and join the fun!Did you read any In Death series books this month?
CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS:
Link up any In Death posts you made this month in this post. If you made a post on your blog, whether it be a review or commentary, please grab the link to your post and enter in the Mr. Linky below along with your name so we can find each other's latest In Death posts easily. You can also just use the link to your goodreads or other virtual bookshelf as well.
Eternity In Death
Book #24.5
In this short story from the Dead of Night anthology, our fearless Lieutenant Eve Dallas is hunting a vampire allegedly responsible for the murder of a beautiful young woman.
Wait, what??!
Vampires in an In Death story?! Rest assured this series has not taken a turn down paranormal lane, although you'd be hard pressed to convince this murderer otherwise.
Infamous for her wild living, the very rich, beautiful and famous Tiara Kent is found dead by exsanguination in her apartment, the only injury on her body a pair of puncture wounds on her neck. The open minded and perhaps superstitious Detective Peabody suggests the wound is indicative of a vampire bite, but the logical and pragmatic Lt. Dallas sees right through that charade and is determined to snare the mortal man responsible for this murder, no matter how convincing his vampiric behaviors are.
Eve and her team venture into the darkest, most dangerous depths of the city to solve this crime and bring the killer to justice. The best part of this story is how everyone on Eve's team, including Roarke, couldn't help but speculate if the killer really is a vampire, even if just for humor's sake and to jerk Eve's chain. Aside from that, the case is solved almost as quickly as it presents itself, and it's just a matter of logistics on how to acquire evidence on the killer.
GRADE: B
SERIES DISCUSSION:
How do you feel about the In Death short stories?
I think some are better than others in this series. The crime aspect of this one was okay--not terribly suspenseful, but still pretty entertaining in the subject matter and how the team played up the vampirism.
Do you seek them out and read them? Yes, I do.
Do you insist on reading them in their proper chronological placement within the series?
I've become a stickler about the whole reading in order thing. I'm just glad I can find a lot of these later anthologies at local libraries so I don't have to buy an $8 book for a 100 page short story.
I did, I did!!!!
ReplyDeleteI read Celebrity in Death and really liked it. Mind you, it was much tamer (actual physical action-wise) than many other installments, but there was a lot of relationship advancement (and not just Eve and Roarke *grin*)
I have mentioned before that I don't much like the later short stories--in fact, I really disliked the last two--because they are written to fit more with the theme of the anthology, rather than as part of the series as a whole.
I have noticed that while there are mentions of the earlier shorts in the later books (in fact, a character from one of these appears in Treachery in Death), the events of the later (last three or four) short stories are not even mentioned in the successive novels.
I will be able to join in the In Death discussion next month, as I have Treachery In Death waiting for me to read once I finish Archangel's Blade :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the challenge keeps on going even though I won't be reading this series - I'm daunted by it's size! =)
ReplyDeleteI love this series.
ReplyDeleteI loved Innocent this month. You were right, it's the best!
ReplyDeleteDo I seek out the novellas? Absolutely. Mostly because they're the same but completely different. What I really like is that they're publishing three novellas together now as a set. I don't mind spending the $8 for an ebook with 3 of them.
I'd originally read the books as I found them in the local used book stores and they ere good. But reading them in order? You get so much MORE from them. You really see the growth and change in the characters and much more of the subplot is clear.
Christine, you have got me jonesing to read this series again. It has been so long I would likely have to start back at the beginning. That is a long list of books to read...which isn't necessarily a bad thing :)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of this challenge. Thanks for the great review.
i also read celebrity in death this month but the review won't be going up until tuesday so it will count for april i guess. I liked the newest one much better than the previous ones, I will have a post up about why soon. thanks for hosting this challenge it's awesome!!
ReplyDeleteI don't know, the idea of hunting down anthologies and read only one story, even though it's one of my favorite author, is what holds me back. For the In Death series, I usually try to read it in-store :P but I like that they are doing compilations now :) so I'll just have to wait a couple of more years LOL.
