Iron Man, In Death Series, Buddy Read Challenge [Next Release: #61 Framed in Death -- September 2nd, 2025] Showing 451-500 of 1,917

[Nyssa]

I just finished Chapter 12 of Conspiracy in Death.

All I can say is, Damn!!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I never really did a good job of following through on that suggestion of tracking character appearances in each book of the series, as Choko suggested...

In my defense, the wiki does it so well, and I was just copying selected data over from there:

Book 1) https://indeath.fandom.com/wiki/Naked...
Book 2) https://indeath.fandom.com/wiki/Glory...
Book 3) https://indeath.fandom.com/wiki/Immor...
Book 4) https://indeath.fandom.com/wiki/Raptu...
Book 5) https://indeath.fandom.com/wiki/Cerem...
Book 6) https://indeath.fandom.com/wiki/Venge...
Book 7) https://indeath.fandom.com/wiki/Holid...
Book 7.5) https://indeath.fandom.com/wiki/Midni...
Book 8) https://indeath.fandom.com/wiki/Consp...

[Monika]

Called library today... They still waiting for books for me... Eh... Possibly buying would be faster :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Started Midnight in Death (#7.5)... it's like an extension of the previous book... crime on Christmas Day, starting at midnight and I think ending at midnight... 24hr crime... less than 6hrs after end of #7...

EDIT: never mind, I checked the wiki... 7 days, from midnight Christmas to the ball falling on New Year's Eve/Day...

[Nyssa]

I don't know that I have ever wanted to murder a fictional character as much as I wanted to with (view spoiler)[Ellen Bowerd (hide spoiler)]!!

Conspiracy in Death is intense!!

I think my favorite part of the story was Roarke. He shines in this installment! Mira was a bright spot too.

It was also lovely seeing how (view spoiler)[everyone in Eve's circle has her back 100%, (hide spoiler)] not that there was any doubt.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Nyssa wrote: "I don't know that I have ever wanted to murder a fictional character as much as I wanted to with [spoilers removed]!!

Conspiracy in Death is intense!!

I think my favorite part of ..."

(view spoiler)[even Summerset...

"She apologized to me. Something must be done."

(hide spoiler)]

I haven't done my re-read, yet, but I saw a reddit thread or GR thread with people talking about it, the other day... I was trying to find when the antagonism smooths out, a bit...

[Nyssa]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I think my favorite part of ..."

(view spoiler)"

Oh yes! I forgot. (view spoiler)[ It's sad that he can only be nice to her when she's not looking! But it was clear that he was starting to warm up to her---a little --- when he offered to help her get the Christmas gift for Roarke. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Nyssa wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "I think my favorite part of ..."

(view spoiler)"

Oh yes! I forgot. [spoilers removed]"

From what I read in my recheck, (view spoiler)[he doesn't speak plainly to her about Eve/Roarke, until book 24 or so, when a woman (maybe from Roarke's past) comes along, that fits all the criteria of what Summerset acts like he wanted for Roarke all along, but Summerset says that that woman would use Roarke and throw him away for fun / on a whim, but Eve loves him unconditionally and doesn't care about the perks, and would do anything to protect him... (hide spoiler)]

[JL]

Just checking in.. I have been binging these books. They are fun easy reads for the end of the year. I am in the middle of Holiday in Death right now and enjoying the part where (view spoiler)[Peabody and McNab go undercover. It just started but I can tell it is going to be so entertaining to read. Can't wait.

Ceremony in Death was the first time I really did not like Eve's approach in the interrogation room. Even Peabody was was questioning her. Eve cut him a new one and brought up his trauma. I felt so bad for him and would not have been surprised to find out he killed himself after their session together. Also I really did not like how she spoke to Peabody after she questioned her methods and I especially did not like the make-up scene between them either. I think Eve should have apologized first and also been the only one to have to apologize.

I am glad they made up though. (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

JL, I hear ya! I felt the same. At times Eve is so rigid with her job and how she is relentless about it, that she forgets that people around her are humans with feelings... She gets obsessed with finding the killer, which is a good thing for the justice system, but not so good for the people in her life. I love her drive, but her antisocial upbringing shows its ugly head in her inability to act normally with anyone outside work... I think it is a big part of who she is, so it's part of why I like her so much... But I think she gets better as time goes by...

