Devoted In Death by J.D. Robb
Pros: solved with good old-fashioned investigative work
Cons: Eve is a bit annoying
Devoted In Death is a 2015 addition to J.D. Robb’s In Death series. Like all books in the series, we’re in the future (mid-2000’s) and watching N.Y. Homicide Lieutenant Eve Dallas as she works with her team to solve murders.
In this book, we meet a couple of killers. Unlike most books in the series, we know exactly who the perps are, we’re introduced to them from the get-go. We know exactly what drove them to the path they’re on, what they’re doing and where they’re doing it. No mystery for us to solve – we just get to watch Eve follow the clues to catch up to us.
Letting us in on the mystery from the very beginning is a different technique. I would say that it worked, it was a refreshing change of pace. However, it comes with one drawback. We are completely privy to the thoughts and actions of the killers. And, in this case, their thoughts and actions are extremely evil. We’re talking a level of violence and depravity and disregard for human life that goes beyond the pale. It takes a lot, sometimes, to read of evil to this degree, and some readers will be put off, for sure.
That aside, if you can stand the violence, Devoted In Death is a very good book. We get very good investigative work. It was refreshing that Eve is helped by a small-town sheriff. And that the sheriff is not a caricature of “small-town folk” but an intelligent man whose help on the case proves invaluable.
I also liked that “the team” solved this difficult case using old-fashioned common sense, logic, and pavement-pounding. Despite the fact that it’s 2061, and there are new-fangled devices, nothing “magic” was used to solve this case. Eve worked it the same as she would in today’s world.
My only complaint is a minor one. Robb likes to infuse Eve with several flaws, and she plays them for comedic relief. In this book, Eve is constantly getting tripped up by time zones, and trying to figure out what time it is in another location, and getting upset when the answers aren’t “logical” to her way of thinking. Things like this are cute, but not when they’re overused. Sadly, by the fourth or fifth time, it was just tiresome. Still, this is a minor complaint.
In general, I enjoy the In Death series, and Devoted In Death is one of the better ones.
Other books in the In Death series
Betrayal In Death
Celebrity In Death
Ceremony In Death
Concealed In Death
Divided In Death
Festive In Death
Glory In Death
Haunted In Death
Immortal In Death
Indulgence In Death
Innocent In Death
Interlude In Death
Judgment In Death
Midnight In Death
Missing In Death
Naked In Death
Obsession In Death
Origin In Death
Rapture In Death
Reunion In Death
Salvation In Death
Strangers In Death
Survivor In Death
Treachery In Death
Vengeance In Death
Visions In Death