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Fantasy in Death (In Death #30)

4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 · rating details · 7,242 ratings · 531 reviews

The game started with a murder. Now, it's Eve Dallas's move.

It is the most puzzling case Eve Dallas has ever faced: the founder of the computer gaming giant U-Play is found decapitated in his locked, private playroom. And now Eve and her team are about to enter the next level of police work, in a world where fantasy is the ultimate seduction-and the price of defeat is dea...more

Paperback, 355 pages

Published July 27th 2010 by Berkley (first published January 1st 2010)

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Mar 15, 2010 Felicia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Wow, ok so I dunno what to say about this book. I LOVE these characters and the world and clearly I've stuck with the series for 30 frikkin' books, so I don't criticize lightly. Maybe because the subject matter is in my personal wheelhouse (gaming and fandom) that I'm particularly picky. Or the plot truly jumps the shark in a way unequaled since "Eve Dallas vs. the Clone World Takeover" episode (forget what book # that was, but if you read it you definitely know what I'm talking about.)

*SPOILERS...more

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Feb 15, 2011 Flannery rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction, nr, read-on-kindle, read-in-2011, reviewed-2011

Can someone really say that a plot felt formulaic when it is the THIRTIETH book in a series? I don’t really think so. *facepalm* Okay, well we’re back with badass Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her Irish billionaire stud of a husband, Roarke. This time, Dallas and Peabody are doing their thang in the homicide-detecting world and the victim in one of the founders of a video game design company. Normally, Nora Roberts/JD Robb is rather informative about the occupations of her characters and we get tons...more Can someone really say that a plot felt formulaic when it is the THIRTIETH book in a series? I don’t really think so. *facepalm* Okay, well we’re back with badass Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her Irish billionaire stud of a husband, Roarke. This time, Dallas and Peabody are doing their thang in the homicide-detecting world and the victim in one of the founders of a video game design company. Normally, Nora Roberts/JD Robb is rather informative about the occupations of her characters and we get tons of fun factoids about those jobs. (I’d like to give a shoutout to Nora for instilling me with knowledge about such random jobs as glass-blowing, breeding horses, winemaking, flipping property and drawing comics.) Though I’m sure other readers have felt this in other works during her prolific writing career, I felt like she was a little out of her element in the video game world. I’m no expert, but I’ve played hundreds of hours of video games and this whole element in the books was just…blah.

I’ve been a fan of this series from the get-go and I’m definitely going to continue but one thing that is driving me a little batty is (view spoiler)? I know Eve Dallas is not a typical character and Roarke’s and her pasts do not lend themselves to raising a child, (at least in their minds) but it is killing me.

Also, as an aside, I love the side characters as much as I love Eve and Roarke these days. Why not just call it a wash and start an offshoot with Peabody as the protag? Or maybe Trueheart? I'm getting sick of reading about Eve and Roarke and their "perfect connection" and Roarke being more tech-savvy than every hacker (yeah, right) and richer than every human.

OMG, maybe in the next one Roarke will lose all of his money and they will have to live on Dallas' income. Or wait, maybe they'll have octuplets. Maybe Roarke could have amnesia like Eric in the Sookie books and they'd have to rediscover their love...or Eve could mess up at work and Peabody could be lead detective. The possibilities are endless. Since I'm getting behind and the next one is already released, I'll just read on...but I bet it will just be more of the same:-/(less)

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Aug 01, 2011 Vanessa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: All Nora Roberts Fan and those who like a strong female cop or detective character.

Shelves: j-d-robb, keep, mp3, own, series, 2010-finished, 2011-finish

Okay, I really loved this latest installment. A lot of the secondary figures were included. It had a lot of great humor, and Eve seems to be mellowing some as she reflects on friendships and other personal matters. There was actually less sex in this one, and more romance. Eve and Roarke share a lot more intimacy, and it wasn't overdone.

