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Connections in Death
by
JD Robb
romantic suspense in a Kindle edition that was published by St. Martin's Press on February 5, 2019 and has 365 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Encore in Death, Faithless in Death, Payback in Death, Passions in Death
Forty-eighth in the In Death romantic suspense series set in a near future in New York City. The series revolves around Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her amazing husband, Roarke.
My Take
It does crack me up how different and yet similar Eve and Roarke are. He loves the socializing; Eve hates it. He loves shopping (??); she hates it. He loves computers; she hates them. Yet they share a lousy childhood, a sense of humor, a passion for sex, and a similarity of thought when it comes to crime.
Robb primarily uses third person dual protagonist point-of-view from Dallas’ and Roarke’s perspectives but there is a bit of the third person global subjective POV thrown in with perspectives from a few other characters.
I love the story of how Rochelle and Crack met. What a sweet idea and . . . all those connections that make life work. As for Crack’s past history with Dallas and Roarke . . . sweet. Not so sweet? Lyle. Dang.
Dang it. When you consider that you have to be smart to lead a gang of criminals, you’d think they’d put their brains to a more positive use. It’s so darned sad when you think of the lives gangs destroy.
Omigod, omigod, I cannot believe Cohen! What a JERK!! I do love how El takes him down, lolololol. It does give Robb the opportunity for Roarke to point out that Eve [almost] never reads papers he needs her to sign. I do love that crack she makes about how she’d get even if he ever did her wrong, *more laughter*.
”Cohen lies and cheats like other people breathe.”
We always get a bit of Roarke’s and Eve’s past history, and I liked this one about Roarke’s first bit of real estate.
There is so much betrayal in Connections in Death. It’s mind boggling. Slice is betraying his gang. Cohen is betraying his partners. Dinnie is betraying and betrayed. At least Lanigan feels safe now to testify against Ho. Jesus . . . that one gang member thinks they’ll all be proud of what they did.
There are a number of arcs within the series, one of which is Roarke’s perspective on cops and how Eve has changed how he sees the police. That what the good police can do for people. It’s part of why he works with the cops. Roarke does make a good point, that the system can help even if there are failures along the way.
Oh lordy, the action is never ending. The betrayals are monumental. The pace, meh. It could have gone faster, but I’ll tell ya, the story was fantastic and I need to re-read it to enjoy all the triumphs.
I agree with Reo, Dallas needs to start stocking popcorn.
The Story
It’s rejoicing all around with Dr Pickering getting the job offer of her dreams as well as her brother doing well in battling his addiction, of turning his life around.
One of these dreams dies and brings in homicide cop Eve Dallas who invades a gang territory that is rife with betrayals.
The Characters
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is the head of homicide in New York Central. Roarke is her gorgeous (and supportive) billionaire husband. Summerset is his pseudo-father and major domo. Galahad is their porky cat. Caro is Roarke’s very efficient admin. Peterby is another employee. An Didean is a safe house for troubled kids that Roarke built (Concealed in Death, 38), where Dr Susann Po had been considered.
Their friends include . . .
Nadine Furst is the ace on-air reporter for Channel 75. She’s also a bestselling author and Oscar winner. Quilla is Nadine’s teenage intern (Concealed in Death, 38; Dark in Death, 46). Jake Kincade, Nadine’s heartthrob, is a rock star with Avenue A (Apprentice in Death, 43). Renn plays keyboard in the band.
Mavis Freestone is Eve’s very colorful singing sensation friend married to Leonardo, a much-sought-after fashion designer. Crack, a.k.a. Wilson, is huge and owns a sex-club, the Down and Dirty. Dr Rochelle Pickering is Crack’s girlfriend and a psychologist who has consulted at Dochas; she’s also the top contender for the head therapist at An Didean. The terrifying Trina is a beauty stylist. Charles Monroe, a former licensed companion (LC) and now sex therapist, is married to Dr Louise Dimatto.
New York City Police and Security Department (NYPSD)
Detective Delia Peabody is Eve’s partner and is living with Detective Ian McNab with EDD. Detectives Santiago (plays keyboard), Carmichael (she sings!), Baxter, Reineke, and Jenkinson with Officers Carmichael and Shelby are on Dallas’ team.
Captain Ryan Feeney, Eve’s “father” figure and mentor, is the head of the Electronic Detectives Division (EDD). His detectives also include Callendar, Marley, and, I think, Stipper.
Commander Jack Whitney is Dallas’ boss. Harrison Tibble is the chief of police. Officers Zutter and Norton work in the Bronx. Detective Lilah Strong works Illegals. Officer Grogan is a droid. Officer Trace arrested Cohen. Lieutenant Lowenbaum is a SWAT commander (Delusion in Death, 35). Officer Quirk is in on the raid.