Nyssa, I haven't gotten there yet, but you are getting me all excited about it:)

[Nyssa]

Two books that I feel exhibit Eve behaving badly are:

Ceremony in Death, where (view spoiler)[ she showed absolute contempt and disdain towards others' beliefs. Pure discrimination! One does not have to believe in something to be respectful to the believers, especially in that capacity of one's job. (hide spoiler)]

And Holiday in Death where (view spoiler)[her anxiety about the Holiday season made her bristle at everyone around her! It was great seeing Peabody stand up to her, though! (hide spoiler)]

I was annoyed during both of those reads, but I realized it is more enjoyable when the characters are flawed like real human beings instead of being cookie-cutter perfect.

On a completely different note, something Eve said in Conspiracy in Death has me wondering - Does Summerset take care of that entire estate by himself? It sounds enormous!

[Choko]

Nyssa, absolutely! Perfect characters are boring!!! All the flaws bring conflict, and conflict makes for a fun read:)))

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

It IS enormous… the elevator goes horizontal AND vertical…

[Choko]

They must have bots for the actual cleaning though...

[Tonari no Emily]

Choko wrote: "They must have bots for the actual cleaning though..."

Good point... Also I think they hire other people for stuff too right? I remember getting that impression, but I don't know if we met any of the staff. I could just be assuming...

[Nyssa]

Based on what Eve said, they don’t have droids, that’s why I was wondering.
They do hire staff for parties and events, but there is no mention of the day to day other that Summerset.

[JL]

Timelord Iain wrote: "The Susan Erickson versions of the story are best... she's the US / Audible narrator, and has the distinct Peabody/etc voices I'm used to...

Hoopla has an audiobook for book 1 that has a different..."

Yes I agree! I recall the honeymoon when Eve yells because she does not want to be back on the space transporter. I recall thinking I had not heard a narrator yell so loud while reading. It was great!

[JL]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Peabody gets the best one-liners / responses to Eve's straight man routine...

Yes Iain, I completely agree with you. I wish I had started tracking those Peabodyisms early on.

[Choko]

I am reading Midnight in Death #7.5... So, it starts in the morning after #7 ended, the day after Christmas, and it seems like it's aimed at ending on New Year's Eve... Another very gruesome killing and this time Eve knows who the killer is, but is trying to catch him... I feel absolutely horrible for his parents! And poor Peabody, she is trying to get better, thus leaving Roarke as Eve's "assistant":)

[Choko]

Just finished Midnight in Death #7.5 and I really liked it!!! It was full of substance for a short novella... I got to read the Kindle edition and although it went slower, I enjoyed it. However, I love the audio narrator for the series and am planning to continue with the audio:)))

The killer here was a piece of work! I guess they always are, but (view spoiler)[ the casual way in which he was torturing his victims was straight up disturbing! And when he took our good doctor, I was ready to go look for him myself!!! The ending was very satisfying!!! (hide spoiler)]

I am jumping straight into #8... It is January 2059... As Iain mentioned, the tight timeline started in book 7... Just hours separated book 7 and 7.5, and I think just couple of days to the start of book #8... And Peabody is back! The present exchange was sweet. And the first victim kind of made me really sad... The paper flowers were what did me in. She knows how to tug at my emotions...

Moris, the medical coroner, is always so nice, she has really found a way for him to bring zen every scene he is in...

The street lady cop, Bowers, seems to be a horrible person to have to work with, but we get to meet the fresh out of the academy rookie, Troy Trueheart! I love, love, love that kid!!! When you team him up with the venomous Bowers, it's like light and dark... I hope Eve adopts him into her tribe, so he doesn't get disillusioned and becomes just another lackluster cop...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Choko wrote: "Just finished Midnight in Death #7.5 and I really liked it!!! It was full of substance for a short novella... I got to read the Kindle edition and although it went slower, I enjoyed it. However, I ..."

Been trying to avoid spoiling everything :D

(view spoiler)[Trueheart becomes Carmichael's Peabody rookie, in short order... (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

Still book #8. We just met the doctor Louise! I had no idea we met her this early in the series...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Started #8... I think Bowers appeared once before, but she seems like she's going to be a problem, here...

[Nyssa]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Started #8... I think Bowers appeared once before, but she seems like she's going to be a problem, here..."

I don't remember her from before 8.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Nyssa wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Started #8... I think Bowers appeared once before, but she seems like she's going to be a problem, here..."

I don't remember her from before 8."

Maybe I'm confusing her with a nameless patrol cop that had a similar attitude at a crime scene... because the wiki agrees with you... this isn't the first female patrol cop to give Dallas attitude...

[Nyssa]

It could be -- but Bower's is unforgettable (no matter how hard you try!)

