Naked in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)

 ROMANTIC SUSPENSE PICK:

NAKED IN DEATH
BY J.D. Robb

Published: 1995

Pages: 306

Setting: New York City

Time Period: Future (2058)

Synopsis: A New York Police Homicide Detective, Lieutenant Eve Dallas, is on the tail of a serial killer who is killing prostitutes in very personal and graphic ways. The killer leaves notes at each crime scene stating that there will be six victims in total. Eve has to stop him before he succeeds, even if it ends up being the extremely wealthy and oh-so-handsome primary suspect, Roarke.

X 7

 

Forget-Me-Not Review: 

*7 Forget-Me-Nots: Great story but didn't make me think too hard or have bouts of intense emotion. I will remember my favorite scenes but not necessarily anything else.

 

Characters: Not all the characters, just the ones I actually cared about:

• Eve, Main Character: Sassy, determined, and her affinity for "real" coffee made me instantly like her. Not to mention she kicks, like, some serious booty.
• Roarke, Primary Suspect/Main Love Interest: He's funny, loyal, and I started to fall in love with him when he gave her coffee. It was a done deal when he fessed up to carrying around her button.
• The Killer: Serial killers are like sharks. Even though the chance of you getting killed by one are very slim, they still manage to haunt your nightmares and give you phobias. Also, his MO made me wince, just saying.
• Summerset, Roarke's Butler: Can we say Snob? His hoity-toity attitude irked me. I found him irksome. 
• Feeney, Eve's Partner: Best. Partner. Ever. His laying into Roarke and letting him know exactly what a jerk he was being makes him a definite candidate for partner-of-the-year.
• Mira, Department Shrink: I liked Mira just because she's a shrink. What can I say? Sweets has made me have a soft spot for shrinks (Sweets is a character in the Fox television show, Bones). 
• Mavis, Eve's Best Friend: Quirky, fun-spirited, and has the best interest for Eve's libido in mind. In fact, the more I think of the secondary characters, the more I'm thinking this has major Bones elements as well since Mavis sort of reminds me of Angela.
• Charles: Awesome. How I can feel such fondness for a male prostitute I do not know, but the second he called Eve 'Lieutenant Sugar' he became a "Please don't let anything happen to him" character. 

  I really enjoyed the fast pacing of the book and the characters. It took me back at first with the futuristic setting but I quickly thought "Okay, so...The Fifth Element meets Law & Order: SVU. 'Kay. Got it." Robb does a good job of foreshadowing and gives snippets of information here and there to keep the reader guessing. It's always creepy when the point-of-view shifts to that of the villain (creepy in a good way) and Robb plays on that. We also get inside Roarke's head a couple of times: another aspect I loved about the book. I love knowing what the guy is thinking when the story is primarily set from the heroine's point-of-view. Probably because in real life you never know what the opposite sex is thinking. An aspect of the book that I enjoyed was the fact that it is the woman who has more reservations about having a relationship. In fact, my favorite scene in the entire book was the 'morning after' scene: 

 

"Roarke, what's going on here?"

"Lieutenant." He leaned forward, touched his lips to hers. "Indications are we're having a romance." Then he laughed, kissed her again hard and quick. "I believe I could have held a gun to your head and you wouldn't have looked as terrified" (Robb, 165). 

 

Definitely read this book if: 

• You want a homicide detective novel that features a kick butt heroine, a swoon-worthy male lead, and awesome secondary characters
• You like (or at least don't mind): graphic sex and murder scenes, rape victim stories, and NYC in the future
• You have trouble spelling 'Lieutenant'. But maybe that's just me...

Characteristics that fit the genre:
Tone/Mood: uneasy, suspenseful, brooding
Frame/Setting: futuristic setting, New York City
Storyline: suspense, explicit romance, graphic details
Style/Language: strong language, witty dialogue, explicit sexual descriptions
Characters: heroine is strong, smart, independent, point-of-view is mainly through the heroine but with alters to show the hero's and villain's points-of-view.
Pacing: fast, plot twists, and full of danger

Appeal:

1. Homicide detective profession. Is like reading a Law & Order: SVU episode. 
2. Fast paced plot that creates a sense of urgency.
3. Witty dialogue that contrasts against graphic details of crime scenes. 


Author read-a-likes:

Suzanne Brockmann (NoveList)
Julie Garwood (NoveList)
Linda Howard (NoveList)
Tami Hoag (NoveList)
Catherine Coulter (NoveList)

 Book read-a-likes:
Fire and Ice by Julie Garwood (NoveList)
Veil of Night by Linda Howard (NoveList)
All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz (Novelist)
Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz (NoveList)
The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick (NoveList)