Dr Li Morris, the city’s chief medical examiner, plays sax. Dr Charlotte Mira is the NYPSD’s chief profiler. Dennis Mira is her sweetheart of a husband. Cher Reo is an assistant prosecuting attorney. Dr Garnet DeWinter is a forensic anthropologist. Dick Berenski is the chief lab tech. Harvo is the queen of hair and fiber. Kyung is the media liaison guy who doesn’t suck.
Special Agent Teasdale is with the FBI (Delusion in Death, 35; Thankless in Death, 37; and, Mirror, Mirror: “Taken in Death”, 37.5).
Lyle Pickering, Rochelle’s younger addict brother who used to run with the Bangers, is now working as a cook at Casa del Sol and fighting the addiction; Rochelle has two other brothers, Martin and Walter. Miss Deborah is the grandmother who raised them. Nicci had been Rochelle’s supervisor. Stasha-Jean Gregory is Rochelle’s neighbor.
Bebe Hewitt is Nadine’s big boss at Channel 75. Kent Hoobie, who runs a mini quick shop, fires Fist, who’s the nephew of his woman’s cousin, the hardworking Mrs Aimes, who works at Trendy at the Sky Mall. Carrie Dru is the Aimes’ young neighbor.
Stuart Adler is dead; Mildred is his girlfriend. Gary Phizer is a schoolteacher and Adler’s neighbor. Rolo is another neighbor angry about the noise. “Nancy Nuts” Tobias is a sidewalk sleeper. Melba is a waitress in the Bronx. The Green is the hotel that was Roarke’s first bit of real estate.
The Bangers are . . .
. . . a gang in the Bronx who routinely war with the Chinatown Dragons, which is led by Fan Ho. Dinnie Duff, a.k.a. Meanie, is one of the Banger Bitches and had lived with Lyle. The entrepreneurial Slice, a.k.a. Marcus Jones Jr, is in charge, a captain; his dad, Rock, had been a previous captain. Other gang members include Shake ’n Bake; Little Easy; Bulge; Toro; Loose; Bolt, a.k.a. Kenneth Jorgenson; Tank, a.k.a. Donita Haver, and Riot are lieutenants; the lazy Fist, a.k.a. Barry Aimes; Rufus Miller is an arsonist; Ticker, a.k.a. Burke Chesterfield; Snapper, a.k.a. Denby Washington; and, Yolanda, who earned a bracelet.
Jorgenson’s parents had been Oliver Jorgenson, in prison, and Pauline Grant, who is now married to Humphrey Merkle, the founder of Bertinili’s Frozen Pizza. Jessica, a.k.a. Staff Sergeant Grant, is his sister. Paul Quentin is a court-appointed attorney.
”Upscale here meant the obscenities tagged on the walls of buildings were grammatically correct.”
Samuel Cohen, a former lawyer, and Eldena “El” Vinn, Cohen’s cohab and a stripper at Bump and Bang, are co-owners with Slice. CoJo Corp is a business Cohen and Jones use to manage their combined interests. Lisa Killagrew, a.k.a. Tequila on stage, is El’s friend. Pete is a lawyer who had hired Tequila and El a few years ago. Bang-Two has a deal going with Cohen.
Suzan Ho runs a family restaurant and is Fan Ho’s mother. George “Fan” Ho is the leader of the Dragons. Mae-Ling Jacobs is Suzan’s neighbor. Hugh Lanigan had tried to date Fan’s sister.
Matthew Fenster, Lyle’s sponsor, is employed at the Clean House rehabilitation center; he had been a financial investment man. He’s currently seeing Lilah Strong. Ned is a prison psychiatrist.
Bondage World and Wet Dreams are underground clubs — Taffy Pull, formerly Rita Razowtiz, runs Wet Dreams. Bang-O-Rama is a bar where you can pay to be gangbanged onstage. Coco, a bride-to-be, has the stage at the moment. Lieutenant Oberman had been a wrong’un in Treachery in Death, 32. Margo is the wife of a man who was pickpocketed by Charlie.
The Cover and Title
The top two-thirds of the cover appears to be a torn scrap of a well-worn map and makes a great background for the info blurb at the top in black and the author’s name in royal blue. The bottom third is a photo of multi-story brick buildings on both sides, framing a view of a lit-up bridge at night. The title is in a fractured font in white. A round red badge notes that a poster is on the inside of the jacket. (Which you won’t find on an ebook.)
The title is all about those Connections in Death, well, not actually in death, but those connections we make in life.