The mystery was interesting and kind of techie, but since my daughter is a fiend for video games, I found that part interesting. It also gave Feeney and McNab a...more Okay, I really loved this latest installment. A lot of the secondary figures were included. It had a lot of great humor, and Eve seems to be mellowing some as she reflects on friendships and other personal matters. There was actually less sex in this one, and more romance. Eve and Roarke share a lot more intimacy, and it wasn't overdone.

The mystery was interesting and kind of techie, but since my daughter is a fiend for video games, I found that part interesting. It also gave Feeney and McNab ample opportunity to be part of the plot, (they're with the Electronics Division of the police dept), and their childlike responses to the all of the technical devices used was a great addition to the story. I also like the character of Callender, also with the "E" Dept. She's been mentioned in a few other books, and I hope she is featured a little more in future installments. I listened to the audio, and Susan Erickson does such a great job; you can tell who the characters are and they come across as the definite and unique personalities they were written to be. To me, writing great characters is Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb real strength, and she has a real partner in Susan Erickson.

Peabody was especially funny, and there were several times the exchanges between her and Eve had me laughing out loud. In fact, the conversation mentioned at the beginning of chapter 5 made tears come to my eyes, I was laughing so hard. Again, I'm a big fan of the audio. Susan Erickson has given Peabody such a unique voice and her inflections are perfect. The scene also provided an opportunity to mention Louise and Charles, and update the reader on their status. There were quite a few other humorous parts in the book as well. The scene with Trina, although relatively short from her other appearances, was well done, and as usual, hilarious.

One of the secondary characters highlighted is Nadine, the intrepid reporter Eve has, almost grudgingly, accepted as her friend. The couple exchanges with her were touching and funny. Nadine was originally highlighted in the second book of the series, Glory in Death, but in "Fantasy" the focus is in a much different direction. Another character that is highlighted a little more in this version is Prosecutor Rio, who Eve has also learned to like and respect.

Her last book was intense, and I feel Nora has listened to her fans and tried to make this book a little more about relationships and secondary characters. A lot of people really adore the characters, even more than the mystery, and this was a welcome change. I was hopefully anticipating this book would contain those relationships that I love and I was not disappointed!!

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Feb 23, 2010 Erika Badass rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4.5 stars.

What a wicked frosty book :P

It was more police procedural than epiphany of Eve and Roarkes relationship, we don't see as much Feeney, and no Charles and Louise (still on honeymoon) A short scene with Mavis and Nadine, but it's still an interesting read.

Some of Peabody's lines really cracked me up. I enjoy Peabody and Eve's dynamic.

I was glad to see the usual banter was back, I felt it was missing in Kindred, but that could have been because of the case itself, a sixteen year olds Rap...more

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May 24, 2012 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure-suspense

30th in the series. As anyone who follows me knows, I love this series. I don’t really connect with the books the author writes as Nora Roberts, but I love the characters and the character development in this series by J.D. Robb. While the last book in the series focused more on the crime, than on character development, this installment shows a lot of Eve’s growth as a wife and as a friend. Some of Eve and Roarke’s discussions about their relationship positively melted my heart (to the point whe...more

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May 03, 2012 Grace rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: futuristic, mystery

Craptastic.

Used to like certain ones of Nora Roberts' books, so wanted to see what her "futuristic" series are all about. It's not incredibly futuristic, with flying cars or whatever, just with additional technology, such as the autochef (to help you prepare meals) and some advanced remote controls.

Basically, the owner of this fantasy interactive video game gets killed alone in his locked-up apartment with only his droid-butler (that was turned off for the night). So who killed him?

Why this book...more Craptastic.

Used to like certain ones of Nora Roberts' books, so wanted to see what her "futuristic" series are all about. It's not incredibly futuristic, with flying cars or whatever, just with additional technology, such as the autochef (to help you prepare meals) and some advanced remote controls.

Basically, the owner of this fantasy interactive video game gets killed alone in his locked-up apartment with only his droid-butler (that was turned off for the night). So who killed him?

