Rapture in Death (In Death) | J.D. Robb | An Interesting Blend of Romance and Mystery

Rapture in Death (In Death) | J.D. Robb | Riveting Rapture

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Rapture in Death (...

	Rapture in Death (In Death) J.D. Robb Berkley, 1996 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 55 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An Interesting Blend of Romance and Mystery

J.D. Robb has found an interesting niche in this futuristic romantic series. Primarily a romance writer, her books are appealing but predictable. Stereotypical characters (rich guy meets average gal and falls hopelessly in love) are given lively originality. Still, the romance is fantasy in its purest form and is bound to capture the hearts of women everywhere who daydream about these same unlikely scenarios. Unfortunately, the series was recommended to me as a mystery series. While the crimes and police procedure of 2058 are a curiosity, Robb doesn't deliver any suspense. I mention this because when I reached this book, the 4th in the series, I knew instantly what the crime was going to be. And I mean instantly. I'll continue to read the series because I enjoy the characters, however implausible the situations. The books hit all the right buttons for those who love strong women with inner vulnerabilities; just don't expect to be challenged by the mystery elements.

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Riveting Rapture

The primaries are back - Eve/Roarke/Peabody/Feeney/Sommerset. This story centers around suicides of unlikely candidates, not connected to one another other than the fact that they took their own lives while being basically happy, fulfilled citizens. Eve needs to find the reason why and the source of the problem - could it have something to do with the fact that virtual reality tours in the year 2058 are more exciting and realistic? Eve and Roarke are just coming back from their honeymoon with no time to rest in between murders. The plot is great as in all "In-Death" books. This was a re-read for me as I am waiting for the next book in the series to be released this Fall. Enjoy.

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Engaging= good mystery waiting to be solved + romance + fast-paced action + very interesting characters

"Rapture in death" is the 4th book in J. R. Robb's futuristic "In death" series. I believe that this book is just as good as the previous ones, even though it has some scenes that are extremely unsettling. Despite that, "Rapture in death" has all the ingredients that make this series so engaging, that is a good mystery waiting to be solved plus romance, fast-paced action and very interesting characters.

It is the year 2058, and Lieutenant Eve Dallas is enjoying her honeymoon with Roarke, a handsome billionaire with a highly unorthodox past. Unfortunately, not even in a resort far from Earth can Eve escape murder, as she has to deal with the death of a young man who commits suicide. The case seemed deplorable but simple enough, until once back to Earth and her job in the New York Police Department Eve realizes that there might be a connection between that death and new ones, due to the fact that all the deceased committed suicide, had virtual reality machines, and small burns in their brains.

Along with her faithful aide Peabody, Captain Feeney and her "civilian expert" Roarke, Eve will try to find who is to blame in this mortal game where mind control is a factor that must be taken into consideration. Those who have already read the other books in the series, will be happy to know that they will meet again previous friends, for example Mavis and Nadine.

All in all, I think that you are likely to enjoy "Rapture in death", if you can get past the scenes I talked about at the beginning of this review. In my opinion, it is worthwhile trying to do so. Finally, and in case you are new to this series, I recommend you to read the books in the correct order, instead of starting with this one, because you will enjoy each one of them even more in that case. That having been said, happy reading :)

Belen Alcat

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Entertaining ....

Eve and Roarke are back in the 4th installment of Roberts' 'In Death' series. This one has the newly married Eve, investigate a string of on-the-surface unrelated suicides - one of which occurs on her honeymoon.

This book is entertaining, however I didnt like it as much as the previous 3 books. Maybe, I'm just getting tired of Roberts' style :) It really amuses me the number of ways she finds to describe Roarke at the beginning of each book - saint and sinner, poet and pirate, angel and fallen angel (? no, i'm not as creative as Roberts') and another thing that amuses me (or irritates) is the fascination every single character has for Eve. So, she's a tough cop with a battered background, there must be tons of them out there and she certainly doesnt deserve the intense psychoanalysis that every other character indulges in regarding her. But, knowing Roberts' romance background, all this is just par for the course.

The thriller elements are done in typical Roberts style, giving just enough and no more. I'm a person who really likes knowing the details of any element a writer introduces, be it space travel or even forensic investigations and a writer like Roberts who glosses over details leaves me wanting more.

However, all said and done, the one thing that brings me back to reading her books are the characters. She rarely gets anybody wrong, and the humor, independance of and interaction between her major characters esp. Eve, Roarke and Mavis make for a highly entertaining read. So, if you know what to expect with Robb/Roberts this one is good enough, if not read some of the others with better storylines ...

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Doesn't live up to the hype

I have read the first four novels of the Eve Dallas series and, I must confess, I don't understand what all the excitement is about. Because Eve Dallas is such a "kick ass" heroine, I want to like these books. But I find them boring and uninspiring. When the story focuses on Eve grappling with her past, it's interesting. But the other elements -- the futuristic sci-fi, the mystery/thriller and supporting characters -- fall flat. This particular book's plot was not good. First, I knew how the victims were being killed, and who the killer was, about a quarter of the way through the book. And I'm no rocket scientist. So the fact that it took Eve another 100 pages to figure it out was not inspiring. Second, the killer is using "virtual reality" technology to control the victims' minds. But the author spends absolutely no time explaining how this is scientifically possible. How does the brain work? What is the science behind subliminal messages? The author explains none of this, using the cop out (no pun intended) that Eve is a cop and not a scientist. Yet the experts that Eve consults speak in such vague generalizations, it's clear that it is the author who is in above her head.

Another distracting aspect of these novels is that the future described by the author (2058) clearly will not actually exist in 2058. The author significantly overestimated how quickly technology would advance. Fifty years from now, we're NOT going to have a comprehensive auto freeway system in the sky, food replicators, extremely advanced robots that appear convincingly human. We might have one of those, but not all. Again, this just underscores that sci fi is not this author's strong point.

In short, everything about these books seems so dated: the future that seems a rip off of Blade Runner; the retro romance plot (poor girl marries gorgeous billionaire who makes his money in vague business ventures and just wants to take care of said poor girl). Don't think I can read any more of these.

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