ReplyDeleteI don't even want to check how many months ago I read my latest ID novel. Well, the break is over now, because I finally finished Ritual in Death (#27.5). I think I started it over a half a year ago… and it's a short story! How this happened -- I don't know! When I got back to it, I didn't remember a thing about it, but still continued where I had left off. That's why I didn't enjoy it that much: only 2.5 stars. Now I hope to get back on the saddle and start reading these books again. I remember that over a year ago I entertained hopes of catching up with the series by the end of the year 2011. Perhaps I should make the same wish for this year ;)
ReplyDeleteHow I feel about the In Death short stories?
They are only okay. I've noticed that I usually grade them a bit lower than the novels.
Do you seek them out and read them?
Yes. I've borrowed the anthologies from my friend and read only the ID story. But when they publish those 3 ID stories in one book (like "Three in Death", #7.5, #12.5, #22.5) --- those I buy for my book collection.
Do you insist on reading them in their proper chronological placement within the series?
Yes.
It's been so long since I read an In Death story. I've never read one of the short stories, I didn't even know there were any.
ReplyDeleteWhile I love the series, I've grown a little bored with it so have stopped reading it for now. My favorite short story was the one on the ferry. Have you read that one?
ReplyDeleteI've been re-reading the entire series now!! its great fun!! I love the short story which happens off-planet!! btw do you know in which book does Eve surprise Roarke with a fancy dinner??
ReplyDeleteI'm catching up with my inbox today and am now dreadfully embarrassed to discover that I failed to reply to any comments on several recent posts, including this one! I'm so sorry! .. I feel like such a terrible challenge host. :/
ReplyDelete@ azteclady .. What a relief to hear you enjoyed one of the more recent In Death books. I know you've been struggling with a few issues with this series. Relationship advancement you say? And NOT JUST Eve and Roarke! Love that.. can't wait to find out for myself!
I know what you mean about the shorts not really having too much relevance to the advancement of the series. I guess that's good for people who don't want to buy an anthology for just one of the four stories.
@ orannia .. Yay! I hope you get to Treachery in Death this month!
@ Alex.. Well if you ever decide to start this series, there are ALWAYS readers around who are willing to chat about the books with you.
@ Dru.. I do, too. :D
@ Gina ... Innocent in Death is absolutely one of my favorites. The intensity and emotion between Eve & Roarke was so gritty in this one. Loved it.
I like that they're publishing three novellas in one book now, too. I've also noticed that my library now has most of the In Death books on ebook that I can "borrow" right onto my ipad to read.
@ Shannon ... Oh so you've read most of the series, but are not caught up? I am all for rereading a great series from the beginning so you can reacquaint yourself with the characters and their relationships, but I bet you could pick up where you left off without too much trouble. Maybe read a bunch of reviews on goodreads or amazon to refresh your memory. Or the In Death website. There's a lot of details there too. Spoilers and all.
@ Aisha .. You can count Celebrity in Death for March if you like. No need to worry so much about the review. So glad you're participating! :)
@ nath .. You can always see if you can borrow the anthologies onto your rereader from your library. I can do that now and is how I'll likely read future short stories in this series.
@ Maija .. Hey, you got sidetracked by non-In Death books. It happens!!! LOL! I would love to catch up by the end of 2012 myself, but it will probably be 2013 in the end. That's okay.. as long as I get there!
I'll probably by the collection of In Death shorts as they become available, too. Just in case I want to re-read the whole series at some point! You never know!
@ Sarah ...When you are ready to pick up another In Death book, you know where to find other readers chatting about the books! Right here!
@ Brandy ... I don't think I've read the short story on the ferry! I'm sure I'll get to it soon.. and now I'm actually looking forward to a short! ha!
@ Kirki ... I remember that short that took place off planet. That's towards the beginning of the series, I think. Eve has to be second in command because it's not her jurisdiction and she struggles with not being in charge. ha!
Oooh I do remember when Eve prepares Roarke a fancy dinner, but I can't recall in which book that took place. I skimmed through the book entries on indeath.net/wikiindeath/ but couldn't find it! Maybe someone else remembers?