Why this book didn't do it for me and really sucked was because I felt the plot was dragged out for soooooooooo long for no good reason. We have the Lieutenant Dallas trying to act out the potential scene of the crime, and I know it's realistic that crimes are not solved overnight, but come on, this is a BOOK, can we just hurry it up? She goes through the suspect list not once but three times, and it's just sooooo tedious. Nothing new or exciting happens; she even goes to play the video game with her husband Roarke and ends up in a sex romp with him...which brings me to my final complaint:

The whole Roarke being the perfect man thing is so irritating. He's the PERFECT guy, in addition to being incredibly attractive, he also finds HER incredibly attractive, and he's so supportive that it just makes me want to barf. I mean, this is a book for grown-ups, right?

There was one scene in the book that made me just want to throw the book at the wall. It's where she dresses up to attend a banquet or something, and she's supposed to look really hot, right, all made-up, as opposed to how she usually is, which is no makeup and her office uniform. Well, Roarke, instead of gushing over her and stating how beautiful she looks (I'm assuming she's looking pretty hot and not like a transvestite), states evenly and logically, "This is a different look for you but you look very lovely. Just not the same."

Okay, what the freaking a. Is he a moron to state the obvious? And what guy doesn't like the girl to dress up if she's wearing the same thing every day? It is ridiculous, is what this book is.

TOTALLY DISGUSTED. WILL NOT READ THIS SERIES AGAIN.(less)

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Feb 07, 2011 William Bentrim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fantasy in Death by J. D. Robb

The not too distant future is the setting for Lt. Eve Dallas and her adventures. The entire series I have read so far is focused on homicide and the mystery that surrounds each murder. This book focuses on rpg. (role playing games) A group of loveable geeks is on the verge of paramount geekieness when they are beset with foul play.

Bart Minnock’s murder strikes a chord with Dallas, I suspect due to his naïve disposition and his vague similarity to Roarke. Roarke, on...more

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Oct 05, 2010 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fantasy in Death, a futuristic murder mystery about a death resulting from a vid game, becomes a game itself as Detective Eve Dallas has to face a deadly foe in a game that's stacked against her. J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas mysteries are delicious to read, even for non-science nuts. I happen to love anything Star Trekky, so I love these books. What I really like about the series is that Robb is able build a futuristic galaxy through the invention of language, clothing, transportation, and the other a...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Lynette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hmm. First let me begin by stating that I love, love, love Nora Robert's In Death series. I'm not a big devotee of her Nora Roberts novels, but I devour each In Death novel as soon as can. There is no doubt that Ms. Roberts is a fabulous writer and that Ms. Roberts excels at characters, and character development. Fantasy In Death is no exception. In this thirtieth book in the series, Eve and Roarke are just as fresh and interesting as they were in the first book. What I loved about this book are...more

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May 20, 2010 Cornerofmadness rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb

This is the latest installment in the length In Death futuristic mystery series by Robb and I have to say I liked this one better than the last two. Granted most of the Eve Dallas stories are good and easy reads, the last two had so many subplots revolving around her friends’ babies and weddings (mostly to illustrate Eve doesn’t know how to act like a woman. I’m so tried of that trope. Why can’t a woman be tough without acting like she has no idea what it is women do...more Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb

This is the latest installment in the length In Death futuristic mystery series by Robb and I have to say I liked this one better than the last two. Granted most of the Eve Dallas stories are good and easy reads, the last two had so many subplots revolving around her friends’ babies and weddings (mostly to illustrate Eve doesn’t know how to act like a woman. I’m so tried of that trope. Why can’t a woman be tough without acting like she has no idea what it is women do? That the only tough women have to be men who just happen to have two X chromosomes? I’m seeing that far too often any more)

Okay rant over and back to the story at hand. This story was cleaner, no subplots sucking away from the main action. In fact the only subplot is Nadine (TV reporter)’s new true crime book based on a Dallas/Peabody case and it only takes up a few scenes. The rest of the book is dedicated to the main action. Maybe I liked this one so much because it had to do with role-playing games and I’ve been a gamer for years.

