Flashback Friday: Judgment in Death by J.D. Robb

Flashback Friday is a weekly tradition started on Bookshelf Fantasies. It's focus is on showcasing a book from at least 5 years ago that holds a special place in your heart and on your shelf.

The year was 2000. It was the of year of J-Lo's Green Grammy dress, Mad Cow disease ravaging Europe and Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame dying. Angelina was married to Billy Bob and Brad was married to Jennifer. Gladiator took the Oscar for best picture and Brad Pitt was People's Sexiest Man Alive, for the second time. Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child and Matchbox Twenty were all chart toppers for the year.

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This book was originally published by Berkley in September of 2000. But has been translated into many languages and even was reprinted a couple of times in various formats.

From the back of the book:

When a cop killer cuts loose in a club called Purgatory, New York detective Eve Dallas descends into an underground criminal hell...

In an uptown strip joint, a cop is found bludgeoned to death. The weapon's a baseball bat. The motive's a mystery. It's a case of serious overkill that pushes Eve Dallas straight into overdrive. Her investigation uncovers a private club that's more than a hot spot. Purgatory's a last chance for atonement where everyone is judged. Where your ultimate fate depends on your most intimate sins. And where one cop's hidden secrets are about to plunge innocent souls into vice-ridden damnation...

I have read and read many of the books in this series, but this one continues to be one of my favorites. There is something about this book that just speaks to me and I can reread it over and over. Maybe its that we get to really see some of the darker side of Roarke for the first time. Maybe its that we finally get some background on Eve during her early days in the department. There is also some really great scenes between Eve and Roarke as well as Eve and Dr. Mira.  The following is one of my favorites and really shows how much Mira has become more of a mother figure to Eve.

"I can't talk about it."

"Of course you can. If it's not your past, it's your present. If it's personal... it's Roarke. Have you had a disagreement?"

The term, so tame, so civilized, caused a reaction Eve never expected. She laughed, laughed until her sides ached and she realized to her utter shock the sound was coming perilously close to sobs. "I don't know what we had. He's not speaking to me, basically."

"Eve." Mira reached for her hand, clasped it. The gesture snapped the last lock.

It poured out of her, everything from the time she'd walked into the bedroom and seen Summerset staggering under the weight of the flowers.

"I went to see Mavis," Eve continued. "And got drunk. That sounds stupid, but -- "

"On the contrary, it sounds perfectly sensible. You went to a trusted friend, one who knows both of you and is herself in a committed, monogamous, and loving relationship. Getting drunk was a release valve, but talking it over with her was an avenue."

"She said I should..." Eve couldn't quite bring herself to repeat Mavis's descriptive phrase. "Seduce him."

"Again, sensible. Sex opens doors to communication and relieves tension. It didn't work?"

"I didn't really get the chance to try it out. There was an individual, I can't give you the name, who has a connection with the case and an older one with me, who was waiting outside. I brought him up to my office to discuss the case, and... Jesus... I don't know what got into him. I guess you could say he made a move on me, which I was about to repel, with some violence, when Roarke..."

"Oh dear. I imagine he was seriously displeased."

Eve simply stared for a minute, stunned by the phrase. She was afraid to laugh again. Afraid she wouldn't stop. "You could say that. Words were exchanged, and then they went at each other. The worst is, for a minute, I just stood there with my mouth open. They're breaking furniture, and blood's flying and I stand there, stupid."

"Not for long, I take it."

"No, but still. Anyway, I drew my weapon."

"Good God, Eve."

"It was on stun." She made a defensive move with her shoulders. "I fired a warning, which Roarke ignored. Unfortunately for... for the other individual, he didn't and Roarke cold-cocked him. Summerset got the guy out, and I'm telling Roarke to calm his ass down or I'll stun him. I meant it."

"I'm sure you did."

"He didn't seem to care. He sort of backed me into a corner, and I couldn't seem to... Then he, hmmm, he..."

"Oh." Mira felt something flutter in her belly. "I see."

"No, no, he didn't punch me or anything."

"That's not what I thought. He... made love to you."

