Betrayal in Death by J. D. Robb (pub. 2001)
Betrayal in Death
by J. D. Robb
Published by Berkley Publishing Group 2001
Once again we head into the future for another Nora Roberts...er...umm, I mean JD Robb, action packed, futuristic, crime thriller featuring the super-bad, super-tough NYPSD homicide detective, Lt. Eve Dallas. This time Eve is on the trail of an elite killer for hire, who after brutally assaulting his victims he strangles them with sterling silver wire. To top that off he makes it a point to be seen and almost dares the cops to catch him.
It all starts at luxurious Roarke Palace Hotel, a maid walks into a suite for the nightly turndown - and steps into her worst nightmare. A killer leaves her dead, strangled by a thin silver wire. The second victim is an editor for one of Roarke's publishing companies and a personal friend of Roarke. Each victim getting closer to Roarke.
The killer is wanted by the FBI and Interpol and has not been hunted by them for a couple of decades. He's Sly Yost, a virtuoso of music and murder. A hit man for the elite. Lieutenant Eve Dallas gets to know him well. But in this twisted case, knowing the killer doesn't help solve the crime. Because there's someone else involved. Someone with a more personal motive. Eve must face a terrifying possibility, that the real target may, in fact, be her husband Roarke.
The FBI agents on the case catch wind of Dallas tracking down Yost and interfere when Eve has him cornered, thus allowing Yost to escape.
While all this is happening Roarke is in the middle of handling a multi-billion dollar auction to raise money for an actress from his past. Then another of Roarke's past shows up in the form of one of his best pals from Dublin, Mick Connelly. Mick is amazed that Roarke has gone on the straight and narrow, but once meeting Eve, he understands why.
Since the crimes hit so close to Roarke, Eve brings him on as a civilian consultant and the team of Eve and Roarke are ready to take on thieves and murderers. Also along for the ride are the great characters created by Robb; Electronics division Detectives Feeney and McNabb, Dallas's aid Officer Peabody...Peabody & McNabb are getting closer in their relationship...Commander Whitney even kicks some booty in this excellent installment of the "...in Death" series.
Everytime I read one of these books I get anxious and just want to let the Sci-Fi television network to get on the ball and start producing this series of science fiction cop shows. But after reading this one, I think there's another step we could take...COMIC BOOKS. Eve and Roarke fighting crime together are better than Batman & Robin, Captain America & Bucky, and even Scooby & Shaggy. These guys make a great team and with all the cool gadgets and the eccentricities of all the surrounding cast this would also be one heck of a comic book series. Yes these books are just that good.
Labels: betrayal in death, born in death, ceremony in death, eve dallas, in death, j. d. robb, lt. eve dallas, nora roberts, roarke
posted by Gil T. @ 8:24 PM
"Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach (pub. W. W. Norton & Company 2003)
I recently read Mary Roach's book, "Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife," and was impressed by the way the author not only could explain the science of death and dying but that she did it with great wit. I mean there were times while reading the book I would catch myself laughing out loud, and have to look around and make sure no one thought I was a bit crazy. But no one did...or at least none that would admit it. Anyway, after that treat of non-fiction, educational but in a fun way, book I had to go back and read her earlier book, I was not let down. This book provided the learn something new but have some laughs along the way fun that I've now come to expect from Mary Roach.
Keep in mind she does look at this in a fun way, but in no way does Mary Roach make fun of the dead or dying. Humor with class and education is the best way to describe what is in this book.
In "Stiff:..." Mary Roach examines the many things that happen after a person ceases being a person. Mostly these people have donated their bodies for research, but in the past it was not always that way. So not only is there a bit of exploring what a cadaver is expected to go through, Mary Roach also gives a bit of a history lesson on the dead.
I think this book is best summed up with a list of the chapters, so here's a list of the chapters.