The main plot is Bart Minnock built up a small but highly successful gaming company with two childhood friends plus a friend he met in college, Benny, Cill and Var respectively. Bart is trying out his new holo game only to be found in a locked room, beheaded the next day. Naturally Roarke, Eve’s ultra rich husband is also into game making and knew Bart and liked him, so that brings him into the story (though that’s one of the things that is beginning to annoy me with the series. We bring Roarke into everything any more. He either owns the building, employs the person involved etc etc anything to throw him into the mystery)

Granted, I figured out who, how and why halfway into this but that’s all right. I don’t mind that (I mind getting to the end and having the villain revealed and realizing you couldn’t have solved it with the clues given). This was just a fun story especially with Peabody and McNab going to a gaming convention in cosplay since yeah, I can relate to that. The other thing that I think helped this a little is Robb downplayed Eve’s horrible upbringing. In any mystery series, you expect them to retread important points for the new reader but the last few Robb had been hitting the child molestation Dallas suffered with a sledgehammer even when it wasn’t pertinent to the case. This time it was handled much more lightly. This book I gobbled up and enjoyed.
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May 17, 2010 Dianna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series-reading

I really enjoyed this addition to the Eve Dallas series. She contemplates a lot on friendship and the pros and cons of letting people into your life. Some of the books read speedy, but this one I enjoyed reading a bit more slowly (granted, I still got it all in about a day). J.D. Robb is the only author I've read to have ever made a happy marriage into a good romance.

The mystery was a fun one. They dealt with some awesome Star Trek-style technologies. When I first started this series I sarcasti...more

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Apr 07, 2010 LJ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: female_author, fictional_city, future, new_york_city, mystery, police_procedural

First Sentence: While swords of lightning slashed and stabbed murderously across the scarred shield of sky, Bart Minnock whistled his way home for the last time.

U-Play is a fast-rising gaming company with a quartet of co-owners. One of them takes the disk home for a game in development, and literally loses his head over it. Lt. Eve Dallas is faced with a locked-room mystery where she and her team have to find out not only who did it, but how it was done.

Reading Robb has always been one of my gui...more First Sentence: While swords of lightning slashed and stabbed murderously across the scarred shield of sky, Bart Minnock whistled his way home for the last time.

U-Play is a fast-rising gaming company with a quartet of co-owners. One of them takes the disk home for a game in development, and literally loses his head over it. Lt. Eve Dallas is faced with a locked-room mystery where she and her team have to find out not only who did it, but how it was done.

Reading Robb has always been one of my guilty pleasures. I enjoy her voice and her humor. Only Robb can write a conversation about private parts that is neither silly, salacious or scatological, but is laugh-out-loud funny. She has such a wonderful ear for dialogue and banter. I appreciated her references to books, literature, television and movies, including a delightful homage to “The Godfather.”

She also does a very good creating life in 2060; the not-too-distant future. It’s a tricky balance of making it seem possible but not fantastical…”It’s always fiction until science catches up.”

The focus of this book was relationships; friends, partners, lovers. It is nice watching Eve develop emotionally with each book and the sexual relationship with Roark, while still there, be less prominent. The usual supporting relationships were all there in a more cameo role than in the past, but they contributed to the theme.

Where the book fell apart a bit, for me, was the plot. It started off really well as a locked-room mystery. There were viable suspects and some good red herrings. However, because of the type of crime, it didn’t quite make sense that Eve was the one who came up with the solution; the logic, perhaps, but not the technicality. The final climatic scene seemed abrupt and over the top.

I did enjoyed the book, do still enjoy the series and know I’ll continue reading it, but would like to see Robb/Roberts change it up a bit.