"No. That's not the way it was. He just took me over. I wasn't going to stand for it. I told myself I wouldn't, but I was... Damn it, I was aroused, and he knew it, and he was ripping my clothes and we were sort of struggling a little, then we were on the floor and I was ripping his clothes and we were on each other like animals or something. I couldn't stop him, or myself, or any of it, and I didn't want to because, God, I was so hot I'd have let him eat me alive."

"Oh my," Mira managed.

"I shouldn't have told you." Mortified, Eve squeezed her eyes shut. "What was I thinking?"

"No, no, sweetheart, that was a very unprofessional reaction, and I apologize. But it was a very female one." And she thought her husband was going to be quite delighted with the aftereffects of this heart-to-heart with Eve.

"I didn't just let him take me, I helped him. I enjoyed it." She looked down, miserably, at her empty hands. "That's got to be sick."

"Not enjoying what you just described to me might be. Enjoying it was completely healthy. Extremely healthy, if I might say so. Eve, you love each other. Passionate sex -- "

"It went over the top of passionate."

"Please, my system can only handle so much." And now Mira laughed. "You and Roarke are two strong, stubborn, physical people who are wildly in love. He was angry with you for your attempt to protect him at your own risk. As you would be if he did the same."

"But -- "

"You know that's true. As much as you know you'd do the same thing again, just as he would. You dented his ego, always a tricky proposition with a man, particularly a man like him. Then, before he could come to full terms with it, he walks in on you being hit on by another man."

"He had to know that I wouldn't have -- "

"He did, of course. But he wouldn't stand for two slaps at his ego. Think a moment, and answer honestly. Would you really want him to stand for it?"

"I... maybe not," she admitted, grudgingly. Then she blew out a breath, surprised that she felt considerably better. "No, I wouldn't want him to stand for it."

"Of course not. And his reaction was, given who he is, physical. The fight reasserted his ego. Territoriality, Eve. This woman is mine."

"That's what he said," she muttered.

"Naturally enough. You are. Just as he's yours. Then you stand there, holding your weapon on him. Oh, what a sight that would have been. So he, metaphorically speaking, drew one of his own."

Eve's lips quivered. "Dr. Mira, I think that's crude."

"Nonetheless. Both of you reacted as natural for you, engaged in a bout of rough, sweaty sex that no doubt satisfied you."

"You'd have thought so, but we hadn't even cooled off when he picked me up off the floor and carried me into bed and did it all over again."

Mira stared, rather blankly. "Does he have a particular diet? Vitamins?"

When a cop killer cuts loose in a club called Purgatory, New York detective Eve Dallas descends into an underground criminal hell...

In an uptown strip joint, a cop is found bludgeoned to death. The weapon's a baseball bat. The motive's a mystery. It's a case of serious overkill that pushes Eve Dallas straight into overdrive. Her investigation uncovers a private club that's more than a hot spot. Purgatory's a last chance for atonement where everyone is judged. Where your ultimate fate depends on your most intimate sins. And where one cop's hidden secrets are about to plunge innocent souls into vice-ridden damnation...

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN     Kobo     OmniLit

Waiting on Wednesday September 11th

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine showcasing upcoming books that we are waiting, often impatiently, to be released.


Mirror, Mirror by J.D. Robb

Once upon a time…

…in a world far removed from the days when fairy tales were new, five bestselling authors spin versions that take the classic stories into a new dimension. You’ll recognize Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other enduring characters, but they’ll exist in realms beyond your imagination, where the familiar is transformed into the extraordinary and otherworldly.

Release Date: September 24, 2013

Why This book?

I am waiting on this book because this will be the first novella in over a year in the In Death series.  I love these novellas because they each have a supernatural or paranormal flavor that just isn't found in the regular series.  

Waiting on Wednesday August 28th

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine showcasing upcoming books that we are waiting, often impatiently, to be released.


Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb

In the latest suspense thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, the year 2060 is drawing to a close in New York City and loved ones are coming together for Thanksgiving. But sometimes the deepest hatreds seethe within the closest relationships, and blood flows faster than water…

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has plenty to be grateful for this season. Hosting Roarke’s big Irish family for the holiday may be challenging, but it’s a joyful improvement on her own dark childhood.

