Sunday, September 25, 2011

New York to Dallas

Author: J. D. Robb
Publisher: Putnam (Penguin)
Released: 2011
Series: In Death
Genre: Futuristic Police Procedural

Lieutenant Eve Dallas has to face more demons in this latest installment of the In Death series. A monster she helped put away in her early days as a cop has escaped and sends a personal message to Eve, eventually drawing her to Dallas, where her worst nightmare resurfaces.

In this one, there are many deviations from the established routines of the In Death books. And I'm somewhat ashamed to admit it, but I think I missed the snarkiness of New York almost as much s Eve did! But the rhythm of the Dallas operation works in its own way.

And the tone of the whole book is also different - more vulnerable, I think, more introspective. Sure, there's still murder and mayhem, but more than the usual percentage of the book is Eve dealing with all the emotional backlash of dealing with a case like this. I like it - last book, Treachery in Death, dealt with Eve's reasons for becoming a cop, and I think New York to Dallas continues the theme of exploring and dealing with her past and her emotions.

The rhythm of the whole operation being different is partly due to the change in location, but also partly due to the fact that there is no "suspect," because they know right off the bat who they're looking for, and it's just a chase to find him, not to identify him. There are a few close calls, and the only thing that let me know the attempt wouldn't work was that there were too many pages left to the end of the book!

As usual, the relationship between Eve and Roarke is stunning. Roarke himself is somewhat vulnerable in this one, because he feels so strongly about what Eve has to go through. They have their huge fight, of course, but the tender moments - and there are a lot of them - are breathtaking.

So while the book left me with a feeling slightly different from the usual In Death feeling, it's still a great book, and it makes me wonder what direction J.D. Robb will take for the next one!

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