[Tonari no Emily]

Yeah barely started #8 and she's definitely a piece of work!

[Nirkatze]

Tonari no Emily wrote: "ended up reading Midnight in Death too... which was basically the same format as her novels, just a quicker time frame.. but the baddie in this one was seriously sadistic my gods (I guess they are ..."

I finished this off on the plane last weekend--I was thinking it interesting that the killer was a known factor from the start--which could also have contributed to the story being cut to novella size... didn't have to go through the whodunit part, just the howchatchem bit.

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "Nyssa, absolutely! Perfect characters are boring!!! All the flaws bring conflict, and conflict makes for a fun read:)))"

So true--and great points for when Eve was out of line there--I also think, in Holiday in Death (view spoiler)[when she starts in on Peabody for bringing Charles to the party was out of line... I can see maybe because he was still a person of interest in the investigation, but being a CL shouldn't matter. That doesn't keep him from being a decent human being. (hide spoiler)]

She has to have to mistakes to learn from them, right? Eventually... still waiting...

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "Just finished Midnight in Death #7.5 and I really liked it!!! It was full of substance for a short novella... I got to read the Kindle edition and although it went slower, I enjoyed it. However, I ..."

Just started #8! Just met evil Bowers. Wow. Being in her head is something else. Really hoping she gets the truth shoved down her piehole someday... Nice to hear that the rookie is a recurring character though! Seems like a sweet kid.

[Nyssa]

I've been slowly reading Loyalty in Death. My loan renewal of the omnibus ends in 6 days, and I don't know if they will let me extend it again.
There is a scene (view spoiler)[between Peabody & McNab (hide spoiler)]* that just set off all of my "nooo!" alarms.
Then I remembered this was written in the late '90s, early oughts, and that sort of thing was considered (view spoiler)[romantic.
But if someone I weren't already seeing tried to kiss me in the middle of an argument, and without my consent, I probably would have bitten them - and not in a cute/sexy way! (hide spoiler)].
(* The subjects of this spoiler may be considered a no-brainer, and I think we discussed it earlier, but just in case, I've used tags anyway to prevent potential surprises).

Roarke owns (view spoiler)[Radio City Freaking Music Hall (hide spoiler)]!! (This IS a spoiler btw)

[Nirkatze]

About 1/6 in to #8 Conspiracy in Death...

Trying to keep track of new people introduced, but don't a bad job of it. :) With the name, and what's going on, I'm very curious about what the "conspiracy" is... (view spoiler)[I'm betting the heart wasn't taken for what organs are usually purchased for nowadays on black markets--not a transplant. Some kind of experimental science-y thing? Something from the street sleeper's past? Maybe connected to that strange "you have done something illegal" computer "error"? Not sure why I'm even bothering guessing so much--I'm sure most of this will be eliminated pretty quick! I do like guessing though.

Does the "conspiracy" refer to Bowers trying to put Eve on report, or the actual case? (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Near the end of #8: (view spoiler)[rough one to read, with Dallas taking things so personally... but maybe it'll be good for her character growth?... (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Are we ever going to have a book Roarke isn't at least tangentially involved xD In Conspiracy in Death towards the beginning we find out (view spoiler)[ of course he owns the company with organ transplant stuff... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Are we ever going to have a book Roarke isn't at least tangentially involved xD In Conspiracy in Death towards the beginning we find out [spoilers removed]"

Hah! So true! Then again, maybe looking at it another way--is there anything that Roarke doesn't have his fingers in?

2 hours in on #8 Conspiracy--30% ish--interviewing Roswell--(view spoiler)[I just rather like this comeback:
"I did this by the book!"
"Then your book is missing some pages."
and later, Peabody: "Unlike some, I know all the pages."

It's nice to see Eve reaming out someone who deserves it. I enjoyed that as much as Finney and Peabody. (hide spoiler)]

More theories: (view spoiler)[Wondering if maybe the "Conspiracy" is some dirty cops and dirty doctors--that line from when Eve interviewed that first surgeon is sticking with me. Someone from that one division which birthed Bowers & Roswell is on the take for a Frankenstien-y doctor... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "Still book #8. We just met the doctor Louise! I had no idea we met her this early in the series..."

Oh hey! Just hit this scene! I like her so far. Also cool to hear y'all re-reader's notes, to know who becomes recurring!