Other couples aren’t as lucky as Eve and Roarke. The Reinholds, for example, are lying in their home stabbed and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition. Those who knew them are stunned—and heartbroken by the evidence that they were murdered by their own son. Twenty-six-year-old Jerry hadn’t made a great impression on the bosses who fired him or the girlfriend who dumped him—but they didn’t think he was capable of this.

Turns out Jerry is not only capable of brutality but taking a liking to it. With the money he’s stolen from his parents and a long list of grievances, he intends to finally make his mark on the world. Eve and her team already know the who, how, and why of this murder. What they need to pinpoint is where Jerry’s going to strike next.

Release Date: September 17th 2013

Why This book?

I am waiting on this book because, uh hello, J.D. Robb here. Book #37 or #46 dependent upon whether you consider the novellas as part of the count. (Ms. Robb does btw.) Ever since I finally broke down and started this series I have been spellbound.  

Review: Calculated in Death by J.D. Robb

Calculated in Death is the 36th full length novel or the 45th story in the In Death series by J.D. Robb, depending on how you are counting them.  Personally, for my records its number 45.  Needless to say, that this far into a series, there is a LOT of back story that just can't be condensed for someone new picking up this book as a starting point.  That said, most of the novels are self-contained stories and there are no major cliffhangers, so you could try this book and jump right into the action.  J.D. Robb is a pseudonym for the internationally acclaimed Nora Roberts, but only for this particular series.

The series chronicles the life and cases of NYPSD (New York Police and Security Department) Lieutenant Eve Dallas, Homicide Division in the not so distant future. A future where Urban Riots gripped and changed the world just some 20 years before, where automobiles can and do fly, guns are banned and stunners are the norm. But a future where people are still people, so hatred and greed are still very popular murder motives.  We met Eve Dallas for the first time in book 1 just before she met her husband, Roarke in 2058.  Roarke is a self made multi-billionaire who grew up dirt poor on the streets of Dublin and used his brains and a  live of crime to get started.  Eve was an orphan who found in an alley in Dallas, Texas and has made the NYPSD and New York her home.  Basically, if you like a good solid mystery, wrapped in a little science fiction and topped with a little romantic bow, you would really enjoy this series.  The characters are all very vivid and unique. With a long running series such as this, you can easily follow along with the lives of your favorite characters, and there are a lot of reoccurring characters.

I will admit that I was a late comer to the In Death party.  I knew that Nora Roberts had a long running series called In Death, but I just putting off reading it.  Then finally one day, while looking for some new audiobooks to listen to on my work commute, I received the In Death series as a recommendation.  I had been listening to Iris Johansen's Eve Duncan, Robert Ludlum's Bourne and Stuart Wood's Stone Barrington series. The In Death books were a natural progress.  I got the first 2 books in the In Death series on Cassette Tape from Paperbackswap.com.  Oh boy.  Loved THEM!  It wasn't long before I had to get the actual books to read and reread and read again.

Today, I have all the books in print, e-print & audio versions, and am slowly working on replacing the paperbacks with actual hardbacks for the older books.  I still go back and reread either sections or even whole books.  All I can say is that you really should pick one up.  Trust me on this, you won't be disappointed.  This particular title got 4 stars on Goodreads.  I am sure that I will reread it at minimum of twice before the next book comes out.

Goodreads:

On Manhattan's Upper East Side a woman lies dead at the bottom of the stairs, stripped of all her valuables. Most cops might call it a mugging gone wrong, but Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows better.

A well-off accountant and a beloved wife and mother, Marta Dickenson doesn't seem the type to be on anyone's hit list. But when Eve and her partner, Peabody, find blood inside the building, the lieutenant knows Marta's murder was the work of a killer who's trained, but not professional or smart enough to remove all the evidence.

But when someone steals the files out of Marta's office, Eve must immerse herself in her billionaire husband Roarke's world of big business to figure out who's cruel and callous enough to hire a hit on an innocent woman. And as the killer's violent streak begins to escalate, Eve knows she has to draw him out, even if it means using herself as bait. . . .