FANTASY IN DEATH (Fut/Pol Proc-Det. Eve Dallas-NYC-Future/2060) – Good Robb, J.D. (aka Nora Roberts – 37th in series Putnam, ©2010, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780399156243

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Mar 09, 2010 Alli rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 09, 2010 Connie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

it gets a five because it's still my favorite series. and i love how she cranks them out for me.

however...i'm not sure what's up...is someone helping her crank them out? or have the last few installments been off the track a little? not sure, but the banter conversation was a lot better in this one than the last few. there were more humorous moment when they're working the case and getting on each other's nerves...which is how they're supposed to be with each other.

and i love observing the deepe...more

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Feb 27, 2010 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This, my fellow Eve and Rourke fans, is the the beginning of the end. Not in a horrible, "OMG, this series has totally gone downhill" but in the slow, beautiful way stories about couples come to a resolution. As Roberts says in the video on this page, people grow and change - Eve has had made amazing personal and emotional leaps from the first In Death novel and Rourke has been right beside her. "Fantasy" shows what happens when that growth starts to pay off. The entire time I was reading "Fanta...more This, my fellow Eve and Rourke fans, is the the beginning of the end. Not in a horrible, "OMG, this series has totally gone downhill" but in the slow, beautiful way stories about couples come to a resolution. As Roberts says in the video on this page, people grow and change - Eve has had made amazing personal and emotional leaps from the first In Death novel and Rourke has been right beside her. "Fantasy" shows what happens when that growth starts to pay off. The entire time I was reading "Fantasy in Death", I felt like I was reuniting with friends I hadn't seen since their wedding and was now watching them interact as a couple that is deeply and passionately in love. Granted, Roberts sets it up way with a consistent narrative thread around relationships but not once did I feel she was pushing Eve and Rourke as a couple in the reader's face. Each time it emerged, it made perfect sense and was delightful to read. This is a series about Eve and Rourke and some books have been relationship-lite and cop-heavy. "Fantasy" is the ideal balance. Because it is book 30, the ending scenes gave my heart a bit of a stutter but the resolution only reinforced the consequences of Eve's growth as a woman and a wife. There is one meta-moment that I read as a shout out to fans (an Eve and Rourke conversation echoes comments that Nora Roberts has made about the end of the series) that made me chuckle and the technology has gone into truly science fiction, reinforcing that this is a series set in 2058. Like any good scifi author, Roberts/Robb has given us enough science to make is plausible and enough fiction to make it cool.

Fans of the series will no doubt read this book because that's what you do when a new one comes out. If you are new to the series and wondering if this is a good starting point, I say yes. Joining Eve and Rourke and Peabody (who I argue is one of the best written sidekicks in fiction) this far in their relationships will only make the journey from the beginning that much more enjoyable.

As an aside, all authors (romance or not) can learn so much about Roberts/Robb's skill with dialog. At a pivotal moment, when in the hands of a lesser author, Eve might scream, shout, beat her fist against her breast - she simply said three words and sentence did more to communicate the depth of growth, emotion, and change in character than would seem possible.(less)

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Feb 20, 2010 Holly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 144-books-in-2010, february-2010, read-in-2010

The last few In Death books have kind of been off for me. It isn't that I didn't enjoy then, it's just that I didn't enjoy them as much as I expected to given the previous 5 billion books in the series. I went into this book with some trepidation because of that.

I really enjoyed Eve's case. A young entrepreneur is found decapitated inside his locked holo room. Security indicates he was the only one inside at the room, and in fact his whole apartment. Investigation shows the weapon to be a broad...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Roberta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Amo questa serie alla follia, ma confesso che ormai mi perdo. Senza l'ausilio della lista con tutto l'ordine dei titoli non mi ricorderei più a che punto siamo arrivati. Fantasy è il numero 31 della serie In Death. O perlomeno è il trentunesimo nella "mia" lista, perchè poi dipende da come si sceglie di numerare e considerare i racconti contenuti nelle antologie.

In questo titolo il gioco e la realtà virtuale vengono interrotti in maniera tagliente (letteralmente) dall'omicidio - apparentemente i...more

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Sep 08, 2011 M— rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, reviewed, journaled

Vegas Baby Vacation Read #3

I need to stop collecting this series. Fantasy was well up to par and Robb is, as she remains, a creative and massively fun novelist, but the plots of the In Death books are blurring in my head. I seem to read them now solely for the character interactions, caring little to none about the mystery involved, and I skipped around in this one quite a bit.