1. A Head Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: Practicing surgery on the dead
2. Crimes of Anatomy: Body snatching and other sordid tales from the dawn of human dissection
3. Life After Death: On human decay and what can be done about it
4. Dead Man Driving: Human crash test dummies and the ghastly, necessary science of impact tolerance
5. Beyond the Black Box: When the bodies of the passengers must tell the story of a crash
6. The Cadaver Who Joined the Army: The sticky ethics of bullets and bombs
7. Holy Cadaver: The crucifixion experiments
8. How to Know if You're Dead: Beating-heart cadavers, live burial, and the scientific search for the soul
9. Just a Head: Decapitation, reanimation, and the human head transplant
10. Eat Me: Medicinal cannibalism and the case of the human dumplings
11. Out of the Fire, into the Compost Bin: And other new ways to end up
12. Remains of the Author: Will she or won't she?
As you can see lots of interesting subjects and each chapter more informative and entertaining than the previous. Keep in mind this book is not for the squeamish. I will have to say that the book as a huge squirm factor, by that I mean if you , like me, have a hard time listening to very descriptive discussions about body parts and cutting into same and squirm around in your seat when you hear or read such, you'll be squirming throughout this book. However, I found the book very fascinating, informative and yes entertaining so I squirmed but read on.
Seriously you know you're in for some squirming when the book opens up with:
"The human head is of the same approximate size and weight as a roaster chicken. I have never before had the occasion to make the comparison, for never before today have I seen a head in a roasting pan. But here are forty of them, one per pan, resting face-up on what looks to be a small pet-food bowl. The heads are for plastic surgeons, two per head, to practice on...."
After this book I've decided I'm still not sure about what to do with my body after I'm done with it. I do support the "harvesting" of my organs but for the rest, i'm thinking seriously about the composting idea. (read chapter 11)
Labels: book review, books, born in death, cadavers, mary roach, non-fiction, Science-Fiction, stiff
posted by Gil T. @ 7:33 PM
"Born In Death" by JD Robb (pub 2006)
If you have read any of the books in the "...in Death" series, you pretty well know how busy Lt. Eve Dallas, homice, NYPSD, can be. In this book the author decides that's not enough and really lays it on Eve Dallas, but on top of being busy this book is fun, especially at the end. I will warn you there is a bit of a spoiler in this review so you may not want to read the end. The spoiler will not be about the case(s) Dallas is working on but about her friend Mavis Freestone, the rockstar.
In the sci-fi world of Lt. Eve Dallas, cop work still comes down to talking to folks and in this case tracing the money. However, being the future and being married to Roarke (the wealthiest man on or off planet) there are some neat tools to help with the money trail. That is just what is needed here. Two accountants are found murdered and Dallas is primary detective on the cases. It seems as though the accountants found something big that could get someone in serious trouble, they were going to try to expose the criminals before going to the police. But that's what got them killed. Now Lt. Dallas has to find what they found.
On top of this Eve and Roarke are attending birthing coach classes, not because Eve is pregnant, but because her best friend Mavis Freestone, rockstar, vidstar and party animal is about to pop and wants Eve and Roarke to be there at the birthing, along with Mavis' cohab partner , fashion designer Leonardo. Eve and Roarke are horrified by the idea of being present at the birth, but will do this favor for their friend.
One of the women Mavis met at the coaching classes is a single woman who is also about to pop. Tandy has just moved to New York from London and is Mavis' pregnant pal. When Tandy doesn't show up to Mavis' baby shower, Mavis gets worried and as victim of hormones falls apart worrying about Tandy. She makes Dallas promise to find her. So now Dallas has 2 cases to work a double homicide case which turns up a third homicide, to find a missing person, and to be prepared to be Mavis' coach for the birth.
As it turns out the missing persons and the homicides seem to tie together. So strap yourself in for this thrill-a-second sci-fi detective novel by JD Robb.
Now for the somewhat of a spoiler portion of the review. One of the many things I've come to appreciate about this series of books is that they are well rounded in action, suspense, thrills, mystery and even some comedy. The comedy aspect really comes in to play at the end of this book when Mavis gives birth. The scene described with Dallas, Roarke, Somerset, Mavis, Leonard, et. al. is just some really good comedy that almost falls in the slapstick category. This scene alone made the entire book worth the read. There are some serious emotional highs in the finale of this book.
Labels: book review, books, born in death, eve dallas, in, in death, j. d. robb, lt. eve dallas, nora roberts, roarke, Science-Fiction
posted by Gil T. @ 9:34 PM
