with the NYPSD but never one like this. A review of the security videos reveals that the victims were killed with a tactical laser rifle fired by a sniper, who could have been miles away when the trigger was pulled. And though the list of locations where the shooter could have set up seems endless, the number of people with that particular skill set is finite: police, military, professional killer.

Eve’s husband, Roarke, has unlimited resources—and genius—at his disposal. And when his computer program leads Eve to the location of the sniper, she learns a shocking fact: There were two—one older, one younger. Someone is being trained by an expert in the science of killing, and they have an agenda. Central Park was just a warm-up. And as another sniper attack shakes the city to its core, Eve realizes that though we’re all shaped by the people around us, there are those who are just born evil...

_________________________

What begins as an apparently random set of long distance murders at a skating rink turns into a race against time, a former cop gone bad, and his psychopathic but skilled teenage daughter.  Lt. Eve Dallas is presented with murders not only extremely difficult to have carried out, but the haunting question: is this a random killing or the beginning of something more?  Of course the answer is choice B.  While that's bad news for the victims it's good news for Eve because a pattern emerges behind the seemingly random  targets.  

As the last several In Death books have shown, just because you know the why and the who doesn't necessarily make for an easy arrest.  The twist in this case being that Dallas thinks she's looking for one killer, and discovers she has two. The next twist comes after the second attack, which claims the life of a NYPSD cop among the victims, when they learn that one of the killers was himself a cop.  The other killer? His 15 year old daughter.

In Apprentice Eve wrestles with questions of nature vs nurture and finds herself comparing who she was as a child to the shooter, Willow.  Could Eve have become the same person?  What makes a killer?  Roarke (as always!) is standing ready to convince Eve, as forcefully or tenderly as possible that she could never be that killer.  The other main theme in Apprentice is justice. When the system fails you, do you have the right to take justice into your own hands?  What's the difference between justice and revenge?  It's interesting that from the outside as a reader we might clearly see things one way, Robb does an excellent job of showing us the minds of the killers and their way of thinking.  Mackie was a cop who stood to help people but when he loses his wife his version of justice changes.  Why should other people get to be happy when he isn't, why does someone else have the right to a happy marriage when his wife is dead?   

The characters we've grown to know and love continue to shine.  With the growing cast of characters, not all can get equal time and some people may be disappointed by not seeing much of McNab, Feeney or Mira.  But there are some great scenes between Eve and Nadine, and some brilliantly played Interviews with Dallas, Peabody, and Reo- all of whom really seemed to enjoy playing roles against the killers.  Robb has a talent for combining the best and the worst of humanity in truly horrifying and gritty crime scenes and this shows best after a shooting scene where Eve checks in on Mavis, Leonardo, Nadine and even the terrifying Trina, as well as a perfectly pitched interaction between Eve and Summerset.  Robb also gives us another stunningly creepy child killer in Willow Mackie.    

At book 43 in the In Death series J. D. Robb is still going strong.  Where other authors might have grown stale or run out of things to do, Robb continues to bring not only excellent mysteries but also added layers and twists to the very human characters at the heart of the series.  Fast paced, witty, and edge of your seat action, Apprentice in Death does not disappoint!  

Brotherhood in Death- J.D. Robb

Brotherhood in Death- J.D. Robb (In Death series #42)
Berkley- Penguin Random House
Release Date: February 2, 2016

Synopsis: Dennis Mira just had two unpleasant surprises. First he learned that his cousin Edward was secretly meeting with a real estate agent about their late grandfather’s magnificent West Village brownstone, despite the promise they both made to keep it in the family. Then, when he went to the house to confront Edward about it, he got a blunt object to the back of the head.  Luckily Dennis is married to Charlotte Mira, the NYPSD’s top profiler and a good friend of Lieutenant Eve Dallas. When the two arrive on the scene, he explains that the last thing he saw was Edward in a chair, bruised and bloody. When he came to, his cousin was gone. With the mess cleaned up and the security disks removed, there’s nothing left behind but a few traces for forensics to analyze.   As a former lawyer, judge, and senator, Edward Mira mingled with the elite and crossed paths with criminals, making enemies on a regular basis. Like so many politicians, he also made some very close friends behind closed—and locked—doors. But a badge and a billionaire husband can get you into places others can’t go, and Eve intends to shine some light on the dirty deals and dark motives behind the disappearance of a powerful man, the family discord over a multimillion-dollar piece of real estate . . . and a new case that no one saw coming.


Warning: Spoilers!

Unlike so many, the In Death series manages to get better and more vividly alive with every addition.  Wonderfully written, with twists and turns to each case, the reader sees new aspects of the futuristic New York City and new layers to familiar characters in each book.

Brotherhood gives us more layers to one of every reader's favorite people: Dennis Mira. The husband of Dr. Charlotte Mira, readers have fallen in love with the sweet, slightly absentminded professor right along with Eve.  Here we get more scenes with Dennis, and meet his cousin Edward- Dennis' polar opposite.  A former senator, heavy into appearances and society, Edward and his wife Mandy are as far from Charlotte and Dennis as it's possible to get.  When Edward's case goes from a disappearance to multiple homicides, Brotherhood is one of those books where you have a hard time feeling sympathy for the murdered men.  First because they (and almost everyone they associate with) are horrible human beings, and then as motives become clear, because of the men themselves.  

One of the things that gave Brotherhood additional layers was that throughout the book, almost every character finds themselves asking: what is justice? "Justice is served" is a sign hung with each of the murdered men.  The more Eve and her team look into the case, the more it becomes obvious that the murder victims are being killed by women they made victims over the years- rape victims.  Do the women have the right to administer their own justice? Eve, Roarke, Peabody, McNab, even APA Cher Reo ask themselves this. Do multiple wrongs make a right? Brotherhood bring up moral gray areas (and areas that don't usually seem gray) and the reader finds themselves questioning their own philosophy right along with the characters.  

Along  with the darkness, Robb mixes in enough light to help break up the tension in all the right spots.  There are some wonderful scenes between Dennis and Eve that make you love Dennis Mira even more than you thought possible.  And there is an unexpected, prefect friendship scene between Eve and Peabody that I loved.  Of course there is also some great humor- a room full of dolls, Eve gets to threaten a computer system in creative ways we haven't seen in awhile.  And there's a graphic, not to be missed description of the only reason Eve would learn to sew that will make you grin every time you think of it.

A wonderful, thought-provoking addition to the In Death canon, and an absolute must read!