CALCULATED IN DEATH

TITLE: CALCULATED IN DEATH

AUTHOR: J.D. ROBB

Pages: 386

Date: 16/04/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 36 In Death

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At first glance the dead woman appears to be the victim of a mugging gone wrong. With her bag and coat gone it seems that somebody tried to rob her, only for things to get out of hand. A closer look though reveals that things are probably not that simple. If robbery had been the motive, would the thief not also have taken her expensive boots, for example?

It doesn’t take Eve Dallas much more than one look to conclude that whatever the motive for this murder, it wasn’t theft. The victim was an accountant and it isn’t long before Eve finds herself up to her neck in the world of finance and audits. This is a world she knows very little about but being married to Roarke, possibly the most successful businessman in the world, does have its advantages. With a host of suspects, more murders and an attack on herself and Peabody to contend with, Eve has a complicated investigation on her hands. And when it seems that the murderer is developing an appetite for killing, the investigation becomes more urgent as well. Still, dealing with high finance, arrogant businessmen and crazy killers doesn’t faze Eve nearly as much as the prospect of the upcoming premiere and all the preparations that event is going to require.

With this being the 36^th book in this series, and having read all and reviewed most of them, I’m running out of original things to say. It must be clear to anybody who has been following my reading that I love these books. I love them because of the mysteries, the setting – New York in the near future -, the humour and the original and fascinating characters. In fact, it is the opportunity to spend more time with Eve, Roarke, Peabody, McNab, Summerset and all the other regulars that has me eagerly awaiting every subsequent book in this series. I enjoy the interactions between these characters; Eve’s snarkiness, her ongoing verbal battle of wills with Summerset, her almost reluctant loyalty to her friends and, most of all, her relationship with Roarke. I’m getting a kick out of watching her develop and coming out of her self-imposed shell a little bit more with each subsequent book. And I adore the way in which she will muddle up expressions and have a good explanation as to why hers is as good as the original:

“Though modesty will prevent me from playing my own fiddle…

Tooting your own horn.

What’s the difference? They both make noise.”

As she does in most, if not all, of her books J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) paints a crystal clear picture with her words. She introduces you to characters who come alive on the page to such an extent that you can see and hear them. Her dialogue sparkles and sounds natural. If nothing else, this author is a master storyteller, a wordsmith of the highest order. And I, like millions of other women, will always be grateful that she keeps on bringing us her wonderful stories.