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Did you read any In Death series books this month?
CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS:
Link up any In Death posts you made this month here. 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.
BOOK REVIEW:
In Death series, Book #25
This story opens with Lt. Eve Dallas called to the scene of a murder that's all too familiar: The body of a young brunette woman with wounds on her body indicative of horrific torture and carved in her belly is the time it took for her to die. Nine years ago, the department investigated a series of murders just like this one, the case never solved. Now this vicious, elusive murderer known as "The Groom" is back in NYC, targeting women who work for Eve's multimillionaire husband Roarke. Eve and her team are literally racing the clock with a vengeance to catch "The Groom" once and for all and before more women die.
I have to admit that it took me almost half the book before I got pulled into this one. The case was interesting enough, but there was a lot of fact gathering going on and very little criminal suspense or personal drama to the story at that point to keep me absorbed. Plus I have to admit being somewhat annoyed that once again, expert civilian Roarke is working around the clock with the NYSPD on this case and even present at meetings with the commissioner. Really?
Thankfully, around half way through the book the pace finally picked up. In fact, it got so intense that I didn't want to put it down! The reader is exposed to the murderer's disturbing torture methods throughout the story, which definitely raises the creep-factor several notches. His motives are slowly revealed as the investigation progresses, which in turn makes it all the more disturbing. Not only are the physical acts horrific, but so are the psychological aspects.
There are some great scenes between Eve and Feeney, both heated and emotional, as they rehash the investigation from nine years ago and discover that neither one of them have ever gotten over the frustration and guilt from having never solved "The Groom" murders long ago. These several scenes and the last couple of chapters turned this book from an okay read into one I thoroughly enjoyed. I even choked up a bit there at the end!
I gave Creation in Death 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads.
GRADE: B
SERIES DISCUSSION:
Broadly speaking, it seems that many of the In Death crime investigations can be categorized in one of two ways. Personal homicides or serial murders. By personal homicides I mean cases in which the murderer kills people he or she personally knows; domestic or professional type relationships. By serial murders I mean homicides in which the murderer is selecting strangers as his victims who fit some specific criteria, usually tied to his or her past.
Do you prefer one or the other above type of crime investigation in this series?
Or do you like to read this series primarily for the personal interactions with the characters?
I don't prefer one crime investigation or the other, although I have to admit the serial murders usually end up being super creepy. The kind that make me nibble on my fingers and shudder and cringe at the horror. I do prefer, however, when the crime investigation gets entangled with the personal lives of our favorite characters, whether it be Eve, Roarke, Peabody or any one else in Eve's circle of friends. Those stories seem to be the biggest page turners for me.
Huh, That's a difficult question. I love both sets of murders but I really feel disconnected if the characters aren't portrayed as I anticipate.
ReplyDeleteThis book just wasn't as much fun for me as many of them and I think maybe it was the underlying guilt and frustration that overplayed the team spirit that everyone usually has.
Gina, You're right. The team spirit was definitely down on this case. Determined, but still down. That kind of puts a damper on the whole reading experience--especially for readers like us who generally prefer more uplifting stories.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo, you're getting ahead in this series :) I remember liking this one, although I have to say, the covers are starting to blend all together.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't care about the type of crime. I think that Ms Roberts does a good job at both. And really, personal crime often escalated and there are always seem to be more murders.
And obviously, a very important and addictive aspect of the In Death series is the personal interactions. I think this series would be over if the personal interactions weren't as good :) The key in my opinion is just balance :P
Interesting. I liked this one much better than say, Origin--I have pretty much no interest in re-reading that one.
ReplyDeleteI read the series as a whole mainly for the characters, all of them--as Eve's world expands and we get to know the people around her, I enjoy it all the more. Some things I do shake my head at, but in general, it's the personal relationships that make these books for me.
With that said, in suspense/mystery, I have always prefer crimes that have connections, the ones I can believe are solvable, if you will. Because in real life solving serial killings is...nigh impossible, hinging in so many little coincidences that I struggle to suspend disbelief that one cop could catch truly random (the most common) serial killers every four months or so.
I, too, read the series for the characters and their interactions. I feel Robb/Roberts has done such a good job of writing them, flaws and all, that they are more than one dimensional characters, but bring out our own emotions in relation to what they are experiencing. As for the type of murderer? I prefer the personal murderer. The character and it's reasons seem gritty and more real than those of the serial killer.
ReplyDeletenath... I'm getting there! One of these days I'm going to catch up to Nora. I'll have to do a blog party. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you're right.. Robb's strength with this series is her characterizations and the way she pulls the reader into Eve's world.. where we feel a part of the circle of family and friends so we want to keep reading.
azteclady... Halfway through the book I was sure I was going to give this one three stars, but then all of a sudden it turned around and I zipped through to the end.
I agree that the personal connection crimes seem more believable AND solvable. It always seems luck plays a role in solving the serial murders and there's only so much you can buy into when Eve and her team solve several of these every couple of months.
Brandy... Sounds like we're all hooked on this series for the character relationships. And why not? It's good stuff! I agree that the personal murders are grittier and more real.
This book was one of the creepier ones in the series I thought. You are almost caught up to me now :) I'm glad that you are still enjoying these books! I just finished Salvation in Death and found it to be another solid addition to this series!
ReplyDeletesamantha.1020 ... Yes--it was definitely creepier than most. *shudder* Glad to hear you enjoyed Salvation! I have Strangers on my nightstand for this month! We will catch up to Nora eventually!! :)
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