Case in point: In this volume, video games were involved. Peabody and McNabb geek out at a gaming convention. Furst's bo...more

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Aug 17, 2010 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Enjoyed this Eve Dallas book much more than the most recent ones. Roberts/Robb doesn't delve all the way into the back stories of the characters like she has done in the past few; also we don't have to go through Eve's emotional breakdown regarding her father in this book, either. It's brought up, discussed, and retired. Thank God!

LOVE how Robb imagines some of the future sci-fi stuff. Hologram rooms that allow you to participate in a fantasy game like you're there? Actually being about to feel...more

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Feb 28, 2010 KindleKay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, kindle-read, series

I was so pleased to see that Robbs latest release dropped in Kindle price to $6.39 a mere 2 weeks from release!! I snatched it up and dived in. My love of Eve and Roarke grew again as Robb did not disappoint.

I would not classify this book as one of the best, but it is gratifying none the less. Each book has a formula that works great for this reader. I love how in each book, the character develop more and more making each installment better than the last. This is one series that must be read in...more

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Feb 19, 2010 Izlinda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-crime

I was pretty surprised to get this book when I did. Amazon.com (still) has its release date as February 23rd and I had pre-ordered it from them, but then found out earlier this week that my public library had copies! Weird, but I'm not one to complain about saving myself money! Yay for canceling a pre-order! Got to read the book one week-ish before Amazon.com releases it. (Huh, strange. Barnes & Noble also has its release date as the February 23rd. Man, I love my public library even more!)

Go...more

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Apr 16, 2010 Lola4 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Leaps and bounds better than the robotic simulations of the ...in Death characters in the awful Kindred. Much more humor, warmth, relationship among the crew who actually got their old personalities back. However, the murder story itself wasn't the best. It struck me as too implausible even for a futuristic novel, and some spots with interviews, technical stuff, etc. were rather boring and dragged on too long. But, hey, at least it seemed original and wasn't just a rip-off of a Michael Connelly...more

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Jan 14, 2011 orannia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense

Four and a quarter stars. I have to confess, I'm no longer reading these books for Eve & Roarke. Roarke, even though he has an Irish accent (which I love), is just too perfect! He seems to be able to do...well...anything (or buy or create anything), and that's boring. And Eve? Well, she doesn't really change. Note I qualified that - she was a lot more open about how she feels about Roarke than in previous books. But...the not knowing about clothes and the hating Trina's activities...been the...more

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Aug 02, 2010 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

In Fantasy in Death the majority the progression of the storyline seemed too staged for me and some of the dialogue too canned. Since the victim has his head cut off there was quite a few one liners about being beheaded, detached, etc., and these just seemed unnecessary filler and silly. The scant action and overabundance of discussion made the plot stutter a bit, but the last 75 pages or so made up for the slow start. A lot of the ideas on "holonetics" were pretty frosty, as Peabody would say,...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Leya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: keeper-shelf, kindle

I finally got to read the latest In Death book, Fantasy In Death by JD Robb. I always look forward on reading this series, in fact I tend to re-read it a lot...I guess I need my fix of Eve and Rourke throughout the year.

This time around Eve is the primary on the murder of a computer gaming genius. He is found in a closed room. There is no sign of forced entry and there's no evidence of him letting anyone in.

