I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
"Midnight in Death"
by
J.D. Robb
It is part of the In Death #7 series and is a romantic suspense in eBook edition that was published by Berkley on September 27, 2005 and has 90 pages.
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Other books in this series include [books_series]
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Indulgence in Death, Treachery in Death, Kindred in Death, The Other Side, New York to Dallas, Unquiet, Celebrity in Death, Delusion in Death, Calculated in Death, Thankless in Death, Mirror, Mirror, Festive in Death, Obsession in Death, Betrayal in Death, "Wonderment in Death", "Possession in Death", Down the Rabbit Hole, Devoted in Death, Brotherhood in Death, Apprentice in Death, Echoes in Death, Secrets in Death, Dark in Death, Leverage in Death, "Interlude in Death", Vendetta in Death, Golden in Death, Faithless in Death, Naked in Death, Glory in Death, Immortal in Death, Rapture in Death, Ceremony in Death, Vengeance in Death, , Loyalty in Death, Witness in Death, Judgment in Death, Seduction in Death, Reunion in Death, Holiday in Death, Purity in Death, Portrait in Death, Imitation in Death, Divided in Death, Visions in Death, Desperation in Death, Abandoned in Death, Creation in Death, Survivor in Death, Concealed in Death, Origin in Death
It falls in at 7.5 in the In Death romantic suspense series set in 2058 and revolving around Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her gorgeous husband, Roarke. The second chapter one (yes, the second) states that it’s Eve and Roarke’s first Christmas together.
It’s getting a downgrade simply for the screwy start.
My Take
This is weird. It reads like an outtake from Naked in Death, 1, the story in which Eve meets Roarke. So what is “Midnight in Death” doing at 7.5 in the series?? It begins with Chapter One with Eve’s memory of the child’s death she couldn’t prevent and segues into the Sharon DeBlass crime scene. Then the second Chapter One starts all over. Very, very weird.
Something I don’t understand. Eve occasionally mentions that she keeps ruining the expensive gloves Roarke gives her when she uses Seal-It on ’em. So instead, she usually goes without gloves. So, why doesn’t she simply take the gloves off and then seal up?
“‘Your family, they matter to you.’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘You matter to me.'”
It’s a tricky road for Eve. She’s insisting that everyone have protection. Except her. And it doesn’t sit well with Roarke. Luckily, he has an ally in Peabody who’s brave enough to be cheeky with Eve.
I do enjoy the humor Robb injects throughout her stories. It brings a warmth into all this death and makes me want to read more. And I gotta wonder about Robb’s mind, how she can dig so deep to find such awful antagonists…
The Story
A killer comes to call that Christmas, making it the darkest night of Lieutenant Eve Dallas’ life.
Her name has made a Christmas list, but it’s not for being naughty or nice. It’s for putting a serial killer behind bars. Now the escaped madman has her in his sights.
With her husband, Roarke, at her side, Eve must stop the man from exacting his bloody vengeance — or die trying…
The Characters
1st Chapter One
Sharon DeBlass is the granddaughter of Senator De Blass from Virginia (Naked in Death). Sebastian is the beauty consultant at Paradise who always took care of Sharon.
Roarke is big money, the “kind of guy that touches shit and turns it into gold bricks”. “He’s got one of the finest art collections in the world. … [and] … he’s a licensed gun collector.”
2nd Chapter One
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is one of the best detectives in New York. Roarke is her hunky gazillionaire husband. Summerset is Roarke’s aide-de-camp. Galahad is their pudge of a cat whom Eve inherited from a victim in Naked in Death.
New York Police & Security Department
Officer Delia “She-Body” Peabody, Dallas’ aide, is still recovering from events in Holiday in Death, 7. Captain Ryan Feeney is Dallas’ friend, mentor, former partner, and father figure who is now in charge of the Electronics Detective Division (EDD). Detective Ian McNab is one of Feeney’s boys, and he and Peabody have a temporary truce. Commander Whitney is Dallas’ boss. Dickie “Dickhead” Berenski is the chief lab tech, and it’s his superior skills that make him tolerable. I’m guessing that the “Morse” Robb refers to in this is actually “Morris”, the chief medical examiner.
Officer Miller had been assigned to Ring. Detective Dalrymple is assigned to Polinsky. Sunny Polinsky is the daughter whose boyfriend, Jimmy Ripsky, gets a nasty surprise.
Nadine Furst is one of Channel 75’s top on-air reporters and another of Dallas’ friends.
Those involved in David Palmer’s trial include…
…Judge Harold Wainger was the presiding judge. The dead Cicely Towers prosecuted the case. Stephanie Ring was the assistant prosecuting attorney. Carl Neissan was Palmer’s public defender. Justine Polinsky was the jury foreman. Dr. Charlotte Mira of the NYPSD tested Palmer and testified against him; she and Eve are becoming friends. Dallas was the arresting officer.
David Palmer is a killer who enjoys his work in exploring and recording the mind’s tolerance and had been serving an eight-life-term. Helen and Tom Palmer are his shocked and grieving parents who fled their lives.
Lana sold a Booster-6Z. The Kowaskis didn’t buy it.
The Cover and Title
The cover is the ice rink at Rockefeller Center in New York City viewed through a distorted wide angle at night with all the white fairy lights glowing and two lone skaters.
The title is the deadline Dave Palmer sets for Eve, “Midnight in Death”: get there or her friend dies.