Though I guess that also means (view spoiler)[the killer isn't her. (hide spoiler)]

Eve & Peabody--as much as their continued antagonism feels overly extended, after all they've been through--I'm starting to get that they both prefer it that way--especially in this book, #8, where Eve is looking for Peabody so she can have someone to take her temper out on... they both know each other well enough, and are so opposite in opinions, that it's like they're safe to rip into each other... I doubt anything they could say to each other would actually hurt, now that they know the actual off-limits pieces about each other...

[Choko]

So true about feeling safe to take their tempers on each other! I have a BFF like that and I know that she knows me well enough to know that I just vent and doesn't take it personally...

Roarke has his fingers in all the pies:)))

Another very telling thing about when the books were written. Eve was wondering why Louise doesn't live in a fancy NY apartment, since she has "a quarter of a million in trust fund money"... Haha! Nowadays it could barely cover a down payment! Can you imagine in 40 years? That is funny:)))

I really enjoyed this one. I liked how much JDR made me hate the dirty cops and all the hurt feelings Iain mentioned. It is more fun when there are so many different emotions...

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "So true about feeling safe to take their tempers on each other! I have a BFF like that and I know that she knows me well enough to know that I just vent and doesn't take it personally...

Roarke h..."

Hah! I just had mental image of Roarke looking guilty with fingers in all the pies. XD

re: 1/4 million bit--and Roarke even replies with something like "That doesn't buy what you think it does anymore..." no kidding! I mean, that's just 250k... that's not even a house in most rural places nowadays.... unless you want something really tiny and old...

Just hit the 2/3s mark in #8--oof, that is a big sucker punch. (view spoiler)[but now am seeing the conspiracy--getting Eve off the case... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Almost up to the end on #8... the whole medical angle is making me think of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers--I haven't read it, but I had a friend who did, and listened to them recount the history of corpses and medical advancement... things like the surgical theaters of the 1800s, grave robbing, alchemy... medical science owes a lot to the macabre and illegal experimentation...

[Nirkatze]

Finished #8! Yay! Looking forward to #9 on Monday. I'm going to need it when vacation is over. >.<

[Tonari no Emily]

Nirkatze wrote: "Almost up to the end on #8... the whole medical angle is making me think of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers--I haven't read it, but I had a friend who did, and listened t..."

Oooh I really liked that one! I got on a Mary Roach kick a few years ago.. Made me think wayyy too much on what I want to do with my body after death lol

[Tonari no Emily]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Near the end of #8: [spoilers removed]"

I was wondering why we were getting more trauma dreams from her in this book (view spoiler)[ but with her being suspended it definitely opened up some of the worst trauma... And I can't (well I can, cuz Eve) believe she would willingly put herself through more strenuous examination than actually needed! (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

I hope with all the support she received (view spoiler)[ when she was so low really drives home the point she ISNT alone anymore... She had everyone checking up on her and trying to support her any way they knew how... (hide spoiler)]

Also like Nirkatze mentioned earlier about Peabody/Eve's relationship is kinda the same for Summerset/Eve (view spoiler)[ he deliberately was his normal cranky self around her and was disturbed she just took it! I think them picking at eachother is routine/comforting at this point... (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

I agree. Routine brings comfort when your daily job is dealing with the insanity of murder... And she loves grouching at Summerset:)))

[Nirkatze]

Yeah, it's really nice to see this whole family of supporting cast gel around Eve (and Roarke)--I can see what y'all were saying about getting in it for the mysteries and staying for the characters.

[Nyssa]

I am almost finished with Loyalty in Death.

I haven't really been feeling this one, but I think it's more stress-related on my part than the story itself.

I do want to say, though, that in her brief appearance, I now officially love Mavis.

I've viewed her all this time as Eve's spacy, bubbly, sometimes naive, and often annoying friend. But she's good people and more intelligent than she appears.

[Tonari no Emily]

Nyssa wrote: "I am almost finished with Loyalty in Death.

I haven't really been feeling this one, but I think it's more stress-related on my part than the story itself.

I do want to say, though..."

Excited to see that side from Mavis for the next book!

[Choko]

Nyssa, new year, new stresses... I am sorry... Life keeps on going and trying to involve us in its drama... Let's have a toast for less stress and more leisure and joy this year!

[Choko]

Nirkatze, vacation is almost over...:((( Back to the daily grind and I wish you all it is not as grindy and less difficult, so we all have time for the people and books we love and enjoy:)))

[Tonari no Emily]

Choko wrote: "Nirkatze, vacation is almost over...:((( Back to the daily grind and I wish you all it is not as grindy and less difficult, so we all have time for the people and books we love and enjoy:)))"

I'm wishing for that too!