I loved the mystery in this book. I thought the way that Bart was killed ingenious and tr...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Justin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First of all, on the rating: It wasn't quite a four for me, but it definitely wasn't only a three. And as I tend to be generous, I upgraded it to a four out of five.
I should note before I go farther, that I typically would not start a book that is in the middle of a series, much less the 30th book in that same series. Nonetheless, this book was given to me to read, so read it I did, out of order and all.
All in all, I enjoyed it. It was a compelling murder mystery, which I'm always up for. Fo...more First of all, on the rating: It wasn't quite a four for me, but it definitely wasn't only a three. And as I tend to be generous, I upgraded it to a four out of five.
I should note before I go farther, that I typically would not start a book that is in the middle of a series, much less the 30th book in that same series. Nonetheless, this book was given to me to read, so read it I did, out of order and all.
All in all, I enjoyed it. It was a compelling murder mystery, which I'm always up for. For those new to the series, the books take place sometime in the decade 2060. Basically, Bart Minnock, video game designer and creator, is found murdered in his holo room (a holographic chamber where video games are played) with air tight security surrounding him. He appears to have lost his head to a sword, which is certainly an unorthodox weapon now, let alone 50 years from now. Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her partner Delia Peabody, as well as her husband Rourke, delve into the mystery of this man's death as they try to figure out who would murder him and why.
Again, it was compelling and interesting, I particularly enjoyed the bits where they played the holographic games, which were often fantasy and right up my alley. The murderer, in my opinion, was a bit transparent. I had a strong sense of who it was within the first 50 pages, which, for me, is pretty amazing because usually I'm clueless for quite a while. The other characters are interesting and help to flesh out the story. There were, however, a few issues I had with the book.

First: The main character. Eve Dallas is a great lieutenant, understandably. She also seems to have a rather high opinion of herself. This wore on me a bit as the novel continued. I quickly got the feeling that pretty much nobody was as good as she was and that, often times, the way she spoke to them reflected that belief. There were instances I began to recognize as almost sarcastic with Eve, though a lot of the time she just came across as arrogant.

Second: The futuristic aspect. J.D. Robb is trying just a little too hard here. I understand that many things will change in the future, including our language. And perhaps she does explain some of these terms more in the earlier novels. In any event, I tripped over all of her futurist terms for about the first 200 pages, which became increasingly frustrating. There care some things that didn't make sense to me, like how they called television and lollipops something different, and why on earth does she have to go to such extravagant lengths to hide her chocolate bars? Is chocolate particularly rare in the future? Who knows. I suppose that, again, if I had started from the beginning that I would be more comfortable with this future world. As it is, it was an incredible distraction at first.

Third: Her relationship with her husband. Again, I've no knowledge of the previous books. I assume they've been married quite a while at this point. They got into close to 4 separate major arguments in the space of, like, 5 days in this book. And then they always seem to make up with some furious and unimportant sex. I get the feeling this occurs in every book. I know that Nora Roberts ( Who J.D. Robb really is) likes to write romantic sex books, but really, we get it. They're married. They have sex. A lot.

Okay, I'll stop nitpicking now.

Final Judgement: Overall, I enjoyed the story and the mystery. The futuristic aspect and the main character were stumbling blocks, but not so much that I didn't want to continue reading. Would I read another of these books? Most likely. Though I would definitely be starting at the beginning. (less)

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Apr 19, 2010 Alicia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can't remember reading a book in this series that disappointed me. The near future setting (with really cool techie toys), the tough detective who faces down hardened criminals and serial killers with ease but panics when she is confronted with babies and determined hairdressers, and a super hot, rich fantasy of a husband who adores his wife. Add to that a group of friends who have managed to recognize each other as soul mates and create a family that buoys each other up during hard times and...more

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Jan 29, 2011 Angie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, science-fiction, adult-fiction

There really wasn't a lot of suspense as to who the killer was in this book - you could really narrow it down to a select few within a couple of chapters. The book wasn't bad but it wasn't the greatest.

I really do think this series is getting stale. Robb needs to shake things up. The books are becoming very formulaic - you can almost write some of the dialog yourself as you are reading. Sure it is funny, but you know there are going to be comments about the stick up Sommerset's ass and there wil...more

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Oct 09, 2010 Paigersoccerfan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I finally finished reading this entire series, (until she writes the next one.) : ) I enjoyed them all and admired the author's skill at keeping names, events and characters straight from book to book. She manages to blend characters from previous books/cases into the more current ones, They take place in the near future and each book features the same couple, Lt. Eve Dallas of the NYSPD (New York Police Department) and her wealthy. Irish, drop dead gorgeous husband, Roarke. Their relationship e...more

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Nov 21, 2010 Photojim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-reads, fantasy-sci-fi, mystery, library-book

Almost to the end of the currently published books. Then what series will I use to fill the empty spaces? Slightly apprehensive about my prospects. One more and then not another until February? The first 30 have flown by.

