Review: Creation in Death by J.D.Robb

Wow! Can you believe that Creation in Death is the 25th novel in the series? And what's amazing is that the series just keeps getting better and better :D I mean some series have lost it after the 15th, the 10th or even the 5th book, especially the ones with the same H/H and more specifically, the ones where the heroines are involved in a love triangle... can't they just make up your mind?!? You look at those series and you think that the author should have ended it at this or that point... However, this is sooo not the case with the In Death series! I think this series has the potential to go on and on and on... although I'm a bit worried about how Ms Roberts is all going to end this... but this is another topic and let's move onto the review now.


Creation in Death by J.D. Robb aka Nora Roberts

published in Hardcover by Putnam in November 2007

NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas keeps the streets of a near-future New York City safe in this extraordinary series. But even she makes mistakes, and is haunted by those she couldn't save-and the killers she couldn't capture. When the body of a young brunette is found in East River Park, artfully positioned and marked by signs of prolonged and painful torture, Eve is catapulted back to a case nine years earlier. The city was on edge from a killing spree that took the lives of four women in fifteen days, courtesy of a man the media tagged "The Groom"-because he put silver rings on the fingers of his victims.

When it turns out that the young brunette was employed by Eve's billionaire husband, Roarke, she brings him in on the case-a move that proves fitting when it becomes chillingly clear that the killer has made his attack personal. The victim was washed in products from a store Roarke owns, and laid out on a sheet his company manufactures.

With the Groom's monstrous return, Eve is determined to finish him once and for all. Familiar with his methods, Eve knows that he has already grabbed his next victim. Time is running out on another woman's life.

And chances are he's working up to the biggest challenge of his illustrious career-abducting a woman who will test his skills and who promises to give him days and days of pleasure before she dies: Eve.

Genre: romantic suspense, futuristic
Series: In Death series, Book #25

In the last book, Innocent in Death, Ms Roberts' focus was on Eve and Roarke's relationship which was long overdue in my opinon. In this book, the focus is back on the case, the investigation and little else. However, this case is completely different from any other cases from the past books... this case is special, because it's one that Eve and Feeney were not able to close 9 years ago.

The book starts with Eve looking forward to one or two days of rest as she is not on duty. However, she is called in as primary when the first body is found as everyone immediately recognizes the work of the Groom. Eve puts up a team and is determined to stop the Groom for good this time. They already know his M.O, they remember the faces of the previous victims and now, they have to find what they miss the last time in order to save the next victim.

I really enjoyed this book... After Innocent in Death which was a great success because of problems Eve and Roarke encounter in their marriage, I don't think that Eve and Roarke could just go to their normal life with a regular case... Innocent in Death needed to be followed up with a bang and as usual, Ms Roberts delivers.

As I mentioned, the case is different because it was unsolved. That in itself is really unusual in the In Death series. I know that in reality, not every case gets solved, but for ID fans, it’s the first time we see one that Eve worked on. The fact that 4 young brunettes were tortured for hours in made the case unforgettable, but that it continued in other places (Florida, Romania, etc.) after he walked away from New York, it just ate at everyone who was involved: Feeney, Eve, Morris, Dr. Mira, Dickhead and the commander. Also, for this case, Roarke was involved from the very beginning; he went to the morgue, assisted to meetings and worked at the police station (which was funny, given his past). All this makes this book stands out and makes it interesting.

Plot-wise, this book was excellent. The case was interesting and the murderer, unusual. The pacing of the book was very fast, but it contributed to the atmosphere of the story… it made the readers feel that the cops were doing something and how rushed they were as they raced against time to save the next victim. Emotionally, we do get some love and sweet scenes between Eve and Roarke, but the big show is provided by Feeney and Eve: the tension between them that the case has caused, the father-daughter relationship...

So fans of ID, Ms Roberts has done it again. She came up with a very good addition for the series… where you find all your favorite elements: Eve, Roarke, the good humor, the quick and witty comments, the interaction between characters and so on. If I had any complaints, it would be that 1) once again, Eve is a target and 2) although it works in the story very well, it seems to me Eve and her team got a bit too lucky.

Grade: Solid B+