You may feel that this book seems familiar - that might be because the series has already been published in the USA. Since 1996 there have been 19 US paperbacks about this character and the next hardback is due out in March 2004. This is the second volume in the series and the English publishers seem, very sensibly, to be publishing the books in their chronological order. The decision to start writing as J. D. Robb was taken in 1995 when the best selling author, Nora Roberts, had a surplus of stories queuing up to be published and needed to establish a new persona as their author.
The book begins with subtle hints about its setting which eventually lead the reader to realise that we are in a New York of the future – I believe the technical term for this type of book is futuristic thriller. The actual date is never revealed in the book, however, on her web site Nora Roberts speaks of the date 2058. As with a historical mystery the setting adds an extra layer of interest for the reader and this is compounded by the extreme opulence in which some of the characters live. Ideas of the way transport, communication and security might develop, the opportunities for wealthy excess and the lifestyle of the poor are interesting. The heroine, police detective Eve Dallas, is a feisty female who engages in vehement angst-ridden exchanges with friends and foes. Her lover, the wealthy Roarke, is able to defuse her chronic combativeness through frequent steamy sex scenes (steamy is highly accurate since some of their encounters occur in hot water!) Other characters find Eve hard to deflect in her single-minded pursuit of the wrongdoer. Eve is a very efficient detective who has been able to succeed in life despite horrible childhood experiences. As often is the case with such heavily driven and aggressive people she lacks humour.
In Glory in Death Eve is investigating the murders of two glamorous
rich and successful women whose equally rich and successful male friends and
relatives provide plenty of possible killers. The actual murderer does become
apparent too soon for my taste. The author speaks on her web site of her desire
to write a series of books to explore the development of a relationship between
Eve and Roarke while still resolving a crime each time. I have read only this
example of the books about Eve Dallas but I wonder how feasible it is for the
author to vary her format from book to book and to maintain suspense. The slick
background could become bland and the thriller element is always difficult to
sustain.
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Jennifer Palmer
Under the pseudonym. J. D. Robb, Nora Roberts has written 19 books about Eve
Dallas. The books can be described as the In Death series since the titles end
with those words. Piatkus seem to have the first 4 books available in Britain
– Naked in Death, Rapture in Death and Immortal in Death are currently
in print as well as this book. The other titles are mostly still available in
the USA. As Nora Roberts the author is enormously prolific and successful in
the field of romantic suspense.