Anyway, this installment in the In Death series makes a deep foray into hard science fiction territory. SF is one of the distinguishing characteristics of this series. I must applaud Ms. Robb/Roberts for her restraint in her use of technology to always be the answer. It would be...more

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About J.D. Robb

aka Nora Roberts

Eleanor Marie Robertson was born on October 10, 1950 in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A. She was the youngest of the five children, also the only girl, of a marriage with Irish ancestors. Her family were avid readers, so books were always important in her life. She attended a Catholic school and credits the nuns with instilling in her a sense of discipline. During her sophomore year...more aka Nora Roberts

Eleanor Marie Robertson was born on October 10, 1950 in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A. She was the youngest of the five children, also the only girl, of a marriage with Irish ancestors. Her family were avid readers, so books were always important in her life. She attended a Catholic school and credits the nuns with instilling in her a sense of discipline. During her sophomore year in high school, she transferred to a local public school, where she met Ronald Aufdem-Brinke, her future first husband.

In Augusy 17, 1968, as soon as she had graduated from High School, Eleanor married, against her parents' wishes. The marriage settled in Keedysville, Maryland. Her husband worked at his father's sheet-metal business before joining her parents in their lighting company. While, she worked briefly as a legal secretary. "I could type fast but couldn't spell, I was the worst legal secretary ever," she says now. After their sons, Dan and Jason, were born she stayed home. Calling this her "Earth Mother" years, she spent much of her time doing crafts, including ceramics and sewing her children's clothes. The marriage ended separating, and they obtained the divorce in January 1985.

In February 1979, a blizzard in forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old with no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate. During the now famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981 as Nora Roberts, a shortened form of her birth name Eleanor Marie Robertson, because she assumed that all authors had pen names.

Eleanor wrote under the pseudonym Jill March a story for a magazine titled "Melodies of Love".

Eleanor met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Her husband owns and operates a bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland called "Turn the Page Books". Since that time, they've expanded their home, traveled the world.

In 1992, she decided adopted other pseudonym so to publish a futuristic-suspense novels, she first decided to use the pseudonym D.J. MacGregor, but she discovered that this pseudonym was used by another author. In 1995, her first "In Death" serial novel was published under the pseudonym J.D. Robb, the initials "J.D." were taken from her sons, Jason and Dan, while "Robb" is a shortened form of Roberts.

Eleanor has also been known as Sara Hardesty, because when the "Born In" series was released in U.K. it carried that name instead of Nora Roberts. She has since changed publishers.

Eleanor has been plagiarized by another best-selling romance writer, Janet Dailey. The practice came to light after a reader read Nora Roberts' "Sweet Revenge" and Janet Dailey's "Notorious" back-to-back; she noticed several similarities and posted the comparable passages on the Internet. Calling the plagiarism "mind rape," Eleanor sued Janet Daily. In 1997, Janet, admitted to repeatedly plagiarizing from Nora Roberts' work, and that both "Aspen Gold" and "Notorious" lifted heavily from Nora Roberts's work. Both of those novels were pulled from print after Janet's admission. She acknowledged the plagiarism and blamed it on a psychological disorder. In a settlement, Janet paid Eleanor an undisclosed sum, which Eleanor donated to the Literacy Volunteers of America.

A founding member of the Romance Writers of America (R.W.A.), she was the first inductee in the organization's Hall of Fame. She also is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. (less)

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“Do you think the penis ever gets tired?"

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Anybody's. I mean anybody with one. Does the penis ever just think: for God's sake pal, give it a rest? Or is it all: Woo-who!! Here we go again!” — 107 people liked it

“Hotter than a fuck in hell.” — 38 people liked it

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Fantasy in Death (In Death #30)

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