A-
Title: New York to Dallas
Author: JD Robb
Publication Info: Putnam 2011
ISBN: 978-0399157783
Genre: Romantic Suspense
This RITA Reader Challenge review comes from Library Addict. This book is nominated in the Romantic Suspense category.
The summary: The number-one New York Times-bestselling author J. D. Robb presents an intense and terrifying new case for New York homicide cop Eve Dallas, one that will take her all the way to the city that gave her her name-and plunge her into the nightmares of her childhood.
When a monster named Isaac McQueen-taken down by Eve back in her uniform days-escapes from Rikers, he has two things in mind. One is to pick up where he left off, abducting young victims and leaving them scarred in both mind and body. The other is to get revenge on the woman who stopped him all those years ago.
And here is Library Addict's review:
Some books in the In Death series focus much more on the case Eve is investigating and the personal developments take a back seat. Whereas, in other books the personal developments are in the forefront and closely intertwined with the case. This one is the latter.
Unlike many books in the series, this book would not work well as a stand alone. The reader needs to be at least somewhat familiar with Eve’s background. We don’t really learn anything new about Eve’s past so much as get closure/confirmation of things we’ve learned from other books in the series (Immortal, Reunion, Imitation and Memory spring to mind). But that in itself is a big payoff. (Trying to stay mostly spoiler-free)
NY2D in many ways is a fish-out-of-water story, with Eve and Roarke heading to Dallas in pursuit of an escaped convict. Eve’s partner and usual team do not appear much. I felt this was one of the strengths of the book. This is Eve’s story and the emotional toll the events in this book take on her is something I feel she needed to go through on her own. The villain is rather cookie-cutter. Nora has certainly written more compelling killers. Galahad’s role in Eve’s life dovetails nicely with events from Naked.
There are certain books in this long-running series which qualify as event books, where the characters reach some sort of turning point. This is one of them. Highly recommended: Grade A-.
This book is available from Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo.
I tried reading an In Death book at random, and while I could follow it for the most part, there were all these secondary characters I didn’t know and didn’t care about. So now I am reading the series in order, and I think it works much better. I recommend reading it in order.
I agree. The first In Death book that I read was Betrayal in Death, and while I liked it, I felt really lost, so I found the older books in the series and read them. Now I own most of the series. 🙂
I’m an …In Death junkie. I admit it. I have to admit that, for this one, well… I liked it for a number of reasons, but the closure provided comes at the expense of straining my credulity. Closure is good. But what are the odds, realistically, that of all the gin joints the bad guy’s moll is this ONE person? Really?
I love these books. But sometimes.. yeah, my willing suspension of disbelief gets a workout.
I’m an In Death junkie too – gotta have my fix. Roarke is sometimes too good to be true, and as Eve heals, she’s somewhat less interesting than Eve Damaged was, but I’m still hooked on the books. I thought this was one of the better ones.
and, yeah, maybe it was a bit of a stretch to have the moll be this ONE person, but… given the person’s pathology, it seems inevitable that she and Eve would cross paths at some point.
I have read this entire series and enjoyed this one the best. The character development between Roarke and Eve grew, as did their understanding of how they fit into each other lives versus the drag and pull that is typically written.
My love for this series is completely irrational. I should say our love since my mother reads them and my husband is reading the whole series in order.
It’s one of the few things I can read without that critical voice pointing out the flaws. I can recognize them sure, but it’s all just so much . . . FUN . . . . that I don’t even care. I like to think that I’m tuning into some pure sense of glee Nora Roberts has when she writes these. I mean, clearly she’s having a blast right?
Well I certainly hope she’s having as much fun writing them as I am reading them because they really are a joy. She has probably created the perfect literary man and luckily she created a woman with enough quirks and flaws that she is endearing and we don’t hate her for having the splendid Roarke.
given the person’s pathology, it seems inevitable that she and Eve would cross paths at some point.
http://goo.gl/SrjWT
I have collected all the In Death books in paperback (used bookstores, etc.) as I wanted to read them in order. Glad I did, as JD refers often to previous situations and characters. I had to wait till NY2D was issued in PB and I wasn’t sure if I’d like it as much since the main cast of characters didn’t play as prominent a role. However, it was more than worth the wait as I actually loved it and it was nice to have all those loose threads tied up about Eve’s past. But I’m ready for my full dose of Peabody, McNab, Mavis and the gang, which means I’ll have to wait for Celebrity to come out in PB. Guess I’ll have to start the series all over again…. Not too much of a hardship 🙂
The first time I read it, I wasn’t convinced it would be one that I would re-read with any regularity. I was wrong. (Almost all of them get re-ready quite a bit.)
Everything Eve feels is so real, especially after living with her for years on end and knowing what she has dealt with, makes this an intensely compelling read, even after multiple reads. And I still find new nuggets each time to think about and integrate into my understanding of her.
I had completely forgotten about how much I liked this seroes. Thanks for the reminder.. heading off to the used book store for some goodies. 😉
Haven’t read any of the books, but one small piece of confusion….the summary implies that the main antagonist has been in prison for a long time. But he escapes from Riker’s Island, which is a jail, not a prison, devoted to holding those who cannot make bail or are serving sentences of under a year. Was he released and then rearrested? If he’s been out before, why should it be a big deal now? And if he’s supposedly been in prison for a long time, why Rikers? A long-running series about the NYPD that got something that basic wrong would irritate me.
Since the series is set about 40 years in the future, and a major upheaval in the form of the Urban Wars took place in between, I think it’s save to tell our WSOD that some things have changed. And note, it’s now NYPSD. 😉
Aah. Thanks, Bonnie. Didn’t realize the series was sci-fi, since I’ve only heard about it here and assumed it was straight romantic suspense. (I’ve had some peripheral contact with Riker’s professionally, so it caught my eye.) Stupid question probably, but what is WSOD? I won’t even ask about the “S” in NYPSD. “New York Polizei SicherheitsDienst?” 😉
NYPSD stands for New York Police and Security Department. The series is futuristic, but I wouldn’t really call it sci-fi. It’s basically a police procedural series set in the future, with a side dose of romance since the series also follows the marriage of the lead character. But the emphasis is mostly on Eve’s job.
I think WSOD is willing suspension of disbelief, but not 100% sure.
I’ve been reading romance novels for the past year in order to be a more romantic husband for my wife of 18 years. While I’ve gotten a lot from them, I’ve always been a bit frustrated that they almost all end just as the ‘happy ever after’ is just starting. I’ve wanted some ideas for the ‘rest of our lives’ part! I just found the ‘In Death’ series on audiobook, am starting with Naked, and plan to work my way through the series. Based on the comments I’ve skimmed here on SBTB, I may finally have found a series that mostly occurs ‘after’. Bonus that it is Nora Roberts – I’ve really enjoyed her trilogies and the Bride Quartet.
Follow-up: Hopes met! Very interesting following their relationship, especially now that Eve and Roarke are married. Finished listening to #1-3, currently on #4 (Rapture in Death). Thanks for cuing me in to this series.