dragonfire88's Full Review: J. D. Robb - Visions in Death
A few years ago I decided to read Naked in Death by J.D. Robb. The book was the first in an ongoing series. I was hooked immediately and have read all the books in the series. I just finished reading Visions in Death, the nineteenth book in the series.
I am going to explain a little bit about the series in general before I get into specifics about Visions in Death.
Every book in the series has had its own plot. There have been a few short stories in the series as well that have had stand alone plots. Sometimes things that happened in previous books are mentioned in the current book. I do think that it is best to read the books in order. Some things won’t make any sense if the books are read out of order or if some of the books are skipped. Several of the returning characters have changed and grown over the course of the books. That would be missed if they are read out of order.
The same group of main characters returns for each book. Eve Dallas, a homicide detective in New York City, and her husband Roarke have been in every book. Eve has a different murder investigation in each book. Roarke usually ends up involved in the cases someway. Feeney, the detective that trained Eve, now worked in the Electronic Detective Division. He helped Eve on most of her cases. Delia Peabody had been Eve’s aide and was now her partner. The two women had become friends. Delia was involved with Ian McNab, a detective in the EDD. They were getting ready to move in together. Ian worked on Eve’s cases as well. Summerset, Roarke’s butler, has turned up in most of the books, but his part has been smaller in the last several books. Summerset and Eve act like they can’t stand each other most of the time. Some other characters like Mavis and her boyfriend Leonardo don’t turn up as often. Mavis was Eve’s best friend. Mavis was pregnant, something that freaked out Eve and Roarke. Dr. Mira was a psychiatrist that worked for the police. Eve consulted with her on her cases to help build a profile for the suspects. Nadine was a reporter for one of the networks. She and Eve had developed a friendship, and Eve tended to give Nadine interviews about the cases she worked on.
The In Death series is set mostly in New York City in the future. Visions in Death is set in the summer of 2059. Travel around the world is much faster, and space travel is normal. There are even colonies and vacation destinations in space. Some things in a few of the books have taken place in other cities on Earth or even somewhere in outer space. There are several futuristic gadgets like the Auto-Chef. That is a machine that produces fully cooked food with just the press of a few buttons. I want one of those things. Some things are life in the future are different. Cars can still drive on the road, but they can also fly. The police carry stunners instead of guns, which are illegal. Prostitution is legal, and they are called licenced companions. Drugs are still a problem, but not the ones we know of today. There is still crime. I really enjoy reading about the futuristic world the book was set in.
Eve and Roarke were returning home after a dinner with some of his business associates when she received a call about a murder. She headed straight to the scene. A woman’s body had been found. The body was naked, posed, had a red ribbon around the neck, and the eyes were missing. Eve and Delia started working on the case. Roarke ended up doing what he could to help her. The morning after the murder a woman named Celina arrived at the police station wanting to see Eve. Celina was a psychic and that she’d had a vision of the murder the night before. She said she hadn’t contacted the police sooner because she hadn’t seen anything like that before and she wasn’t sure it had really happened. Eve didn’t have much faith in psychics. She was willing to work with Celina, but only after she investigated the other woman first. Celina was a friend of Louise, one of Eve’s friends.
Eve decided to give some interviews to Nadine, hoping that would force the killer out. Delia was featured more in the interviews. Two more women were found in similar positions with the ribbon around the neck and their eyes missing. Eve believed that the killer had killed more than three women. Celina had more visions and worked with Eve and Delia. Eve remained focused on the case, but she did take the time to go to a dinner with some friends and spent some time with Mavis. Eve and Roarke still weren’t sure what to think about Mavis being pregnant. Mavis and Leonardo had a request that horrified Eve and Roarke, but they agreed. Eve continued working on the case, determined to find the killer. Delia ended up in danger.
I loved Visions in Death. The book was very interesting to me and I wasn’t bored by anything that happened. I ended up staying up much later than I should have to finish this book, something I have done with most of the books in the series. I just can’t stop reading them once I get started. The book really didn’t have any slow spots. There were a few things that happened, like the dinner Eve and Roarke went to, that really had nothing to do with the case, but I still enjoyed those scenes because of the characters. I didn’t think those things took away from the main focus of the book. The case did stir up some bad memories for Eve, but she has become better able to deal with them. She even told Delia what happened to her, something she had only voluntarily told Roarke in the past.
Visions in Death was a suspenseful romantic suspense book, like the previous books in the In Death series have been. I feel that the mystery aspect of all the books has been more prominent than the romance. Some bookstores do have this series in the mystery section. The main focus was of the book was the murder investigation that Eve and Delia were working on. Feeney, Ian, and Roarke ended up helping Eve in the investigation in different ways. The case was a bit complicated, but not so complex that people can’t follow what is going on. For the first time, Eve worked with a psychic. There weren’t too many scenes dealing with Celina and her visions. I’ve read other books that have featured psychic characters in more important parts. Anyone who doesn’t want to read about psychics may want to avoid this book. The bodies of all the victims were described once Eve and Delia arrived on the scene. The descriptions weren’t overly graphic, but they could be upsetting to read. Some of the attacks were described as they happened. The descriptions weren’t graphic of those events either. More was left to the reader’s imagination. There was violence in the book, but I didn’t think it was extreme. People who don’t like to read any kind of violence in books should avoid this one. There were several suspenseful scenes throughout the book.
