I have always been a fan of Nora Roberts, but recently started on her pseudonym, J. D. Robb’s, ‘In Death’ series.
And I am hooked.
At the time of writing this post, there are 46 books—not taking into account the novellas strewn throughout—in this successful series. I haven’t read all 46 books—yet!!—and unfortunately, I have read them out of sequence.
But I kept thinking—what hooks one? There has to be something to not tire a reader of the core group of characters.
For me, it is the interaction between Lieutenant Eve Dallas—the protagonist—and her husband, Roark. Oh, make no mistake, I think Detective Peabody makes a fabulous sidekick to Dallas, and the squabbles between Dallas and Summerset(Roarke’s major-domo) are endearingly impudent.
But Eve and Roark? The relationship between the hard-hitting murder cop and the reformed thief-to-billionaire is fascinating.
Extract from Celebrity in Death, pp 28.
“She stalked over to the closet, opened it. And scowled again.
‘What am I supposed to wear? There are too many choices in here. If you’ve got one thing, you don’t have to think about it. You just take it out, put it on.’
. . .
Amused, he walked over, stepped into the closet. ‘This.’ He lifted a dress off the rod.
. . .
‘It’s feminine without fuss, sexy without trying to be.’
She took it, turned it around, and lifted an eyebrow at the deep plunge in the back. ‘Without trying.’
‘Very hard. You have shoes to match.’
‘I do?’
‘You do, yes, and go with the diamonds. Leave the color to the dress.’
‘Which diamonds? Do you know how many you give me? Why do you do that?’
The aggrieved sound of her voice amused him nearly as much as giving her diamonds. ‘It’s a sickness. ‘
. . .
Roark laid the diamonds out.
‘All of that?’
‘All of that, yes,’ he said firmly as he finished his tie.
‘You could buy New Jersey for all of that.’
‘I’d rather see them on my wife than buy New Jersey.’
‘They’ll see me from space,’ she muttered. . .”
How could you not keep wanting to be part of their relationship as it develops and deepens? As well as the rest of the cast. They become part of your life, hooking you for the next fix of the splendid series.
Of course, each books center around murder, ensuring the guilty are caught and punished. The plots are intricate, the characters vivid and engaging, and then there’s the edge-of-the-seat suspense.
Please keep on writing J. D. Robb, because I’ll keep on reading.