I still keep reading the In Death books by J.D. Robb, but the characters have become so familiar by now that there needs to also be a strong mystery to keep my attention. The books in the series that work the best have a good mix of plot and character. This one had the characters but the plot was lacking.
Calculated in Death by J.D. Robb
(2013, Suspense) 3/6/13
Grade: 3
It looks like a mugging gone wrong, but Eve realizes there’s more to the murder of Marta Dickenson, an accountant who may have audited the wrong account. As more bodies pile up, Eve and Roarke have to search for clues among the financial elite.
This wasn’t one of J.D. Robb’s best books. The characters are still interesting, but there were too many similar suspects in this case. The potential murderers didn’t have much personality, and I spent over half the book confused about which one was which. They just seemed blah and interchangeable. The book picked up in the last third, and I always appreciate seeing Peabody and the other secondary characters, but this book just didn’t stand out compared to others in the series.
It’s hard to find a good police procedural, and even rarer to find one with interesting characters (and a happy ending – it seems like most police detectives in fiction are depressive loners). So I keep reading the J.D. Robb books even though they are outrageously pricey and don’t hit every time.
Karen Wheless
Latest posts by Karen Wheless (see all)
- Love Irresistibly by Julie James - June 18, 2013
- Vacation Reading - June 17, 2013
- The Way Home by Megan Chance - June 1, 2013