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Reunion in Death
by
J.D. Robb
science fiction, police procedural, romantic suspense in a Kindle edition that was published by Berkley on March 3, 2007 and has 378 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon, Audibles.
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, "Midnight in Death", 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, 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
Fourteenth in the In Death futuristic, police procedural, and romantic suspense series revolving around Eve Dallas and her gorgeous husband, Roarke, in the New York City of summer 2059.
In 2002, Reunion in Death won the Romance Readers Anonymous Award for Best Alternative Realities or Time Travel Romance. In 2003, it was nominated for the RITA Award by Romance Writers of America for Romantic Suspense.
My Take
It’s a bittersweet start as Reunion in Death starts with a happy man who’s about to celebrate his birthday. It’s a wonderful party with the reader in suspense as to what’s going to happen. And I cried for him and his first wife, for his family.
“No one, Eve decided, could pretend to be this level of idiot.”
It segues into a typical morning for Eve and Roarke with him slipping quality clothing into her closet and her fussing about how she’ll just wreck whatever it is. And Roarke hits back with those humorous lines. That exposure for Eve to Roarke’s wealth continues when she insists on taking a public shuttle instead of one of his private ones.
“Lieutenant, you know how it excites me when you snarl at me.”
That vacation Roarke hands Peabody and McNab is so typical of him.
Peabody gets a cold case to solve. And dang, if it isn’t the saddest thing! And it ticked me off big time!! I’ll tell ya, Robb is really good at picking those details apart.
One detail Robb usually includes is Eve using Nadine to taunt the bad guys into making a move, preferably on her.
As Robb uses third person global subjective point-of-view, from primarily Eve’s and Roarke’s perspectives but including other characters’ perspectives as well, we learn quite a bit from the thoughts, actions, and emotions of a lot of people.
Whoa, lol, Peabody warns Dallas about her mother’s power. It actually works. It’s too funny to see how it affects Eve AND Roarke. Of course, Sam’s sensitive nature puts a nasty bump in the road. More sad is intensified when Eve has to go to Dallas to investigate the origin of Julianna’s killing spree. The PTSD hits hard, and Eve remembers a bit more. It’s all part of Eve’s series character arc, stemming from her childhood. Trauma that frustrates Roarke in how he can help her.
Oh man, oh man, Dallas does crack me up with her fear of medical anything and her interactions with med techs. They all know her, lol. And the drugs really soften her up, ROFL.
Shelly Pettibone talks about her life and love with Walter, and it provides food for thought for Eve. It’s a thought we could all stand to review from time to time.
Shudder, it’s such a contrast in this New York of 2059 with its fabulous futuristic gadgets and its hideous food. Oy. But the generous policies at the prison are too similar to ours. Why the do-gooders think they can rehabilitate people, I do not know.
Robb keeps the pace moving along and includes plenty of action that includes plenty of humor. Some of it’s cop humor and some of it’s bantering between Eve and Roarke or Peabody, and it will keep you laughing amid the tragedies in Reunion in Death.
It’s always fascinating to watch Dallas find and tear apart those clues to find her target. But she’s almost never happy when Roarke involves himself or sets himself up as bait.
The Story
It was a birthday party that started Julianna Dunne’s killing spree, and she’ll thrill to the destruction she creates while thwarting Lieutenant Eve Dallas.
Let out on good behavior, Julianna has nothing but bad intentions. It appears she wants to meet Dallas again — in a reunion neither will forget.
The Characters
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is in charge of the Homicide Division at Cop Central in New York City. Roarke is her sexy, gorgeous, supportive gazillionaire husband. Summerset is his majordomo who hates Eve — their exchanges are somethin’ else. Galahad is their pudge of a cat who reads minds. I swear!
Dallas’ friends include Mavis Freestone, a superstar singer, who’s living with Leonardo, a famous fashion designer. Dr Louise DiMatto runs the Canal Street Clinic and is dating Charles Monroe, a highly paid Licensed Companion. Mandy is Louise’s gossipy cousin. Louise has such an open reaction to Charles’ profession. It’s amazing and I love it! Nadine Furst is an honest, ethical on-air reporter at Channel 75.
Roarke Industries is . . .
. . . an intergalactic behemoth and Roarke has his fingers in so much from large to small. Caro is his administrative assistant.
The New York Police and Security Department (NYPSD)
Officer Delia “DeeDee” Peabody is Dallas’ aide. Other cops in Dallas’ division include Detective David Baxter, Delricky, and Pearson. Captain Ryan Feeney, Dallas’ mentor, is in charge of the Electronic Detectives Division (EDD). Detective Ian McNab is one of his as well as Peabody’s sweetie. Commander Jack Whitney is the top dog at Cop Central. The stinking Rowinsky is in Illegals. Dr Charlotte Mira is the head profiler for the PD and cares for Eve. Tibble/Tibbie is the chief of police.
Peabody’s Free Ager parents, Sam, a sensitive, and Phoebe Peabody, show up with all sorts of ramifications from baked goods for the squad to mind reading! Zeke is their son (Loyalty in Death, 9).
Boyd Stibbs, a regional rep for a sporting goods firm, is still hoping for closure over his wife, Marsha‘s murder some years back. Tracie is his daughter with Maureen, his second wife and, previously, a neighbor.
Walter C Pettibone is the owner of the World of Flowers that is based in New York. He’s married to a young Bambi who has the brains of a cabbage; Shelly, who does landscape design, had been his first wife. Wally is Walter’s son; Nadine is his wife. Sherilyn is Walter’s daughter; Noel Walker is her husband. Guests at the party included Dr Peter Vance.
Henry Mouton is a corporate attorney on the East Coast. Janet Drake is a temp at his law firm. Dr Eli Young had been allied with Reverend Munch, the Jim Jones of this story. Marty is one of Young’s neighbors.
Spencer Campbell is with Campbell Investment Consultants in Denver. Juliet Darcy had an appointment with him for a financial consult.
The gullible Jake T Parker, Julianna’s stepfather, runs a ranch in Texas. Kara Dunne Parker Rowan is Julianna’s mother. Chuck Springer had been (and is still) working on Parker’s ranch when Julianna lived there. It was a Larson or a Rolley girl who set things off.
The Villa de Lago is a spa (in which Roarke has an interest) in Italy. Sophia Vincenti is the reservations manager; the sympathetic Elena is her assistant. Jann Drew is one of the guests. Captain Giamanno is the non-cooperative policeman. Officer Bartelli was to guard the door.
Dockport Rehabilitation Center is . . .
. . . where Julianna Dunne, who was one of Dallas’ cases who went to prison, is/was incarcerated. Supervisor Miller is in charge and way too naive. Lois “Loopy” Loop is a funkie junkie who was in a neighboring cell with Julianna. Maria Sanchez needs some persuasion. Hello, Charles . . .
Thomas Carter was the first case Dallas investigated. Should’ve been Thomas K Carter. Mr Markie is the caterer of choice. Julie Dockport was one of Markie’s servers. Mook loves the S&M machines at VR Hell. The Casa Diablo had been a rat trap of a hotel back in the day. Now it’s the Traveler’s Inn in Dallas where Angelina works the desk. Mason Riggs is the pilot and Lydia is the flight attendant with Diamond Express, a private charter service.
The Cover and Title
The cover is simple with a black background and deep pink orchids dangling down from the top, a few leaves sprouting from the cluster. To the left of the bottommost flower is a testimonial in white and the same deep pink. Immediately below the flowers is the actual author’s name in white with her pseudonym below in a combination of white and the pink. The title, in pink, is below that at the bottom.
The title is a Reunion in Death that Eve Dallas never wanted.