There is some romance in Visions in Death, but not that much. The romance is provided by Eve’s relationship with Roarke. They have been married for over a year now. They met during the first book in the series, so if the books are read in order, readers can see how their relationship developed. I really like that the growth of their relationship has been shown this way. They have had some problems to work through in the past. Their relationship hasn’t been perfect. Many times relationships in books are portrayed like the couple have no problems to deal with at all. That isn’t the case with these books, though there wasn’t anything like that in this book. There were a few sex scenes featuring Eve and Roarke, but they weren’t graphic. More was left to the imagination in the scenes in this book. Similar scenes in earlier books in the series have been more descriptive. I think there were fewer sex scenes in this book as well. Other moments between Eve and Roarke were shown as well, like how he fusses over her when she works too much. Delia and Ian have been dating for a while and are preparing to move into a new place together. I wish there had been a bit more about them in the book. I’d like to read more about their lives away from work. There are usually a few scenes like that in each book they are in, but not to many. There were no sex scenes featuring that couple. They did finally clear up a few things that had caused major trouble in their relationship several books back. They broke up for a while and then got back together. When they got back together, they each let the other continue to think something for some reason.
Since Eve and Roarke have been in all of the books in the series, and the short stories, they are very well developed at this point. Their development has built over the course of the books to make them well-rounded characters. Roarke has been in some of the books more than others, but he always turns up. Eve and Roarke interact with many different characters in each book. Many of the characters have been in several books by this point. Delia made her first appearance a few books into the series. She was a beat cop that impressed Eve, which lead to her becoming Eve’s aide and eventually her partner. Eve hadn’t known Delia before the one case, so the growth of their friendship has been shown. Eve tried to keep her distance, but that changed. Eve has changed the most of all of the characters. She was still focused on her work, but she had a more rounded life now with friends. Eve still has trouble dealing with certain things related to the friends she has made. Ian first turned up a few books after Delia. He acted a little silly at times, which annoyed Eve greatly, but he was a good cop. Ian and Delia met for the first time during the series as well, so the development of their relationship has also been shown.
Feeney has been in all of the books, but he isn’t as developed as some of the other characters. He is sort of a father figure to Eve. Nadine, the reporter, usually makes at least one appearance per book. Mavis was around much more in the earlier books. She was missing from a few, but has been showing up again, though in a small part. She and Leonardo, her boyfriend, are expecting their first child. I think it will be very interesting to see how Eve and Roarke react when that baby is born. There are some minor characters that only show up in a book here and there, like Roarke’s secretary Caroline. She was missing from this book. I love that the same group of main characters and some minor characters return in all the books. When I read the newest books, it is like visiting with friends, and I hate when they are over.
J.D. Robb is a name that Nora Roberts uses to write the In Death books. I think that people who like books of Roberts would also like the In Death books since they are written by the same person. The books are different, but they are similar things. Books by both authors are well written and entertaining. Mystery usually is more important to the In Death books. In the fall of 2003, the book Remember When was published and listed as being written by both Roberts and Robb. The first part of that book took place in the present. The second half of the book, which tied in with what happened in the first part, took place during the time of the In Death books and featured characters from the series. I do think that people who read the In Death series should read Remember When because a few important things happened related to a few characters. Eve's section of that book took place between Imitation in Death and Divided in Death.
CHARACTERS
Eve Dallas - She is a homicide detective in New York City. She is a very good cop and takes her job seriously. She likes to do things by the book, but she does bend laws at times. She had several friends now and cared about them. She didn’t like going to fancy dinners with Roarke, but she went to them.
Roarke - Eve’s husband. Roarke has a shady past. He ran a huge company and was worth billions of dollars. He owned buildings all over New York, in other cities, and even some resorts in space. He hadn’t completely gotten away from crime until he met Eve.
Summerset - Roarke’s butler. The two men had known each other for years. Summerset was more like a father to Roarke.
Delia Peabody - Eve’s partner. Delia and Eve were now friends. Delia was still settling in to be a detective. She was good at her job. She was better at comforting some people, especially kids, than Eve was.
Ian McNab - He worked in the EDD. He was preparing to move in with Delia. He worked on the case looking up things on the computer.
Feeney - He was in charge of the EDD. He was stuck wearing some suits his wife picked out for him. He was working on the case with Eve.
Mavis - Eve’s best friend. She and Leonardo just returned from a vacation. Mavis was excited about being pregnant and wanted Eve and Roarke to share in some things related to it.
Celina - Psychic that went to see Eve claiming to have seen the murder. She said she had never seen anything like that before. She wanted to help Eve find the killer even though she was having trouble dealing with what she saw.
Louise - A doctor that ran a shelter for abused women and children. Louise met Eve when she witnessed a murder. She and Eve became friends. Louise was involved with Charles, a male licenced companion. She wasn’t bothered by his occupation at all.
Visions in Death was released in August of 2004 as a hardback book. It is the second book in the series to be published as a hardback. Different bookstores seem to put these books in different areas. Some have them in the mystery section and other stores have them in the romance section.
I really enjoyed Visions in Death. It was very entertaining. This book is a must read for fans of the In Death series. Fans of Nora Roberts may also enjoy the books in this series since Roberts is J.D. Robb.
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